Courage Under Fire
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| Courage Under Fire | |
|---|---|
 movie poster |
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| 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 |
| 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 (Washington) was involved in a friendly fire incident. He was a tank commander who, in the confusion of a nighttime ambush by Iraqi tanks, gave the order to fire on one of his own tanks, killing his friend. The details were covered up, but he was reassigned to a desk job.
Later, he is given the task of determining if Captain Karen Emma Walden (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 a tank and Iraqi infantrymen. The tank was knocked out by dropping an improvised bomb on it, but her helicopter was shot down in the process. Both crews were rescued the next day, but Walden was killed.
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 M-16 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 the Pentagon to wrap things up quickly so they can have news they can use for propaganda, he investigates further, questioning Specialist Ilario (Damon), Staff Sergeant John Monfriez (Phillips), and the rest of the second crew until he uncovers the truth.
It turns out that the sexist Monfriez didn't believe Walden was capable of handling the situation after they crashed. He tried to take command, wanting 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 injuring, but not incapacitating her. She then organized the defense that beat off the night attack.
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 helicopter to keep it out of enemy hands, unknowingly killing her.
In the end, despite Sterling's attempts to stop him, Monfriez commits suicide by driving his car into an oncoming train rather than face a court-martial and Walden's young daughter receives the medal in a White House ceremony.
[edit] Box office
US Gross Domestic Takings: US$ 59,031,057
+ Other International Takings: $41,829,761
= Gross Worldwide Takings: $100,860,818
[edit] Historicity
- The Medal of Honor has actually already been awarded to a woman, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, an American Civil War doctor, but not for valor in combat. To the movie's credit, the obnoxious White House aide played by Bronson Pinchot is careful to make the distinction.
- This film was loosely inspired by a 3 October 1993 incident in Mogadishu, Somalia, where a Black Hawk helicopter was shot down; two Delta Force operatives sacrificed their lives to save the pilot, later receiving the Medal of Honor. The story of the incident is told in detail in Black Hawk Down (2001)
[edit] Production
The US 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 would be used to simulate the Abrams in almost every major motion picture thereafter, with the exception of War of the Worlds. ROTC Cadets from Texas A&M University were also used in the background as extras 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 present day scenes, Matt Damon went on a strict regimen of food deprivation and physical training. 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.
