Hart's War
Encyclopedia
Hart's War is a 2002
film about a World War II
prisoner of war
(POW) based on the novel
by John Katzenbach
starring Bruce Willis
, Colin Farrell
, Terrence Howard
and Marcel Iureş
. The film, directed by Gregory Hoblit
, was shot at Barrandov Studios
in Prague
, and released on 15 February 2002.
, December 16, 1944: First Lieutenant Thomas Hart (Farrell) is captured by German
commandos during the opening of the Battle of the Bulge
.
Taken to a local prison, his boots are confiscated and he is left naked in a cell. Threatened with frostbite
and pneumonia
, he is coerced into divulging intelligence to his German interrogator.
He and many other Americans are later transferred by train to a prisoner of war camp. While en route, a flight of P-51 Mustang
s attack the station. Since the painted letters POW on the top of the train are covered by thick snow, the Mustangs fire on the train, causing some of the POWs to be killed by friendly fire
. To save themselves, the POWs leave the train, spell POW with their bodies, and prevent further strafing.
After arriving at the camp, Hart is debriefed by the ranking American officer, Colonel William McNamara (Willis). When McNamara asks if he cooperated with the Germans after he was captured, Hart denies it. McNamara knows this to be a lie, since he knows Hart was held for three days after seeing only a Level 1 interrogator. He does not reveal this to Hart and sends him to bunk in a barracks for enlisted men, rather than allow him to bunk with the other officers.
Two Tuskegee Airmen
are brought to the camp, Second Lieutenants, Lincoln A. Scott (Terrence Howard
) and Lamar T. Archer (Vicellous Reon Shannon
). They are the only blacks in the camp, and their situation is compounded by their status as officers. Staff Sergeant
Vic W. Bedford (Cole Hauser
), a vicious racist
, is their primary antagonist.
Later, a tent spike, which could be used as a weapon, is found in Archer's bunk. The Germans drag him out and shoot him, claiming that he was trying to escape. Directly after that, a radio used by the Americans to receive coded messages via the BBC
is found and destroyed.
Bedford is himself later found dead. Scott is seen standing over the body and is accused of killing him in revenge for Bedford framing Archer. A law student at Yale
before the war, Hart is appointed by McNamara to defend the accused pilot at his court-martial
, a trial to which the camp commandant, Oberst Werner Visser (Marcel Iureş
), agrees.
Visser gives Hart a manual on US Army court-martial
proceedings, furthering the conflict between him and McNamara when he uses the rule book to question the Colonel's conducting of the trial. On the witness stand, the angered Scott gives an emotional address on the treatment of blacks like himself who joined up to serve their country with honor but are treated with disrespect in return.
Late one night, Hart notices a fellow POW acting suspiciously and follows him to a room behind the theater where the trial is taking place. There he discovers a tunnel being dug. McNamara reveals to Hart that the "defense", like the trial itself, is a sham, an elaborate distraction to hide a planned escape and attack on a nearby ammunition plant which the Allies
mistakenly believe to be a shoe factory. It is revealed that Bedford planted the spike in Archer's bunk, and, in return for the guards executing him for it, gave them the location of the secret radio. It is also revealed that Bedford planned to escape with forged German documents, money and clothes, likely in return for telling the Germans about McNamara's plan. McNamara realized this and killed Bedford to prevent it.
Hart is shocked that McNamara as a senior officer would sacrifice fellow Americans to perpetuate this. McNamara reminds Hart that they are at war, and in war sometimes one man must be sacrificed to save the lives of many. Hart acknowledges this, but retorts that it is McNamara's duty to ensure that he, not Scott, is the sacrifice. Disgusted, McNamara says that Hart knows nothing about duty, in reference to how Hart gave in to a Level 1 interrogator after three days, whereas McNamara was torture
d for a month.
On the last day of the trial, McNamara and 34 others feign food poisoning in order to be excused from the closing arguments. They then slip down the escape tunnel. As he is about to go down, McNamara overhears Hart's closing speech. In order to save Scott, Hart announces that he killed Bedford.
