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.
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Title: When Trumpets Fade (TV Movie 1998)
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1 win & 5 nominations.
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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) |
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Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
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. Written by Anonymous
Taglines:
In the heat of battle not all soldiers can be heroesMotion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated R for graphic war carnage and strong language | See all certifications »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
27 June 1998 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Hurtgen See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
| (DVD) | (video)Sound Mix:
StereoAspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1
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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.
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
One of only two war movies in Ron Eldard's career. He would later be cast in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down (2001). See more »Goofs
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 built with four rows of teeth. In reality the line is built 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 built 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 to 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). See more »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.
See more »
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When Trumpets Fade is a great movie, with excellent action sequences, fine acting and a sound storyline. It's better than Platoon, and I'd put it up there with 84 Charlie Mopic, except that it deals with infantry warfare during WWII. It came out after a series of real to life WWII movies, Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line, but is made on a smaller budget and apart from Ryan's opening scene, it is a better movie. The cast consists of thoroughly unknown but very skilled actors, and the movie gives you a feel of what it must have been like to be on the front line in the Huertgen Forrest in Germany, late 1944. The Hungarian location adds realism as well.
The story basically revolves around the single minded efforts of private (then sergeant, then lieutenant) Manning (Ron Eldard) to stay alive and out of the meatgrinder that is conventional warfare, no matter what, even though ironically, the fact that he survives means that he has to put up for ever more dangerous tasks because he's the only one near who has any close-up experience.
I'll add that the videostore I go to allows you to rent 5 movies for the price of 3, and keep them for a full week. Every day after watching another movie, I couldn't help but re-watch "When Trumpets Fade", and every time I found something new and something more made sense to me.
This is one outstanding movie, very well produced and if you like war movies from the grunt's point of view, don't miss it.