Hart's War (2002)

A law student becomes a lieutenant during World War II, is captured and asked to defend a black prisoner of war falsely accused of murder.

Director:

Gregory Hoblit

Writers:

John Katzenbach (novel), Billy Ray (screenplay),

Stars:

Bruce Willis, Colin Farrell, Terrence Howard

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Willis	...	Col. William A. McNamara
Colin Farrell	...	Lt. Thomas W. Hart
Terrence Howard	...	Lt. Lincoln A. Scott
Cole Hauser	...	Staff Sgt. Vic W. Bedford
Marcel Iures	...	Col. Werner Visser
Linus Roache	...	Capt. Peter A. Ross
Vicellous Reon Shannon	...	Lt. Lamar T. Archer (as Vicellous Shannon)
Maury Sterling	...	Pfc. Dennis A. Gerber
Sam Jaeger	...	Capt. R.G. Sisk
Scott Michael Campbell	...	Cpl. Joe S. Cromin
Rory Cochrane	...	Sgt. Carl S. Webb
Sebastian Tillinger	...	Pvt. Bert D. 'Moose' Codman
Rick Ravanello	...	Maj. Joe Clary
Adrian Grenier	...	Pvt. Daniel E. Abrams
Michael Weston	...	Pfc. W. Roy Potts

Storyline

Fourth-generation Army Col. William McNamara is imprisoned in a brutal German POW camp. Still, as the senior-ranking American officer, he commands his fellow inmates, keeping a sense of honor alive in a place where honor is easy to destroy, all under the dangerous eye of the Luftwafe vetran Col. Wilhelm Visser. Never giving up the fight to win the war, McNamara is silently planning, waiting for his moment to strike back at the enemy. A murder in the camp gives him the chance to set a risky plan in motion. With a court martial to keep Visser and the Germans distracted, McNamara orchestrates a cunning scheme to escape and destroy a nearby munitions plant, enlisting the unwitting help of young Lt. Tommy Hart. Together with his men, McNamara uses a hero's resolve to carry out his mission, ultimately forced to weigh the value of his life against the good of his country.

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Plot Keywords:

honor | pilot | lieutenant | racism | interrogation | 

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Taglines:

Beyond Courage, Beyond Honor.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong war violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Hart's War Official WebSite

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

15 February 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Tribunal

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$353,894 (Japan) (27 September 2002)

Gross:

$1,229,194 (Japan) (11 October 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cheyenne Enterprises, David Foster Productions, David Ladd Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Hart (Colin Farrell) sneaks out of the barracks near the end of the movie he hides from two passing guards. As the guards pass they are speaking German. What they are saying translates to: "My dog has no nose" "How does he smell?" "Terrible."

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Goofs

In the beginning of the movie, the title sequence tells you that it is the HQ Battalion V Corps. The patch on Lt. Hart's left shoulder and the other staff members is the patch for the VIII (8th) Corps.

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Quotes

Staff Sgt. Vic W. Bedford: Take that you bastard!
Lt. Lincoln A. Scott: Careful Bedford. That's a nigger you're rooting for. Tail's painted red, that means he's 99th, right out of Tuskegee, boy.

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Connections

References Stalag 17 (1953)

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Soundtracks

"Summertime"
from "Porgy & Bess"
Written by George Gershwin and DuBose Heyward
Performed by Sidney Bechet
Courtesy of Blue Note Records
Under license from EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets

User Reviews

Not bad

This film is absorbing because you are kept guessing until the very end. Hart, the lead character, isn't exactly an angel; and the Nazi Kommandant conjures up a measure of sympathy, with other motives of characters such as Col. MacNamara (Willis) truly unclear until the end.

Thus, it's enough to keep you watching, although I wish I'd read the book first. Also, it's not an "action" film in the Schwarzenegger sense, but it is fast-paced and holds your attention, as the plot keeps twisting and turning.

Contrary to what others thought, I found HART'S WAR to be reasonably historically accurate. It's frequently pointed out that by late 1944 / early 1945, the Germans were reeling, desperate and disorganized, while HART'S WAR portrays them firmly in control. This is a fair criticism, but I would respond as follows:

1. HART'S WAR coincides with the Ardennes offensive (Battle of the Bulge), which was the last major German offensive of the war and which came perilously close to succeeding. Puffed up from that near-victory, not knowing (as we know today) that this was the last gasp of a dying reich and not a turning point towards victory, and now holding hundreds if not thousands of Allied POW's to boot, it's no surprise that the Germans are still confident of victory.

2. Also, HART'S WAR takes place in a short period of time (I would guess 2-3 weeks between Hart's capture and the end of the trial, which itself is only a week). The story does not drag into the spring of '45, at which point the Germans knew they were losing.

3. The Nazi Kommandant epitomizes this German confidence, yet because he was educated in the US, he has at least a measure of sympathy for his American prisoners and treats them with an equal measure of military courtesy, with a few exceptions. Other Kommandants during this time may not have been as "humane," but, because of his background, Visser's lack of brutality (again, with exceptions) is understandable.

Bruce Willis is clearly a supporting actor in this film, but I felt he had a strong and important role and was, arguably, the CENTRAL character while Colin Farrell is the LEADING character. However, Willis gets top billing for one simple reason -- TO SELL TICKETS. It worked for me, at least.