Courage Under Fire (1996)

Director:

Edward Zwick

Writer (WGA):

Patrick Sheane Duncan (written by)

Release Date:

12 July 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Mystery | War

Tagline:

In wartime, the first casualty is always truth.

Plot:

A US Army officer, despondent about a deadly mistake he made, investigates a female chopper commander's worthiness for the Medal of Honor.

Plot Keywords:

Honor | Medal Of Honor | Helicopter | Captain | Desert Storm

Awards:

9 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Denzel Washington	...	Nat Serling
Meg Ryan	...	Karen Walden
Lou Diamond Phillips	...	Monfriez
Michael Moriarty	...	General Hershberg
Matt Damon	...	Ilario
Bronson Pinchot	...	Bruno
Seth Gilliam	...	Altameyer
Regina Taylor	...	Meredith Serling
Zeljko Ivanek	...	Banacek
Scott Glenn	...	Gartner
Tim Guinee	...	Rady
Tim Ransom	...	Boylar
Sean Astin	...	Patella
Armand Darrius	...	Robins
Mark Adair-Rios	...	Bobcat 5 (as Mark Adair-Riós)

MPAA:

Rated R for war violence and language.

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #34505) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 (w) | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Fox 2000 Pictures

Trivia:

The Iraqi battle scenes were filmed at the Indian Cliffs Ranch, located just outside El Paso, Texas. Many of the props were left there and became a tourist attraction.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The dispersion of the Tanks were only about 20-30 feet rather than the 100-200 meters that was actually used.

Quotes:

Tony Gartner, Washington Post: Sweet Jesus, there's always a tape.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Game K N B: (2007-03-03)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Angel from Montgomery

Raises new troubling questions

I just caught "Courage Under Fire" for the first time since its initial release. I'd forgotten how powerful it was and how superior the performers -- Washington, Phillips, the young Matt Damon, and especially Meg Ryan (proving she's so much more than "adorable"). More than anything, as I watched it I wondered: "Courage Under Fire" (only seven years old) is, to put it mildly, skeptical of the U.S. military establishment. In today's rah-rah, jingoistic, lowest-common-denominator-pleasing megaconglomerate Hollywood, could a film like this ever get made?