When Trumpets Fade (1998) (TV)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

John Irvin

Writer (WGA):

W.W. Vought (written by)

Release Date:

27 June 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

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.

Plot Keywords:

WWII | Prequel | Christmas | Sequel

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Ron Eldard	...	Manning
Zak Orth	...	Warren
Frank Whaley	...	Medic Chamberlain
Dylan Bruno	...	Sgt. Talbot
Devon Gummersall	...	Lonnie
Dan Futterman	...	Despin
Steven Petrarca	...	Baxter
Dwight Yoakam	...	Lieutenant Colonel
Martin Donovan	...	Captain 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)

Also Known As:

Hamburger Hill 2 (Australia)
Hurtgen (USA) (original script title)

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

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:15 | Spain:18 | Iceland:16 | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | Singapore:NC-16 | USA:R | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company:

Citadel Entertainment

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".

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).

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.

Movie Connections:

Follows Hamburger Hill (1987)

Soundtrack:

White Christmas

Honesty needs no revision

The film makers obviously intended a memorial to the soldiers who fought and died in the Hurtgen Forest. Though this was not a docudrama, the story had to be true to the context, and for what I could tell, it definitely achieved that goal. The Battle was not a victory for the U.S. forces. The Germans pushed back the Allies during this battle, creating the "bulge" in the front lines. The Battle of the Bulge was a later victory, and it is duly remembered. But the Hurtgen Forest campaign, which was a defeat and by many commentators is viewed as a huge strategic blunder paid for in American blood, has largely been forgotten.

Why does everyone (including viewers) assume that Manning is a coward? Because he is the only survivor of his platoon? Perhaps that assumption accurately reflects the command mindset which caused so many deaths: death is so cheap that one more death is expected, in order to prove valor. (That is not a new concept, "The Red Badge of Courage" had it in a Civil War context; but it also seems to be a motivation for contemporary suicide bombers.) Contrast that with these soldiers' motives for the last mission--when the objective was clear: to save their own lives, rather than to make a noble but unavailing gesture.

Usually war films have more plot. But the Hurtgen Forest campaign was not as carefully plotted as a screenplay. Did any mission in this film seem to have any real point? The battle is accurately reflected here. This is not a compelling film, and it does not attempt to impart any great moral lessons, but it's best virtue is that it is honest.

My late father was in the "Bloody Bucket" (the 28th Infantry, Pennsylvania National Guard--note the red keystone insignia) during this battle, and he was fortunate to have survived. Decades later, he often would say to me that the trees could kill you. I was never really sure what he meant. This film showed me what he meant: the tree tops which were blown off by artillery fire would fall on the soldiers below.