Hart's War (2002)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Gregory Hoblit

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

15 February 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

Heroes Are Measured By What They Do.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Honor | Racism | Murder | Prisoners Of War | Escape

Awards:

1 win

Cast

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

MPAA:

Rated R for some strong war violence and language.

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Brazil:14 | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:U | USA:R (certificate #38093) | Canada:A (Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | France:U | Germany:12 | Hungary:16 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Krizeneckeho namesti, Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Cheyenne Enterprises

Trivia:

The song being played by the band during the musical is "Der Fuehrer"s Face", an Academy Award winning anti-Nazi song by Spike Jones and His City Slickers that used flatulence-resembling sound effects.

Goofs:

Continuity: The P-51 Mustang planes strafing the rail yard are not carrying any bombs when they launch their attack. Then as the POWs escape from the rail carriages, the P-51s suddenly start dropping bombs.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriter Billy Ray (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Idaho

Well crafted and thoughtful entertainment

I recently had the good fortune of seeing an advanced screening of Hart's War. It took a good half hour for me to warm up to it but once the many plots twists took hold, I was pretty well hooked. Collin Farrell displays a good deal of screen charisma as Lt. Hart. Surprisingly, Bruce Willis is in a supporting role. Although the trailers I have seen would lead you to believe otherwise.

The story takes some surprising turns and that is one of the strengths of the movie. I won't spoil it by giving away too much.

As a student of history, particularly World War Two, I have to say that I really enjoyed this movie, not just for the original story line but the mood cast by the photography and the music score.

I highly recommend Hart's War as an intelligent, entertaining movie.

8.5 out of 10