|
"The everyday consumer's guide to DVD & home theater" |
|
||||
|
Stay current with DVD movie releases, sign up for our free e-Newsletter |
|||||
|
Specifications: - Region 1 - Run time: approx. 117 min. - Subtitles: English, Spanish -
Menus: Static -
Package: Keep case Video Features:
Audio Features: - English: DTS 5.1 - English: Dolby Digital 5.1 - English: Dolby Surround - French: Dolby Surround
Bonus Materials: - Director's commentary - Featurette - Theatrical trailers (3) - TV spots (3)
Theatrical Release: 1996 DVD Release: 12/26/00 Review Date: 02/12/01
List price: $ 29.98 On-line price: $ 22.99 Pre-order price was: $ 22.99
|
|||||
| Courage
Under Fire DTS Digital Surround & Dolby Digital - THX Digitally Mastered |
|||||
 |
Starring: Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan,
Director: Edward Zwick
MPAA Rating: R Genre: Drama - Action Studio: 20th Century Fox (Fox Home Entertainment) |
||||
|
Movie: A+ Video: A+ Audio: A+ Extras: B-
Summary:
"Courage Under
Fire" is an intense action/drama about several battle
|
|||||
|
The Story
U.S. Army Lt. Colonel Nathaniel Serling (Denzel Washington) is in charge of a tank battalion in the Gulf War. One night, during an advancement, his battalion makes contact with Saddam's ground forces. During the heat of battle and fog of war, LTC Serling gives the order to shoot what turns out to be one of his own tanks. Faced with this act of fratricide and the Army's seeming attempt to cover up the incident, he breaks down emotionally and begins a drinking habit. Months afterwards, he is given an assignment at the Pentagon to investigate cases for awarding combat medals.
LTC Serling is given the case of Captain Karen Emma Walden (Meg Ryan). He travels to various U.S. Army bases to interview the men who survived Captain Walden. This case is particularly high profile since Captain Walden would be the first woman soldier to be awarded the Medal of Honor for a combat situation. As he investigates the case, it appears that Captain Walden was a strong leader and a hero although there were a few small discrepancies. Or so it seems until he interviews Sergeant Monfriez (Lou Diamond Phillips). Sergeant Monfriez tells him a rather different version of what happened. LTC Serling is further disturbed when he visits Altameyer (Seth Gilliam), who literally goes into trauma when he tries to tell his version of the story.
Deeply troubled by the discrepancies and motivated to find the truth, he tries to re-visit Ilario (Matt Damon) and Sergeant Monfriez. Ilario goes AWOL, while Sergeant Monfriez reacts quite negatively. Let's just say that Sergeant Monfriez "derailed" when the Lt. Colonel pressed him for some answers. LTC Serling eventually finds the truth he is seeking when he finds Ilario again. The truth is deeply troubling but has to be told in honor of Captain Walden. In uncovering the truth of the incident at Al Kufan, LTC Serling may find the strength to face the truth which may set him free of the guilt of the fratricide incident at Al Bathra.
Denzel Washington gives an awesome performance, as did other members of the all-star cast including Meg Ryan, Lou Diamon Phillips, and Matt Damon. Matt Damon actually lost weight during the film's production to portray his character, Ilario. Ilario loses considerable weight after the incident at Al Kufan. Just study his face. It is much bonier in structure during the scenes when LTC Serling conducts his investigation of the incident.
Video & Audio
The image quality of this anamorphic widescreen DVD is excellent. The colors are accurate and saturated, while shadow details are well rendered. This DVD comes with a number of soundtracks, including both DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1. Both 5.1-channel surround sound formats are well balanced, effective, and aggressively used. In the frequent flashback scenes to the incident at Al Kufan, the surround channels are aggressively used to put you right in the middle of the action, with bullets and explosions all around you. I prefer the DTS soundtrack -- it simply sounds better. The DTS mix is spectacular in the battle scenes, with ample use of the low frequency effects (LFE) channel that pays tribute to the awesome sound effects of the battle sequences.
Recommendation
"Courage Under Fire" is a gripping and intense action/drama centered about several incidences in the Gulf War. It is another military action blockbuster from director Edward Zwick (director of "The Siege"). I highly recommend this movie and this particular DVD version.
Buy the "Courage Under Fire" DVD at: Support
this site: buy through our links. |
|||||
|
|
|
||||
|
Rent
it at NetFlix.com
(Sign up for
NetFlix.com "Unlimited" DVD Rental Service Visit the "Courage Under Fire" web site and the Fox Movies web site.
Did you find this DVD movie review helpful? Let us know your thoughts, send an e-mail to us at Feedback@TimeForDVD.com.
Support this site: when you buy online, please start at this site and click through the links above or through these links: Express.com, Amazon.com, BigStar.com, 800.com, Buy.com, Barnes&Nobles.com, and hifi.com. Click here to see a complete list of affiliated on-line merchants. Thanks, we sincerely appreciate your support. |
|||||
|
E-mail: Editor@TimeForDVD.com Copyright © 2000-2001 TimeForDVD.com Web site created by: lama Internet Solutions |
Read our Terms of Use and Disclaimer and Privacy Policy Site optimized for 800x600 screen resolution Print at 85% scale factor |
||||
