Hart's War

"Beyond courage, beyond honor."

2002 2h 5m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 1,112

DramaWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When Col. William McNamara is stripped of his freedom in a German POW camp, he's determined to keep on fighting even from behind enemy lines. Enlisting the help of a young lieutenant in a brilliant plot against his captors, McNamara risks everything on a mission to free his men and change the outcome of the war.

“Beyond courage, beyond honor.”

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Cast

Bruce Willis
Col. William A. McNamara
Colin Farrell
Lt. Thomas W. Hart
Terrence Howard
Lt. Lincoln A. Scott
Marcel Iureș
Col. Werner Visser
Cole Hauser
Staff Sgt. Vic W. Bedford
Linus Roache
Capt. Peter A. Ross
Vicellous Shannon
Lt. Lamar T. Archer
Rory Cochrane
Sgt. Carl S. Webb

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gregory Hoblit
Writers: Billy Ray, Terry George
Languages: German, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $70M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 46% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 24 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: German, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Gregory Hoblit, shot by Alar Kivilo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Rachel Portman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor David Rosenbloom shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Bruce Willis and Colin Farrell and Terrence Howard carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gregory Hoblit directs. Alar Kivilo behind the camera. Rachel Portman scores. David Rosenbloom cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in German, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $70M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Earned back only 46% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 24 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: German, English.
5Directed by Gregory Hoblit, shot by Alar Kivilo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Rachel Portman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor David Rosenbloom shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Bruce Willis and Colin Farrell and Terrence Howard carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Beyond courage, beyond honor.".
10IMDB entry: tt0251114 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 11 themes, including "escape", "world war ii", "prisoner of war", "us army".

The technical file

Cinematography: Alar Kivilo
Original score: Rachel Portman
Editing: David Rosenbloom
Production design: Lilly Kilvert
Costume design: Elisabetta Beraldo
Makeup / hair: Gerald Quist
VFX supervisor: John T. Van Vliet
Sound: Gary Summers
Stunt coordinator: Bud Davis
Runtime: 125 min · 2h 5m
Status: Released
Budget: $70,000,000
Box office: $32,287,044
Return: 46% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Hart's War (2002)

Also by

Gregory Hoblit

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2018-05-31
★ 8/10
Like Hogan's Heroes but serious and quasi-realistic RELEASED IN 2002 and directed by Gregory Hoblit, "Hart's War" is a war flick about a paper-pushing lieutenant with a background in law (Colin Farrell) who is unexpectedly captured in Belgium and taken to a POW camp in southern Germany in the closing months of the European theater of the war. He eventually befriends and defends a Tuskegee Airmen (Terrence Howard). Marcel Iures plays the humane German commandant while Bruce Willis plays the tough-as-nails American colonel of the POWs. Cole Hauser is on hand as a racist soldier. This is obviously not a conventional WWII flick. Although it starts out with some great war action, it has more in common with films like "Stalag 17" (1953) and "The Great Escape" (1963), albeit with modern filmmaking craft. As my title blurb points out, it's reminiscent of Hogan's Heroes but without the comedy, plus elements of “A Few Good Men” (1992). The film isn't really about survival in the POW camp, but rather the tensions of the prisoners and the criminal drama. Some have complained that no fascist camp colonel in his right mind would allow such a trial as depicted in the movie. But there are several reasons why the commandant would allow it: (1.) for entertainment, (2.) to witness and understand the American way, (3.) he knew the war would be over soon and wanted to have the Allie's favor, or (4.) a mixture of the above. Keep in mind that the commandant went to school in the US after the first world war so he was enamored by American lifestyle and had a fondness for jazz. I'm sure entertainment was a huge factor since POW camp life is just as boring for the captors as it is for the captives over time. The climax telegraphs that this is a war MOVIE and not real life, but it's packed with action and gripping drama. It’s also ultimately quite moving. Although it failed at the box office, "Hart's War" is a very good WWII POW camp movie and, in some ways, great. THE FILM RUNS 125 minutes and was shot in the Czech Republic. GRADE: B+/A-

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