Plot
A law student becomes a lieutenant during World War II, is captured and asked to defend a black prisoner of war falsely accused of murder.

Release Year: 2002

Rating: 6.2/10 (25,472 voted)

Critic's Score: 49/100

Director: Gregory Hoblit

Stars: Bruce Willis, Colin Farrell, Terrence Howard

Storyline
Fourth-generation Army Col. William McNamara is imprisoned in a brutal German POW camp. Still, as the senior-ranking American officer, he commands his fellow inmates, keeping a sense of honor alive in a place where honor is easy to destroy, all under the dangerous eye of the Luftwafe vetran Col. Wilhelm Visser. Never giving up the fight to win the war, McNamara is silently planning, waiting for his moment to strike back at the enemy. A murder in the camp gives him the chance to set a risky plan in motion. With a court martial to keep Visser and the Germans distracted, McNamara orchestrates a cunning scheme to escape and destroy a nearby munitions plant, enlisting the unwitting help of young Lt. Tommy Hart. Together with his men, McNamara uses a hero's resolve to carry out his mission, ultimately forced to weigh the value of his life against the good of his country.

Writers: John Katzenbach, Billy Ray

Cast:
Bruce Willis - Col. William A. McNamara
Colin Farrell - Lt. Thomas W. Hart
Terrence Howard - Lt. Lincoln A. Scott
Cole Hauser - Staff Sgt. Vic W. Bedford
Marcel Iures - Col. Werner Visser
Linus Roache - Capt. Peter A. Ross
Vicellous Reon Shannon - Lt. Lamar T. Archer (as Vicellous Shannon)
Maury Sterling - Pfc. Dennis A. Gerber
Sam Jaeger - Capt. R.G. Sisk
Scott Michael Campbell - Cpl. Joe S. Cromin
Rory Cochrane - Sgt. Carl S. Webb
Sebastian Tillinger - Pvt. Bert D. 'Moose' Codman
Rick Ravanello - Maj. Joe Clary
Adrian Grenier - Pvt. Daniel E. Abrams
Michael Weston - Pfc. W. Roy Potts

Taglines: Germany 1944. For some the war has ended. For colonel William McNamara, it has not ended. For Lieutenant Thomas Hart... It has just begun.

Official Website: Hart's War Official WebSite |

Release Date: 15 February 2002

Filming Locations: Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic

Box Office Details

Budget: $60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend: $8,907,413 (USA) (17 February 2002) (2459 Screens)

Gross: $32,286,000 (Worldwide) (2002)

Runtime: 125 min

Trivia:
The whole Super 35 film was scanned by a Spirit Datacine at "2K" resolution (1920*1459 actual pixels, over sampled by 1/15 to true 2K) and digitally color-graded at Cinesite LA. The film was then digitally squeezed and output by Cineon Lightning laser recorders to anamorphic inter-negatives for release printing.

Goofs:
Continuity: When we first see Lt. Thomas W. Hart at the map board he is wearing Captain's bars. These change in the next scene to the correct insignia.

Quotes:
[Lt. Hart offers condolences upon learning that Col. Visser's own son was killed in action on the Russian Front]
Col. Werner Visser: I killed my share of French and English in the last war; All of *them* had fathers.

Hart's War or McNamara's Band?

Rating:

If one were to place too great an emphasis on many of the smug and self-serving views expressed by various contributors here, it may well appear somewhat of an enigma that HART'S WAR still rates 6.3 overall. Obviously many who have voted have not posted a review. Equally obviously, to offset its many detractors...a significant number of people must have liked it. I'm one of them!

Let us agree immediately, anyone looking for a sequel to THE GUNS OF NAVARONE can expect to be disappointed. A screen adaptation of John Katzenbach's excellent novel, this late WW2 flick tackles racism, POW life and honor...and not necessarily in that order. A re-hash of the plot is unnecessary as every second reviewer has covered this aspect. It is a film to LISTEN to and to take from it what you are able. Negative comments such that the events portrayed are "unlikely," that Bruce Willis isn't the "star," that "nothing happens except lots of people keep talking," are a sad indictment of viewers with a limited attention span. A lot of what is uttered during the "court-room" sequences has great relevance in all facets of life - IF you care to listen. Farrell is excellent as is Willis in what admittedly IS a far smaller role. Willis' presence however is felt throughout the movie in much the same way as was Jack Nicholson's in A FEW GOOD MEN. (Another military court room flick)

Yes its longish and it would be fair to say it is extremely dark for the greater part of the film. It is ultimately though a worthwhile addition to other POW films. You could do a lot worse.

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