Hart's War

Starring: Bruce Willis, Colin Farrel
Director: Gregory Hoblit

Rating: R

Review Posted: 7.19.02

By John Teves.

Fourth generation military Col. William McNamara (Bruce Willis) is imprisoned in a German POW camp. Still, as the camp's highest-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, ever-watchful eye of German Col. Werner Visser (Marcel Iures). Never relinquishing his duty as a soldier, 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 German guards distracted, McNamara orchestrates a cunning scheme to escape and destroy a nearby munitions plant, enlisting the unwitting help of young Lt. Tommy Hart (Colin Farrell). 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 men and his country.

I thought Hart’s War was extraordinary. It’s not a war movie, aside from what you see in the trailer; the action is minimal, whereas character interaction and courtroom drama constitutes most of the movie. The film is about honor, racism, and redemption. The film strength bides on communication rather than combat and the film is influential because of it. The movie is promising and engaging, but suffers plot lapses. In the way of plot, Hart's War is divided; one element somewhat dramatic and exciting and another element somewhat drab. Hart's War gives Farrell the chance to outshine in the role of Lt. Hart and successfully allows him to show off his lead quality. Willis provides his “trademark smirk” and a credible acting presentation; his commanding role works well. Hart’s War is a solid film with an authentic traditional feel.

>Read Dan Peters' Film Review!

Hart’s War appears in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on this double-sided DVD; the film has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. The image looked first class. Sharpness was superb. The film stayed crisp and detailed; no concerns with jagged edges, but there were a couple of scenes containing edge enhancement. Colors were tangible. Black levels looked dense and rich, while shadow detail was thick but not too dark. Hart’s War presented a very pleasing image.

Hart’s War is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. The mix worked well. The sound was very broad and engaging, with some excellent stereo separation. The front three channels often displayed discrete audio that opened up the spectrum delightfully and brought the action to life. Rear channels kicked in accurately during the action scenes. Audio quality was excellent. Dialogue was natural, with no issues related to irritability. Music score was brilliant and deep. Special effects presented themselves accurately and presented a good impact when necessary.

Extras:

• Commentary by Director Gregory Hoblit, Actor Bruce Willis and Screenwriter Billy Ray
  >The DVD promises a commentary by Willis yet he hardly speaks. In fact, his comments come from selected bits of interviews which are sliced in-between the real commentary that features Hoblit and Ray. They are easy to listen to and have quite a few interested things to say.

• Commentary by Producer David Foster

• Deleted Scenes With Director's Commentary
  >Hoblit acknowledges the fact that he doesn't speak much during these scenes, but he reasons that he's seeing these again after taking them out a while ago. These scenes were cut for time, but add more to the film had they remained in the film.

• Photo Gallery
  >Choose from four different galleries, including "the poster shoot" -- which looks kind of silly.

• Theatrical Trailers (Hart's War, Windtalkers)

The DVD is not as good as it could have been, especially since a behind-the-scenes featurette is missing.

EXTRAS reviewed by Dennis Landmann.

Overall, I felt Hart’s War benefited from it’s solid acting performance from Farrell. Hart’s War is not for everyone, but it’s still a delightful and charming film nonetheless. MGM provides superb picture and sound with this DVD presentation. Hart’s War is a DVD well worth your time and money. Highly recommended.

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