Courage Under Fire Movie Review 1996

Army Lt. Col. Nat Serling (Washington) is unexpectedly assigned to review the candidacy of Capt. Karen Emma Walden (Ryan, seen only in flashbacks) to receive the posthumous Medal of Honor for bravery in combat. A Gulf War Medevac pilot, Walden would be the first woman awarded the honor if Serling can figure out the truth from her surviving crew's wildly conflicting reports. Ironically, Serling's dealing with a guilt complex since four members of his tank unit died in the war under friendly fire. Stellar performances, including a frightening one by Phillips. Based on the novel by Duncan, who also did the screenplay; Washington and director Zwick previously worked together on "Glory."

Distribution

Fox Home Entertainment, PO Box 900, Beverly Hills, CA 90213, Phone: (310)369-3900, Toll-free: 888-223-4FOX, Fax: (310)369-5811, URL: http://www.foxmovies.com/index1.html, Remarks: Also known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 120 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Military: Army, Women, Persian Gulf War, Flashback, Death & the Afterlife, Women in War, Top Grossing Films of 1996, Survival, Suicide, Trains, Postwar, Rescue Missions

Screenplay

Patrick Sheane Duncan

Cast

Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Matt Damon, Lou Diamond Phillips, Michael Moriarty, Scott Glenn, Bronson Pinchot, Seth Gilliam, Sean Astin, Regina Taylor, Tim Guinee, Ken Jenkins, Kathleen Widdoes, Zeljko Ivanek, Tim Ransom, Ned Vaughn

Cinematography

Roger Deakins

Director

Edward Zwick

Music

James Horner

Producer

John Davis, David T. Friendly, Joseph M. Singer, Joseph M. Caracciolo, Debra Martin Chase, 20th Century-Fox