Visser orders everyone out and announces that Hart will be shot there and then. After the head count is short by 35 prisoners, Visser suspects an escape plot and locates the tunnel. Now fully aware of the deception, he furiously orders everybody at the trial to be shot as well. But before the sentence is carried out, McNamara, moved by Hart's selfless sacrifice, voluntarily returns to the camp to accept responsibility. At that moment the factory blows up and the other escapees scatter away.
Visser holds McNamara accountable and personally executes him on the spot, sparing the remaining prisoners. Hart leads the salute to McNamara's dead body. Three months later, the German army surrenders to the Allies and the prison camp is liberated.
In addition, several actors had their scenes cut from the final take. Most notable among these was Jonathan Brandis
, whose disappointment was believed by friends to have contributed to his suicide in 2003.
who survives being shot down in 1942, but feels guilt over the loss of the rest of his crew.
2002 in film
The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...
film about a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
(POW) based on the novel
Hart's War (novel)
Hart's War is a novel by John Katzenbach, first published in 1999. It is about POWs in World War II. The movie of the same name, starring Bruce Willis, was produced in 2002.The film also starred Colin Farrell enacting Lieutenant Thomas Hart....
by John Katzenbach
John Katzenbach
John Katzenbach is a U.S. author of popular fiction. Son of Nicholas Katzenbach, former United States Attorney General, John worked as a criminal court reporter for the Miami Herald and Miami News , and a featured writer for the Herald’s Tropic magazine...
starring Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
, Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell
Colin James Farrell is an Irish actor, who has appeared in such film as Tigerland, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, The Recruit, Alexander and S.W.A.T....
, Terrence Howard
Terrence Howard
Terrence Dashon Howard is an American actor. Having his first major role in the 1995 film Mr. Holland's Opus, which subsequently led to a number of roles in films and high visibility among African American audiences. Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of well-reviewed television...
and Marcel Iureş
Marcel Iures
Marcel Iureş is a Romanian stage and screen actor.Iureş was born 2 August 1951 in Băileşti, Romania and is one of Romania's most acclaimed stage and film actors. Iureş entered the Institutul de Arta Teatrala si Cinematografica in Bucharest in 1974 and graduated in 1978...
. The film, directed by Gregory Hoblit
Gregory Hoblit
Gregory King Hoblit is an American Hollywood film director and TV producer.Hoblit was born in Abilene, Texas, the son of Elizabeth Hubbard King and Harold Foster Hoblit, an FBI agent. Much of Hoblit's work is oriented towards police, attorneys, and legal cases...
, was shot at Barrandov Studios
Barrandov Studios
Barrandov Studios is a famous set of film studios in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe.Several of the movies filmed there won Academy Awards...
in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, and released on 15 February 2002.
Plot
BelgiumBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, December 16, 1944: First Lieutenant Thomas Hart (Farrell) is captured by German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
commandos during the opening of the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
.
Taken to a local prison, his boots are confiscated and he is left naked in a cell. Threatened with frostbite
Frostbite
Frostbite is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to extreme cold. Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas...
and pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
, he is coerced into divulging intelligence to his German interrogator.
He and many other Americans are later transferred by train to a prisoner of war camp. While en route, a flight of P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
s attack the station. Since the painted letters POW on the top of the train are covered by thick snow, the Mustangs fire on the train, causing some of the POWs to be killed by friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
. To save themselves, the POWs leave the train, spell POW with their bodies, and prevent further strafing.
After arriving at the camp, Hart is debriefed by the ranking American officer, Colonel William McNamara (Willis). When McNamara asks if he cooperated with the Germans after he was captured, Hart denies it. McNamara knows this to be a lie, since he knows Hart was held for three days after seeing only a Level 1 interrogator. He does not reveal this to Hart and sends him to bunk in a barracks for enlisted men, rather than allow him to bunk with the other officers.
Two Tuskegee Airmen
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps....
are brought to the camp, Second Lieutenants, Lincoln A. Scott (Terrence Howard
Terrence Howard
Terrence Dashon Howard is an American actor. Having his first major role in the 1995 film Mr. Holland's Opus, which subsequently led to a number of roles in films and high visibility among African American audiences. Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of well-reviewed television...
