The story has some surprising twists and turns, and an ending that will spark discussion. The Nazi has permitted the trial as a gesture he is a Yale man, not uncivilized, likes jazz. Calhoun Performed by Benny Goodman Marie Written by Irving Berlin Performed by Tommy Dorsey Lili Marlene Written by Norbert Schultze, Hans Leip and Mack David Performed by Perry Como Blue Horizon Written by Sidney Bechet Performed by Sidney Bechet and His Jazzmen Die Fahne hoch! Several times soldiers offer to lay down their lives for the good of others. Apparently the trial was so interesting that the Nazis allowed for half of the American soldiers to go unaccounted for during the course of the trial so the secret mission could be carried out. A clear-cut case of murder, right? Synopsis Based on the novel by John Katzenbach, author of Just Cause 1995 , this prison camp drama combines elements of A Soldier's Story 1984 and the classic Stalag 17 1953. MacNamara Willis truly unclear until the end. The majority of the white soldiers think that the black soldiers are inferior, and are offended that the black pilots outrank them.
In fact, it is a courtroom movie with the war providing a unique setting: it is held in Germany in a prisoner of war camp filled with allied soldiers. Also, while the war violence takes up only a few minutes in a two-hour film, it is intense. The operation of the camp is hardly believable. Bedford, a vicious racist, harasses the two black officers, refusing to recognize their rank. No Jack Nicolson who blows his top as In A few good men, no Humphrey Bogart who falls apart in the courtroom in The Caine Mutiny and no Lee J. In addition to being unbelievable, Hart's War is irresponsible and offensive. More Americans are killed by friendly fire than by Nazis! The movie is just not right.
All of this is absorbing, if of course manipulative, but what makes it more intriguing is the sense that something else is going on underneath the action--that McNamara's motives may be more complicated than we know. Still, as the senior-ranking American officer, he commands his fellow inmates, keeping a sense of honor alive in a place where honor is easy to destroy, all under the dangerous eye of the Luftwafe vetran Col. But even more: why would the camp commandant even bother with a courtroom case anyway if he is such a bad dude? Written by Goofs At the start of the movie the date is given as 16 December 1944, the day that the German Ardennes Counter-Offensive aka The Battle of the Bulge began. McNamara, a fourth-generation West Point graduate , the other the camp commandant German Col. One wonders if this is a movie that's taking place in a Nazi Germany camp or a summer camp one might send one's children to. Not according to Hart, who believes this is another set-up and demands that a trial be held. He is a senator's son, destined for a desk job.
They torture him for information, then send him to a prisoner of war camp. When Hart believes Willis is purposefully slanting the trail against his client, he accepts the help of Col. The performances are excellent, with Terrence Howard a standout as the accused man. Hart Colin Farrell is a soldier who works at a desk, far from enemy lines. McNamara possesses a strong spirit of duty and honor, as do many of the Americans in the camp. That is the passion you need when you become undone. Just when the Nazi's are about to execute the soldier, Bruce Willis steps in and objects to Col.
Do we sacrifice the many to save the one and in reverse: do we sacrifice the one to save the many? Bowing to ancient and outdated convention, director and writers and put the plot through an awkward U-turn so that Willis can end up as a hero. With a court martial to keep Visser and the Germans distracted, McNamara orchestrates a cunning scheme to escape and destroy a nearby munitions plant, enlisting the unwitting help of young Lt. Werner Visser Marcel Iures who is in charge of the camp. Hart's War is a big movie that takes on big themes with the courage to give them time and allow for some ambiguity. These key moments is what makes these people go, no such moments are in this movie. Willes is the kind of guy who stays cool and collected even under pressure and makes wisecracks, while Nicolson can explode, rant and spittle.
A severe breach of the Geneva convention and totally ridiculous at that point of time in the war as the Germans could have guessed that the shoe would soon be on the other foot. Hart, a staff officer who never expected to go near the front lines, suddenly finds himself a prisoner of war after stumbling upon the German counterattack that came to be known as the Battle of the Bulge. One hitch is that both the dead man and his alleged killer left the barracks by a secret route at night, a route that cannot be revealed without jeopardizing the other American prisoners. This provides yet another source of tension. In fact, it is a courtroom movie with the war providing a unique setting: it is held in Germany in a prisoner of war camp filled with allied soldiers. Yeah, you such an honest band of freedom-loving good guys.
But everything is not as it first appears. The central theme is akin to Saving Private Ryan: what is a man's life worth? An American is shot pointblank in the head, splattering his brains over another soldier. It tarts out with a totally pointless first part in which Farrell is captured. One night Bedford is found murdered outside the barracks. Hart tries to play mediator when the other soldiers utter racial slurs toward the black prisoners.
William , the senior officer among the American prisoners, doesn't seem much interested in justice. Thus, it's enough to keep you watching, although I wish I'd read the book first. These two have more in common, and perhaps more respect for one another, than they would like to admit. Wasser, serving more in the role of Socratic interrogator than enemy, points out that America makes a lot of distinctions, especially when it comes to black people. McNamara is not enthusiastic about the idea, but the Nazi commandant is, and soon a court-martial is under way, with Hart who has no legal experience as the defense attorney.
The ranking American officer at the camp is Colonel McNamara Bruce Willis. It is not rightly cast with the camp commandant, a key figure, played by a nobody and Bruce Willes, taking the role of Jack Nicolson had in A Few Good Men, is just not being the right guy for that job. Willis walks around the camp as if he were in his own back yard, seemingly able to speak to any other soldiers in the camp whenever he wants, and even has easy access Col. The German commandant is Colonel Visser. This is a fair criticism, but I would respond as follows: 1. I read the book was okay, let's hope someone in due time will make a better movie with it so we can forget about this one.