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Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, Director's Cut, Trailers
After Lt. Col. Nathaniel Sterling (Denzel Washington) accidentally orders an attack on one of his own tanks during the Gulf War, he is sent back to the States. While awaiting the subsequent investigation of his actions, he is asked to review the posthumous candidacy of the first woman (Meg Ryan) to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. But as he questions the men who were under her command, he finds himself plunged into an apparent cover-up surrounding the events that led to her death--events that force him to confront his own tormenting demons.
"...a grown-up film that is worth saluting." Susan Wloszczyna, USA Today
"Two thumbs up!" Siskel & Ebert
"A downright entertaining combo of mystery, melodrama and action adventure." Rita Kempley, Washington Post
"...honors its subjects and audience." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"...a fascinating emotional and logistical puzzle..." Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times
Editor's Note
Following the 1991 Gulf War, Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling (Denzel Washington) is assigned to review the background of the late Captain Karen Walden (Meg Ryan), who has been posthumously nominated for a medal of honor. While investigating Walden's candidacy, Serling is forced to face his own disillusionment and guilt surrounding the war. As he begins the interviewing process, he uncovers several inconsistencies in the stories told by the late pilot's crew. The three officers, who may or may not have been saved by the captain's actions, all give drastically different accounts of the events leading up to Walden's death. Ilario (Matt Damon) paints Walden as an unselfish, courageous hero, while the surly Monfriez (Lou Diamond Phillips) describes her as a crybaby and a coward. The third soldier, Altameyer (Seth Gilliam), lies dying in an army hospital, mumbling guilty confessions in a medicated haze. Similar to the storytelling technique used in Akira Kurosawa's RASHOMON, director Edward Zwick's COURAGE UNDER FIRE features each officer's account of the fateful incident reenacted onscreen, offering wildly diverse portrayals of Walden. Meg Ryan shines in a role that demands she play one character a multitude of ways. As Serling pieces together the radically different tales of combat, he uncovers the painful truth and simultaneously faces his own pent-up guilt regarding the war.
Plot Summary
Assigned to investigate and approve a killed-in-action helicopter pilot's candidacy to become the first female recipient of the congressional medal of honor, a disillusioned former Gulf War officer finds inconsistencies in the stories told by the late pilot's crew.
| Features | Audio: English Dolby Surround | | Audio: French Dolby Surround | | Subtitles: English; Spanish | | Anamorphic Widescreen (Aspect Ration 1.85:1) | | Audio: Dts English | | Audio: English 5.1 Surround | | Director's Commentary | | Featurette | | Original Theatrical Trailer & TV Spots |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Foxvideo |
| Release Date: 1/9/2007 |
| Running Time: 117 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1996 | | Catalog ID: 2001082 | | UPC: 00024543010821 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, French Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Image Award (1997) |  | Denzel Washington, Winner, Outstanding Lead Actor In A Motion Picture | | | Regina Taylor, Nominee, Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Motion Picture |
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| | Professional Reviews | Rolling Stone
"...Denzel Washington is a potent actor in peak form....COURAGE UNDER FIRE honors its subject and its audience..." 08/08/1996 p.68USA Today
"...Thoughtful. Intelligent. Moving. Provocative..." -- 4 out of 4 stars 07/12/1996 p.1D Entertainment Weekly
"...[Washington gives a] haunted, nearly implosive performance." -- Rating: B 08/09/1996 p.44 Variety
"...A carefully conceived, dramatically honorable picture that treats its subject with clarity and intelligence..." 06/24/1996 Los Angeles Times
"...Intelligent, involving and serious....Lou Diamond Phillips gives an intense, focused performance..." 07/12/1996 p.F1 Chicago Sun-Times
"...Zwick's direction handles the many conflicting story possibilities with great clarity..." 07/12/1996 p.31 Los Angeles Times 9 of 10
...Intelligent, involving and serious, it is as honestly emotional as Hollywood allows itself to get, a story of the search for wartime truth whose own concern for the genuine makes all the difference... Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan, do not share screen time. But their joined strengths, the authenticity of their performances, gives the film's dramatization of moral and ethical dilemmas an objective edge that also touches the heart. - Kenneth Turan
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