When Trumpets Fade

Starring:Ron Eldard, Zak Orth, Frank Whaley, Dylan Bruno, Devon Gummersall, Dan Futterman, Steven Petrarca, Dwight Yoakam, Martin Donovan (II), Timothy Olyphant, Jeffrey Donovan, Bobby Cannavale, Frank-Michael KÃ¶be, AndrÃ¡s Stohl, Matthew Rutson Cooney, Brian Hicks (II), John Miller (XXIII), Peter Thomas (VI), Christopher Senger, Bernard L. Montgomery
Director: John Irvin
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

First broadcast on HBO in June of 1998--shortly before the theatrical release of Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan--this World War II drama offers an equally intimate and devastating study of combat and its tragic aftermath. Set in Germany during the closing days of the war, the film uses a little-known episode of U.S. military history--the bloody battle of the Hurtigen Forest--as the backdrop for the story of a battle-weary private (Ron Eldard) who is the only surviving member of his platoon. Despite his request for dismissal on the grounds of mental disability and shell-shock, he is considered a promising soldier by his superiors, promoted to sergeant, and assigned to command a fresh platoon of young, inexperienced soldiers. The cycle of war continues, and the film ends as it began--with one soldier carrying a mortally wounded comrade from a scene of devastating loss. A veteran of several war films, director John Irvin emphasizes the gritty, physically exhausting realities of combat with keen attention to detail on location in Hungary. This film is decidedly downbeat (don't look for any Spielbergian uplift here), but its depiction of warfare is undeniably powerful, earning praise for Irvin and HBO for tackling such an uncompromising project. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Great story, bad acting and directing.......2007-05-02

I disagree with others raving about this movie.....there is a reason it is not shown on HBO anymore and that is because the acting literally stinks. The director did a horrible job with a great storyline and the characters come across as non-believable. The flame thrower scene when they attack the gun emplacement was literally ridiculous.....I had to shut the sound off because of the idiotic forced screaming the guy was doing. Over all I found this movie very hard to get into, I felt like I was on the outside rather than immersed in the storyline and I LOVE war movies. Once again, great story but a lousy portrayal.

Tough Hard Hitting WWII Drama.......2007-04-06

Very well produced, written and acted, this film really surprised me as one of the better WWII movies I've seen. The battle in the Hurtgen Forest is captured in a very intense and realistic portrayal of men fighting for thier lives in almost surreal circumstances. My father was a veteran of this battle and I felt the movie did justice to what must have been a nightmare to the men involved.

The Dark Battle .......2006-11-11

The Hurtgen Forrest was probably the only stupid battle plan to come out of the ETO. There were other dumb plans, but this is the only stupid one. The history around the battle is worth reading up on before watching the movie.
The movie is well cast, well acted and reasonably well filmed. The direction is good in all places, outstanding in others.
Watch it and remember- they weren't fighting for Mom and apple pie- they were fighting for the guys in the trenches next to them, and to try, maybe succeed, to do an unwanted job.

Not Bad If.........2006-10-24

You can either watch this movie while flipping through your manual of authentic WWII gear and tactics to find the flaws -

Or you can imagine yourself as a very young man with 6 weeks of basic training shipped to Europe to face a still very deadly Nazi army.

This movie will get under your skin. And yes, give me three days of front line experience, hand me a flame thrower of any kind (fire hose or not) and tell me to destroy an artillery position and it is entirely realistic to assume that I will scream like an idiot and possibly wet myself in the process.

The first person point of view delivered by the script and cameras went way beyond most big screen war epics to bring me into the cold, damp fear of comabt.

If you're a WWII film buff - you know you're going to watch it. Just try to park the "wheel chair general" mentalilty and you'll come out alright.
Then tell me that the veteran German NCO leading the patrol in your front doesn't make you want to run home to mamma.

If you want the typical GI Joe genre - watch the old 40's and 50's war films. This picture has some good points to make. The bloody dog tags smeared on a Major's breast by a shocked American Lieutenant is worth the price of admission.

Instantly one of my favorites........2006-10-22

Even though this is pre Saving Private Ryan, this movie holds it's own. It's probably one of the best, if not the best modern WWII movie out there. The story, acting and directing are great, and the attention to detail is superb. I thought I was jaded when it comes to the gore factor, but some of the scences actually made my jaw drop. It makes people aware of the carnage for the battle of Hurtgen forest, which is mostly over-looked, due to the Battle of the Buldge.

I was plesantly surprised when I saw Ron Eldard (Black Hawk Down) in the leading roll. He does a great job portraying his character, as the other actors.

As a WW2 buff, i've watch most modern World War II movies, but suprisingly I have never heard of this one before. I'm just glad Amazon recommended it when I purchased "The Lost Battalion".

