Hart's War (2002)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Gregory Hoblit

Writers (WGA):

John Katzenbach (novel)
Billy Ray (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 February 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

Heroes Are Measured By What They Do.

Plot:

A law student becomes a lieutenant during World War II, is captured and asked to defend a black prisoner of war falsely accused of murder.

Plot Keywords:

Honor | Racism | Murder | Prisoners Of War | Escape

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Bruce Willis	...	Col. William A. McNamara
Colin Farrell	...	Lt. Thomas W. Hart
Terrence Howard	...	Lt. Lincoln A. Scott
Cole Hauser	...	Staff Sgt. Vic W. Bedford
Marcel Iures	...	Col. Werner Visser
Linus Roache	...	Capt. Peter A. Ross
Vicellous Reon Shannon	...	Lt. Lamar T. Archer (as Vicellous Shannon)
Maury Sterling	...	Pfc. Dennis A. Gerber
Sam Jaeger	...	Capt. R.G. Sisk
Scott Michael Campbell	...	Cpl. Joe S. Cromin
Rory Cochrane	...	Sgt. Carl S. Webb
Sebastian Tillinger	...	Pvt. Bert D. 'Moose' Codman
Rick Ravanello	...	Maj. Joe Clary
Adrian Grenier	...	Pvt. Daniel E. Abrams
Michael Weston	...	Pfc. W. Roy Potts

MPAA:

Rated R for some strong war violence and language.

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Brazil:14 | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:U | USA:R (certificate #38093) | Canada:A (Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | France:U | Germany:12 | Hungary:16 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Cheyenne Enterprises

Trivia:

Edward Norton and Tobey Maguire were both in talks for the lead role, but both eventually dropped out.

Goofs:

Continuity: The level of the alcohol in the glass jar in the Colonel's office changes between shots. At one point it rises and later lowers again without being poured.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriter Billy Ray (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Die Fahne hoch!

Prison camp flick Hollywoodized for your enjoyment

"Hart's War" is a stalag flick which tells of events among the American soldiers suffering hardship in a WWII prison camp. The film scores points for good art, technicals, and performances. However, it trades reality for drama and spins a somewhat convoluted story about racism, murder, and smoldering secrets inside the compound which it finds difficult to sort out and ultimately fizzles in the end. "HW" is solid Hollywood style entertainment which should be a pleasing watch for those into WWII POW dramas. B-