When Trumpets Fade (1998)

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.

Director:

John Irvin

Writer:

W.W. Vought

Stars:

Ron Eldard, Zak Orth, Frank Whaley

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ron Eldard	...	Manning
Zak Orth	...	Pvt. Warren Sanderson
Frank Whaley	...	Chamberlain - Medic
Dylan Bruno	...	Sgt. Talbot
Devon Gummersall	...	Lonnie
Dan Futterman	...	Despin
Steven Petrarca	...	Baxter
Dwight Yoakam	...	Lieutenant Colonel
Martin Donovan	...	Capt. Pritchett
Timothy Olyphant	...	Lt. Lukas
Jeffrey Donovan	...	Bobby
Bobby Cannavale	...	Capt. Zenek
Frank-Michael Köbe	...	German Sergeant (as Frank Köbe)
András Stohl	...	Wounded Soldier
Matthew Rutson Cooney	...	Driver Corporal (as Matthew Ruston Cooney)

Storyline

In WWII Western Germany, Private David Manning reluctantly leaves behind a mortally wounded fellow soldier and searches for survivors from his platoon, only to learn from commanding officer Captain Pritchett that they have all been killed in action. Despite requesting a discharge on the grounds of mental disability, Manning is promoted to sergeant and assigned to lead a new platoon of young inductees.

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Plot Keywords:

platoon | sergeant | battlefield | hurtgen forest | ends with text | 

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Taglines:

In the heat of battle not all soldiers can be heroes

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for graphic war carnage and strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 June 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hurtgen

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company Credits

Production Co:

Citadel Entertainment, Home Box Office (HBO)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 92 min (DVD) 88 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The phrase "Nobody Dies" is a reference to the book and film "A Walk in the Sun (1945)", where "Nobody Dies" is the platoon motto. Both book and film deal with similar effects of war as "When Trumpets Fade".

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Goofs

The insignia of rank of the German sergeant leading his patrol is of a design not used by the German army.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Ban the Sadist Videos! (2005)

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Soundtracks

Over There
Written by George M. Cohan
Performed by Elysian Singers

User Reviews

A note on criticisms

Surprised to find criticism here. This is a film for grown ups. Its about infantrymen, you know, the bulk of the troops in contact with the enemy. Watching other films you might be tempted to think that only Paratroopers and Rangers did any fighting, being made up of highly motivated men with a higher purpose on heroic missions. I note criticism that the cynical nonconformist type should not appear until Vietnam films. I would suggest that a very high proportion of those in combat in WWII also didn't want to be there - my father landed on Sword beach on D-Day and certainly would rather have been somewhere else. We can still respect their sacrifice even though they only wanted to survive, because we are grown up. We don't need a film packed full of sentimentality, directors manipulation and musical cues telling us what emotions to feel... and as to complaining about the plot, how do you defend the absolutely contrived plot of that other film I haven't named (but you can guess which one I mean). See this film. Rant over.