) and Lamar T. Archer (Vicellous Reon Shannon
Vicellous Reon Shannon
Vicellous Reon Shannon is an American actor.Shannon is a native of Memphis, Tennessee. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Lesra Martin in the 1999 film The Hurricane, and Keith Palmer, the son of presidential candidate David Palmer in the Fox television series 24...
). They are the only blacks in the camp, and their situation is compounded by their status as officers. Staff Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.-Australia:...
Vic W. Bedford (Cole Hauser
Cole Hauser
Cole Kenneth Hauser is an American film and television actor.-Family background:Hauser was born in Santa Barbara, California, son of Cass Warner, who founded the film production company Warner Sisters, and actor Wings Hauser. His paternal grandfather was Academy Award-winning screenwriter Dwight...
), a vicious racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, is their primary antagonist.
Later, a tent spike, which could be used as a weapon, is found in Archer's bunk. The Germans drag him out and shoot him, claiming that he was trying to escape. Directly after that, a radio used by the Americans to receive coded messages via the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
is found and destroyed.
Bedford is himself later found dead. Scott is seen standing over the body and is accused of killing him in revenge for Bedford framing Archer. A law student at Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
before the war, Hart is appointed by McNamara to defend the accused pilot at his court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
, a trial to which the camp commandant, Oberst Werner Visser (Marcel Iureş
Marcel Iures
Marcel Iureş is a Romanian stage and screen actor.Iureş was born 2 August 1951 in Băileşti, Romania and is one of Romania's most acclaimed stage and film actors. Iureş entered the Institutul de Arta Teatrala si Cinematografica in Bucharest in 1974 and graduated in 1978...
), agrees.
Visser gives Hart a manual on US Army court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
proceedings, furthering the conflict between him and McNamara when he uses the rule book to question the Colonel's conducting of the trial. On the witness stand, the angered Scott gives an emotional address on the treatment of blacks like himself who joined up to serve their country with honor but are treated with disrespect in return.
Late one night, Hart notices a fellow POW acting suspiciously and follows him to a room behind the theater where the trial is taking place. There he discovers a tunnel being dug. McNamara reveals to Hart that the "defense", like the trial itself, is a sham, an elaborate distraction to hide a planned escape and attack on a nearby ammunition plant which the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
mistakenly believe to be a shoe factory. It is revealed that Bedford planted the spike in Archer's bunk, and, in return for the guards executing him for it, gave them the location of the secret radio. It is also revealed that Bedford planned to escape with forged German documents, money and clothes, likely in return for telling the Germans about McNamara's plan. McNamara realized this and killed Bedford to prevent it.
Hart is shocked that McNamara as a senior officer would sacrifice fellow Americans to perpetuate this. McNamara reminds Hart that they are at war, and in war sometimes one man must be sacrificed to save the lives of many. Hart acknowledges this, but retorts that it is McNamara's duty to ensure that he, not Scott, is the sacrifice. Disgusted, McNamara says that Hart knows nothing about duty, in reference to how Hart gave in to a Level 1 interrogator after three days, whereas McNamara was torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d for a month.
On the last day of the trial, McNamara and 34 others feign food poisoning in order to be excused from the closing arguments. They then slip down the escape tunnel. As he is about to go down, McNamara overhears Hart's closing speech. In order to save Scott, Hart announces that he killed Bedford.
Visser orders everyone out and announces that Hart will be shot there and then. After the head count is short by 35 prisoners, Visser suspects an escape plot and locates the tunnel. Now fully aware of the deception, he furiously orders everybody at the trial to be shot as well. But before the sentence is carried out, McNamara, moved by Hart's selfless sacrifice, voluntarily returns to the camp to accept responsibility. At that moment the factory blows up and the other escapees scatter away.
Visser holds McNamara accountable and personally executes him on the spot, sparing the remaining prisoners. Hart leads the salute to McNamara's dead body. Three months later, the German army surrenders to the Allies and the prison camp is liberated.
Cast
- Bruce WillisBruce WillisWalter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
- Colonel William A. McNamara - Colin FarrellColin FarrellColin James Farrell is an Irish actor, who has appeared in such film as Tigerland, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, The Recruit, Alexander and S.W.A.T....
