Details
Movie Description
Following the 1991 Gulf War, Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling (Denzel Washington) is assigned to review the background of the late Captain Karen Walden (Meg Ryan), who has been posthumously nominated for a medal of honor. While investigating Walden's candidacy, Serling is forced to face his own disillusionment and guilt surrounding the war. As he begins the interviewing process, he uncovers several inconsistencies in the stories told by the late pilot's crew. The three officers, who may or may not have been saved by the captain's actions, all give drastically different accounts of the events leading up to Walden's death. Ilario (Matt Damon) paints Walden as an unselfish, courageous hero, while the surly Monfriez (Lou Diamond Phillips) describes her as a crybaby and a coward. The third soldier, Altameyer (Seth Gilliam), lies dying in an army hospital, mumbling guilty confessions in a medicated haze. Similar to the storytelling technique used in Akira Kurosawa's RASHOMON, director Edward Zwick's COURAGE UNDER FIRE features each officer's account of the fateful incident reenacted onscreen, offering wildly diverse portrayals of Walden. Meg Ryan shines in a role that demands she play one character a multitude of ways. As Serling pieces together the radically different tales of combat, he uncovers the painful truth and simultaneously faces his own pent-up guilt regarding the war.
Synopsis
Assigned to investigate and approve a killed-in-action helicopter pilot's candidacy to become the first female recipient of the congressional medal of honor, a disillusioned former Gulf War officer finds inconsistencies in the stories told by the late pilot's crew.
Film Notes
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Letterboxed - Anamorphic - 1.85:1
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
DTS Surround 5.1 - English
Dolby Surround - English
Dolby Surround - French
THX Mastered Audio
Additional Release Material:
Audio Commentary - 1. Edward Zwick - Director
Featurette
Trailers - 1. 3 Original Theatrical Trailers
2. 3 TV Spots
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Interactive Menus
Theatrical release: July 12, 1996.
Filmed in Texas and California.
COURAGE UNDER FIRE features one of Matt Damon's first major screen roles.
The film's multiple-point-of-view concept is loosely based on Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film RASHOMON. Martin Ritt's THE OUTRAGE is also patterned after Kurosawa's classic film.
Industry Reviews
"...Denzel Washington is a potent actor in peak form....COURAGE UNDER FIRE honors its subject and its audience..."
Rolling Stone - p.68 - Peter Travers
"...Thoughtful. Intelligent. Moving. Provocative..." -- 4 out of 4 stars
USA Today - p.1D - Susan Wloszczyna
"...[Washington gives a] haunted, nearly implosive performance." -- Rating: B+
Entertainment Weekly - p.44 - Owen Gleiberman
"...A carefully conceived, dramatically honorable picture that treats its subject with clarity and intelligence..."
Variety - Todd McCarthy
"...Intelligent, involving and serious....Lou Diamond Phillips gives an intense, focused performance..."
Los Angeles Times - Kenneth Turan (07/12/1996)
"...Zwick's direction handles the many conflicting story possibilities with great clarity..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (07/12/1996)
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