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When Trumpets Fade (1998)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 2/25

TrumpF
2/25: When Trumpets Fade...what a great title for a war picture.

It's not often a director made something that nearly beat the pants off an outstanding movie, but John Irvin did it through Hamburger Hill. Many Vietnam vets had swore it's more accurate than Platoon. Hence, I had my expectations set to high entering When Trumpets Fade, and most of them were easily met.

Almost no war film ever shows severed limbs and an assortment of injuries on the battlefield. But this one does in a big way. Ditto for extreme cowardice which resulted in a man being instantly killed by his fellow soldier. Combat stress is harped on, forcing a survivor to try to Section 8 himself out of the situation ASAP because he feels he had done enough fighting. To add insult to injury, somebody doesn't believe him as an experienced soldier.

If there's a negative, it's the way everybody talks. So much profanity for WWII. I don't believe it for a second. The writer of the screenplay is W.W. Vought, and it's original, not having been adapted from anything. Had it was, I would've been interested in reading the book just to ascertain if the dialogue was indeed credible. Some reviewers joked about the explosions as if they were done with fireworks. I get it, but it's not a distraction anyway.

The performances are generally good, but it's Ron Eldard, a Tim Roth lookalike, who steals the show. I won't be surprised if this is the film that led him to being cast in Black Hawk Down. One thing I learned about the Siegfried Line is that it was nicknamed "dragon's teeth" for the purpose of stopping tanks from crossing over. Meanwhile, the cinematography, shot on location in Hungary, looks very realistic.

As for the fighting, it took place during the Battle of Hürtgen Forest in the final four months of 1944 that was more costly to the Allied side than the Germans', resulting in between 33,000 and 55,000 casualties compared to their 28,000. Eventually, it was determined that the Germans had won decisively, and the whole thing was forgotten for good when the Battle of the Bulge began to take over despite being the longest ever fought on German soil in WWII history. Many came to view the Allied tactics during the Battle of Hürtgen Forest disastrous.

All in all, despite the modernness, When Trumpets Fade is the Hamburger Hill of WWII pictures.