Courage Under Fire (1996)

A U.S. Army officer, despondent about a deadly mistake he made, investigates a female chopper commander's worthiness for the Medal of Honor.

Director:

Edward Zwick

Writer:

Patrick Sheane Duncan

Stars:

Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Lou Diamond Phillips

9 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denzel Washington	...	Nat Serling
Meg Ryan	...	Karen Walden
Lou Diamond Phillips	...	Monfriez
Michael Moriarty	...	General Hershberg
Matt Damon	...	Ilario
Bronson Pinchot	...	Bruno
Seth Gilliam	...	Altameyer
Regina Taylor	...	Meredith Serling
Zeljko Ivanek	...	Banacek
Scott Glenn	...	Gartner
Tim Guinee	...	Rady
Tim Ransom	...	Boylar
Sean Astin	...	Patella
Armand Darrius	...	Robins
Mark Adair-Rios	...	Bobcat 5 (as Mark Adair-Riós)

Storyline

The pilot of a rescue copter, Captain Karen Walden, died shortly before her helicopter crew was rescued after it crashed in Desert Storm. It first appears that she made a spectacular rescue of a downed helicopter crew, then held her own crew together to fight off the Iraqis after her copter crashed. Lt. Colonel Serling, who is struggling with his own demons from Desert Storm, is assigned to investigate her worthiness for the Medal of Honor. But some conflicting accounts, from her crew and soldiers in the area, cause him to question whether she deserves it.

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Plot Keywords:

unreliable flashback | military life | bravery | medal of honor | honor | 

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Taglines:

In wartime, the first casualty is always truth.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Mystery | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for war violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Arabic

Release Date:

12 July 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mut zur Wahrheit

Filming Locations:

Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$46,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,501,000, 14 July 1996, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$59,031,057

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$100,860,818

Company Credits

Production Co:

Davis Entertainment, Fox 2000 Pictures, Joseph M. Singer Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At least one of the Centurion-based M1A1 Abrams tank mock-ups, used during the 'Al-Bathra' battle scene in the film, was re-used in Cradle 2 the Grave (2003).

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Goofs

During the confrontation on the train tracks, the distance of the approaching train visible over Sergeant Monfriez's shoulder varies greatly.

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Quotes

Tony Gartner, Washington Post: Sweet Jesus, there's always a tape.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Actor Body Transformations (2013)

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Soundtracks

Angel from Montgomery
Written by John Prine

User Reviews

A DESERT STORM-era update of "Rashomon"

A DESERT STORM veteran, Lt Col Nat Serling (played by Denzel Washington), is assigned the task of recommending whether or not to award the first (posthumous) combat Medal of Honor to a woman, Capt Karen Walden (played by Meg Ryan). In investigating the inconsistent mission accounts of Walden's surviving crew, Serling constantly flashes back to his own searing DESERT STORM experience and the Army's subsequent attempts to whitewash the incident, resolving that his investigation will not suffer the same fate. As Serling tries to rectify the competing competing accounts it becomes clear that director Edward Zwick has crafted a contemporary "Rashomon," complete with reminders that the truth is always subjective and our accounts of it typically affected by self-interest.