IMDb > When Trumpets Fade (1998) (TV)
When Trumpets Fade
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When Trumpets Fade (1998) (TV) More at IMDbPro »

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When Trumpets Fade (1998) -- 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.

Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   2,996 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
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Director:
John Irvin
Writer (WGA):
W.W. Vought (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for When Trumpets Fade on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
27 June 1998 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | War more
Tagline:
In the heat of battle not all soldiers can be heroes
Plot:
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. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
2 wins & 3 nominations more
User Comments:
One of the best more (77 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Ron Eldard ... Sgt. David Manning

Zak Orth ... Warren 'Sandy' Sanderson
Frank Whaley ... Medic Chamberlain

Dylan Bruno ... Sgt. Talbot

Devon Gummersall ... Lonnie
Dan Futterman ... Doug Despin

Steven Petrarca ... Baxter

Dwight Yoakam ... Lieutenant Colonel

Martin Donovan ... Capt. Roy Pritchett

Timothy Olyphant ... Lt. Lukas

Jeffrey Donovan ... Bobby
Bobby Cannavale ... Captain Zenek
Frank-Michael Köbe ... German sergeant (as Frank Köbe)
András Stohl ... Wounded soldier
Matthew Rutson Cooney ... Driver Cpl. (as Matthew Ruston Cooney)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Hamburger Hill 2 (Australia)
Hurtgen (USA) (original script title)
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MPAA:
Rated R for graphic war carnage and strong language.
Runtime:
95 min | UK:92 min (DVD) | UK:88 min (video)
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Sound Mix:
Stereo
Filming Locations:
Budapest, Hungary more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The phrase "Nobody Dies" is a reference to the book and film "A Walk in the Sun (1945)", where "Nobody Dies" is the platoon motto. Both book and film deal with similar effects of war as "When Trumpets Fade". more
Goofs:
Factual errors: 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 build with four rows of teeth. In reality the line is build 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 build 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 too 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). 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.
more
Movie Connections:
Follows Hamburger Hill (1987) more
Soundtrack:
Over There more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
33 out of 37 people found the following comment useful.
One of the best, 28 June 2001
9/10
Author: Alex-372 from The Hague, The Netherlands

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.

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Nice Happy-Meal MAP there commander!!! boxster8
Nice Happy-Meal MAP there commander!!! boxster8
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Those tanks... supermoseley
A detailed account IvanSR
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