When Trumpets Fade (1998) (TV)

Director:

John Irvin

Writer (WGA):

W.W. Vought (written by)

Release Date:

27 June 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

In the heat of battle not all soldiers can be heroes

Plot:

A private in the latter days of WWII on the German front struggles between his will to survive and what his superiors perceive as a battlefield instinct.

Plot Keywords:

WWII | Prequel | Christmas | Sequel

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Ron Eldard	...	Sgt. David Manning
Zak Orth	...	Warren 'Sandy' Sanderson
Frank Whaley	...	Medic Chamberlain
Dylan Bruno	...	Sgt. Talbot
Devon Gummersall	...	Lonnie
Dan Futterman	...	Doug Despin
Steven Petrarca	...	Baxter
Dwight Yoakam	...	Lieutenant Colonel
Martin Donovan	...	Capt. Roy Pritchett
Timothy Olyphant	...	Lt. Lukas
Jeffrey Donovan	...	Bobby
Bobby Cannavale	...	Captain Zenek
Frank-Michael Köbe	...	German sergeant (as Frank Köbe)
András Stohl	...	Wounded soldier
Matthew Rutson Cooney	...	Driver Cpl. (as Matthew Ruston Cooney)

Also Known As:

Hamburger Hill 2 (Australia)
Hurtgen (USA) (original script title)

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic war carnage and strong language.

Runtime:

95 min | UK:92 min (DVD) | UK:88 min (video)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:15 | Spain:18 | Iceland:16 | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | Singapore:NC-16 | USA:R | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company:

Citadel Entertainment

Trivia:

Two of the cast members share the same surname: Jeffrey Donovan and Martin Donovan.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Dragons teeth of the Siegfried line are not shown as they really were (and in numerous places still are today). 1) In the movie the line is build with four rows of teeth. In reality the line is build with five rows. 2) The teeth are in reality not made in one size as shown in the movie, but in 3 different sizes, where the first and last rows contain the biggest pillars, the middle three are middle sized, and woven in the last row you can find the smallest. 3) The rows are not placed exactly behind each other. If you would see them from above, you would see an angle in the middle. 4) The rows of pillars are also not build in one line. If you would look over a row from the side, you would see a zigzag of pillars. 5) The pillars in the movie are too close too each other. In reality, the area between two pillars is so big, you can park a car between them (as is done by the author of this comment on numerous occasions).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator, news footage: August 1944. The outcome of the Second World War appeared to be no longer in doubt. Paris was liberated. After four years of fighting, victory against the Germans seemed assured. Since the Normandy landings, American and Allied forces had battled their way across northern Europe, and pushed the German enemy to within its own homeland.

Movie Connections:

Follows Hamburger Hill (1987)

Soundtrack:

Over There

Not a war epic, and all the better for it

Due to the fact that the two films came out close together, it is tempting to compare When Trumpets Fade to Saving Private Ryan. This would be a mistake. Unlike Private Ryan, Trumpets is not an epic set to a background of a crucial point in history, like D-Day, nor are the central characters members of an elite unit who are given a "heroic" assignment. Instead, the main character, Manning (Eldard), starts off as a private reluctant to risk his life, but who finds himself promoted and burdened with increasing responsibilities he does not want as his unit suffers horrendous attrition attempting to fight its way into Germany in late 1944. Manning's dilemma both contrasts and parallels that of his company commander, Captain Pritchett (Donovan), who has to balance achieving the objectives he has been assigned and keeping as many of his men alive as he can, and succeeding at neither. The greatest contrast with Private Ryan, however, comes in the form of the replacement troops, all green recruits with no combat experience - a far cry from Captain Miller's seasoned Rangers. Rounding it off is Dwight Yoakam as the nameless battalion commander who is unapologetic about driving his men to the slaughter, but whose face betrays the fact that, as with Captain Pritchett, their deaths weigh heavily upon him. When Trumpets Fade successfully showcases combat at its most gruesome and frustrating as Captain Pritchett's company batters itself to pieces against its target with nothing to show for the effort and bravery of the men except an ever-increasing pile of American corpses. But we get two good looks at the face of a German squad leader, portrayed by Frank-Michael Köbe, and in it we can see the despondency of a man who knows that he is fighting only to postpone the inevitable defeat of his country. A gritty, realistic, and depressing, but nonetheless excellent film.