Courage Under Fire

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Courage Under Fire

movie poster
Directed by Edward Zwick
Produced by Debra Martin Chase
John Davis
Written by Patrick Sheane Duncan
Starring Denzel Washington
Meg Ryan
Lou Diamond Phillips
Matt Damon
Music by James Horner
Editing by Steven Rosenblum
Distributed by Fox
Release date(s) 12 July 1996
Running time 117 min.
Language English
IMDb profile

Courage Under Fire is a motion picture, released in 1996, starring Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Lou Diamond Phillips and Matt Damon. It is one of the first films to depict the 1991 Gulf War.

This movie uses the same cinematic concept as the 1950 Japanese film Rashōmon, wherein the truth of an event becomes difficult to verify due to the conflicting accounts of different witnesses. The major difference here is that in Rashomon the characters believe the stories they tell. In Courage Under Fire, several of the characters deliberately lie to protect themselves.

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[edit] Synopsis

Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling (Denzel Washington) was involved in a friendly fire incident in Al Bathra during the Gulf War. He was a M1 Abrams tank commander who, during the nighttime confusion of Iraqi tanks infiltrating his unit's lines, gave the order to fire, destroying one of his own tanks and killing his friend Boylar. The details were covered up (Boylar's parents were told that their son was killed by enemy fire), and he was reassigned to a desk job.

Later, he is given the task of determining if Captain Karen Emma Walden (Meg Ryan) should be the first woman to receive (posthumously) the Medal of Honor for bravery in combat in the First Gulf War. A Medevac helicopter commander, she went to the rescue of another chopper that had been shot down and was under heavy fire from an Iraqi tank and infantrymen. The tank was knocked out by dropping a fuel bottle and it was shot with a flare gun, but her helicopter was shot down in the process. Both crews remained under attack and were unable to join forces. The survivors were rescued the next day, but Walden was killed in action.

At first, everything seems to be straightforward, but Serling begins to notice inconsistencies in the testimony of the witnesses. The members of the first helicopter crew mention that they heard the distinctive sound of an M16 being used in the firefight around the other helicopter, but Walden's crew denies firing one during the rescue, as theirs was out of ammunition. Despite pressure from the White House and his commander, General Hershberg (Michael Moriarty), to wrap things up quickly so they can have news they can use for propaganda, he investigates further, questioning Specialist Ilario (Matt Damon), Staff Sergeant John Monfriez (Lou Diamond Phillips), and the rest of Walden's crew until he uncovers the truth.

Serling discovers that Monfriez wanted to escape under cover of darkness, which would have meant leaving a badly injured man behind. The rest of the crew was ready to follow his lead, but Walden rejected that option, resulting in an armed standoff between the two of them. At that moment, Iraqi infantrymen appeared behind Monfriez and Walden fired at them. Reacting instinctively, Monfriez shot her, seriously wounding, but not killing her.

The next morning, Walden stayed behind to cover their evacuation. Monfriez deliberately lied to the rescuers, telling them that she was dead, so she was left behind. Ilario remained silent to cover his own cowardice. A following A-10 airplane then bombed the downed helicopter to keep it out of enemy hands, presumably killing Walden.

In the end, despite Serling's attempts to stop him, Monfriez commits suicide by driving his car into an oncoming train rather than face a court-martial. Serling leaks the story to reporter Tony Gartner (Scott Glenn) to prevent another coverup. Walden's young daughter receives the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony. Later, Serling tearfully tells the Boylars the truth about the manner of their son's death.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Box office

  • U.S. domestic gross: US$ 59,031,057
  • International: $41,829,761
  • Worldwide gross: $100,860,818

[edit] Historical accuracy

The Medal of Honor was awarded to a woman, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, an American Civil War doctor, but not for valor in combat. A White House aide played by Bronson Pinchot makes the distinction.

[edit] Production

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The U.S. Department of Defense withdrew its cooperation for the film so the tanks Serling commanded early in the film were British Centurions shipped from Australia with sheet metal added to make them resemble M1A1 Abrams. These visually modified tanks were used to simulate the Abrams in several other motion pictures afterwards as well.

ROTC Cadets from Texas A&M University were extras in the background in some of the training camp scenes.

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. The White House rose garden set was destroyed twice: once by a tornado, and once by a sandstorm.

In order to lose 40 pounds (18 kilograms) for the later scenes, Matt Damon went on a strict regimen of food deprivation and physical training. While on Inside The Actor's Studio Damon said that the regiment consisted of six and a half miles of running in the morning and another six and half at night, a diet of chicken breast, egg whites, and one plain baked potato per day, and a large amount of coffee and cigarettes. This damaged his health to the extent that he had to have medical supervision for several months afterwards. However, his efforts did not go unnoticed; director Francis Ford Coppola was so impressed by Damon's dedication to method acting that he offered him the leading role in The Rainmaker (1997). Steven Spielberg was also impressed by his performance, but thought he was too skinny and discounted him from casting considerations for Saving Private Ryan until he met Damon during the filming of Good Will Hunting when he was back at his normal weight.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Films directed by Edward Zwick

About Last Night... (1986) • Glory (1989) • Legends of the Fall (1994) • Courage Under Fire (1996) • The Siege (1998) • The Last Samurai (2004) • Blood Diamond (2006) • Defiance (2008)