- 1st Lieutenant Thomas W. Hart - Terrence HowardTerrence HowardTerrence Dashon Howard is an American actor. Having his first major role in the 1995 film Mr. Holland's Opus, which subsequently led to a number of roles in films and high visibility among African American audiences. Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of well-reviewed television...
- 2nd Lieutenant Lincoln A. Scott - Cole HauserCole HauserCole Kenneth Hauser is an American film and television actor.-Family background:Hauser was born in Santa Barbara, California, son of Cass Warner, who founded the film production company Warner Sisters, and actor Wings Hauser. His paternal grandfather was Academy Award-winning screenwriter Dwight...
- Staff Sergeant Vic W. Bedford - Marcel IureşMarcel IuresMarcel Iureş is a Romanian stage and screen actor.Iureş was born 2 August 1951 in Băileşti, Romania and is one of Romania's most acclaimed stage and film actors. Iureş entered the Institutul de Arta Teatrala si Cinematografica in Bucharest in 1974 and graduated in 1978...
- Obst. Werner Visser - Linus RoacheLinus RoacheLinus William Roache is an English actor.-Early life:Roache was born in Manchester, the son of Coronation Street actor William Roache and actress Anna Cropper. Roache was educated at Bishop Luffa Church of England School in Chichester, West Sussex and at the independent Rydal School in Colwyn Bay,...
- Captain Peter A. Ross - Vicellous Reon ShannonVicellous Reon ShannonVicellous Reon Shannon is an American actor.Shannon is a native of Memphis, Tennessee. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Lesra Martin in the 1999 film The Hurricane, and Keith Palmer, the son of presidential candidate David Palmer in the Fox television series 24...
- 2nd Lieutenant Lamar T. Archer - Maury SterlingMaury SterlingMaury Sterling is an American actor. He is best known for playing Rafferty in the comedy film Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Lester Tremor in the action film Smokin' Aces.-Life and career:...
- Private First Class Dennis A. Gerber - Sam JaegerSam JaegerSamuel Heath Jaeger is an American actor and screenwriter.Jaeger graduated from Perrysburg High School in 1995 and in 1999, he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at Otterbein College...
- Captain R. G. Sisk - Scott Michael Campbell - Corporal. Joe S. Cromin
- Rory CochraneRory CochraneRory Cochrane is an American actor. He is known for playing Ron Slater in Dazed and Confused, Lucas in Empire Records, and Tim Speedle in CSI: Miami.-Early life:...
- Sergeant Carl S. Webb - Sebastian Tillinger - Private Bert D. "Moose" Codman
- Rick RavanelloRick RavanelloRick Ravanello is a Canadian actor who has appeared in several television series and movies.One of several brothers, Ravenello was raised in the Trout Brook Road area of Mira, Cape Breton, and graduated from Riverview Rural High School in 1986.-Filmography:-Guest appearances:*In Justice playing...
- Major Joe Clary - Adrian GrenierAdrian GrenierAdrian Grenier is an American actor, musician and director. He is best known for his lead role on the HBO original series, Entourage, as Vincent Chase.-Early life:...
- Private Daniel E. Abrams - Sam WorthingtonSam WorthingtonSamuel Henry J. "Sam" Worthington is an English born, Australian actor. After almost a decade of roles in Australian TV shows and films, Worthington gained Hollywood's attention by playing Marcus Wright in Terminator Salvation and the lead role, Jake Sully, in James Cameron's science...
- Cpl. B.J. 'Depot' Guidry
In addition, several actors had their scenes cut from the final take. Most notable among these was Jonathan Brandis
Jonathan Brandis
Jonathan Gregory Brandis was an American actor, director, and screenwriter.-Early life and career:Brandis was born in Danbury, Connecticut, the only child of Mary, a teacher and personal manager, and Gregory Brandis, a food distributor and firefighter. He began his career as a child model and...
, whose disappointment was believed by friends to have contributed to his suicide in 2003.
Differences from the novel
The film changes some of the novel's story. The main one is that in the book, Hart is a navigatorNavigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to...
who survives being shot down in 1942, but feels guilt over the loss of the rest of his crew.
External links
- Hart's War (book synopsis) at The Mystery Reader