Average customer rating:

CAVEAT EMPTOR
They have got to be kidding.
It is a bad deal.
Not terribly useful collection
Some Winners and Some Losers

Dozen DVD Deal - Action

Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Action & Adventure | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Customer Reviews:

CAVEAT EMPTOR.......2005-05-11

BUYER BEWARE! This looks like a lowball of a deal if you consider that most of the movies depicted are the worst Hollywood has ever produced and delivered. I would look at the reviews and perhaps rent each individual movie before you by them all together. Here's a view of some of them:

'The Big Red One': Without question one of the worst WWII/D-Day films ever produced in every respect (technically and historically.) The film stars Lee Marvin who's much too old to play a grunt on the beaches of Normandy. The film is riddled with cliches and bad scenes from beginning to end. It wasn't even filmed in Europe but Israel. Yes, the coasts and beaches in Israel look so much like Normandy it's striking! It's about as bad as setting Auschwitz in Death Valley for a Holocaust film.

'The Gauntlet': Dirty Harry-type Eastwood movie where he's got to protect a witness against corrupt cops. Not a bad movie but not his best either: far below his Dirty Harry films or his westerns.

'Point of No Return': American version of "La Femme Nikita" starring Bridget Fonda. O.K. but the French version was better and more realistic.

'The Sea Wolves': Humor-action WWII movie starring Roger Moore. This one is actually pretty good with a lot of action.

'Soldier': Probably the worst movie that Kurt Russel ever starred in where he has an even smaller script than Schwarzeneger in "Terminator." Pathetic: not even worth watching once.

'Tango and Cash': Comedy-action cop movie with Kurt Russel and Sylvester Stallone. O.K. but after a while you begin to wonder whether you're laughing at the film or the fact that this was even made into a movie.

'Victory': Good movie about a soccer team of prisoners in WWII starrring Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone. This film is probably the best one out of the entire selection.

'When Trumpets Fade': Another one of the absolutely worst war films ever produced regarding the obscure battle of Hurtigen Forest at the close of WWII in Europe. A pathetic film with a horrible screenplay and equally disgraceful acting: avoid like the plague! I got it for free as a bonus to buying 'Band of Brothers' and I threw it away after one viewing as I couldn't stop laughing as to how bad this movie was.

Save your money and buy the few good films in this packet separately. Most of the movies in this package are not worth buying trust me!

They have got to be kidding........2005-03-20

There are maybe two OK movies in this "Deal", the rest are junk. I do not want to own any of them personally. The best part is the deal itself. Every single one of these movies can be had for less than ten bucks. If they chopped the first number of the price, they might be able to call it a deal.

It is a bad deal........2004-11-18

With the market for the DVD's being so competetive you can buy these DVDs individually at a much cheaper price than as an action pack on amazon. Don't be fooled go else where. The movies are good so I'd get them just not all at once like this.

David

Not terribly useful collection.......2003-09-12

While the movies here in and of themselves are not 'bad' movies, unless you really want to buy them all you would probably be better off seeking the specific movies that you want rather than coughing up $115 for them here.

Some Winners and Some Losers.......2003-09-10

This is an interesting set of DVDs.

There are some good films here and some not so great.

"The Big Red One" is a much overlooked war film starring, believe it or not, Mark Hamill of "Star Wars" fame. The story is told very well.

"Fort Apache, The Bronx" stars Paul Newman and is really not so bad a cop film. If you like that genre, this is a good addition to your collection. Again, a well told story, if not a little dated.

"The Gauntlet" is a pretty good Clint Eastwood movie from 1977. Not one of his best, but not one of his worst either.

"Point of No Return" is the American version of "LaFemme Nikita" starring Bridget Fonda. The original is the better movie, but this one works. Its a fun watch.

"Ricochet" stars a pre-Oscar win Denzel Washington and a very over the top John Lithgow. It passes for entertainment, but barely. Lindsay Wagner shows up, if that helps.

"Soldier" is a Kurt Russel movie that he worked out for. Nice pecs, Kurt.

"Tango and Cash" is actually a pretty good film. Importantly, it does NOT take itself too seriously and it fun to watch. It stars Kurt Russel and Sylvester Stallone in their prime action-hero days.

"Victory" is a great film. The best featured here. It is placed in a concentration camp in WWII and its about soccer. You're intrigued, right? Its actually a very good movie, uplifting and well told. Again we have Sylvester Stallone and he's joined by Michael Caine and Pele (soccer superstar).

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Great story, bad acting and directing.......2007-05-02

Tough Hard Hitting WWII Drama.......2007-04-06

The Dark Battle .......2006-11-11

Not Bad If.........2006-10-24

Instantly one of my favorites........2006-10-22

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