Hart's War (2002)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I have to confess that one of the main reasons I was anxious to see Hart's War was because I was in the Czech Republic when it was being filmed there. I had hoped for glorious images of the beautiful countryside that I had seen last May. Because the majority of the film takes place in a POW camp (therefore a studio set) there is very little of the Czech landscape to be seen in this film. The film does offer a view of the American landscape from the not-so-distant past by focusing on racial conflict among U.S. military personnel during World War II.I had expected a film in the tradition of Stalag 17 or The Great Escape. While there are elements of these films here, the heart of the film is closer to A Soldier's Story or Men of Honor. The film actually weaves together several different stories and is part hero's quest, part racial conflict, part courtroom drama, and part POW film. It is to the credit of director Gregory Hoblit (not Hobbit-different film) that the different threads come together reasonably well.Initially, the film is about Captain Hart (Colin Farrell) and the circumstances surrounding his arrival at the POW camp. Because of a conflict with the senior officer (Bruce Willis) among the POW's, he is placed in a barracks with the enlisted men. He is just getting to know them and win their trust when two more officers are placed in the barracks-two black pilots who are part of the Tuskegee Airmen. The other enlisted men resent their presence there and the racial tension results in a betrayal, a murder, and ultimately the framing of an innocent man.At the heart of the film is the irony of the U.S. involvement in fighting the evil perpetrators of the holocaust while tolerating "ethnic cleansing" at home in the U.S. In one of the more powerful scenes, one of the black officers tells the story of watching German POW's in the US being escorted into movie theaters where blacks were not allowed-not even blacks training to be Tuskegee airmen.The acting in the film was very good and the visual elements were solid. The Rachel Portman score added just the right touches at just the right times. There are points where the drama is a bit contrived, and I have mixed feelings about the twists and turns at the end of the film. On the whole, however, if your only other options are a seventh viewing of Lord of the Rings, yet another thoughtless shoot-em-up, or Britney Spears in her screen debut, Hart's War is definitely worth a look.

"Hart's War" is a WW II Prisoner of War film based on a novel by John Katzenbach. The film apparently differs quite a bit from the book. It isn't the equal of "Stalag 17" of 1953 or "The Great Escape" of 1963. But it comes close, and it introduces a couple of new aspects rarely covered in POW films. Those are interrogation before prisoner assignment to a POW camp, and racism among the American prisoners. The cliché – all is not what it seems, surely applies to this film. Hart's War is a gripping war movie about the Allied prisoners in a Nazi POW camp. I think it does rival "Stalag 17" for intensity and intrigue. The situations are somewhat different, especially with the racism aspect. It's a solid, dramatic story that includes several issues -- patriotism, freedom, brotherhood, race, betrayal, sacrifice, murder and military leadership. And that's just among the prisoners. The Germans who run the camp don't stand out beyond the commandant. This is a great story that to the very end may have you in doubt, as it did me. Had I known the outcome before watching this movie, I wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much. So, I recommend that those who haven't seen it yet not read reviews that give the plot away. The best appreciation of this film comes from seeing it through the eyes of Colin Farrell's character. As the movie unfolds, we see and associate with his feelings, his dismay, his confusion, his anger and his disbelief. "Harts War" is a powerful statement about honor, courage, integrity and leadership. No one can ever forget the ending. The cast excel throughout the film. Bruce Willis is the ranking Allied POW – Col. William McNamara. Farrell is the newly arrived POW, Lt. Thomas Hart. Romanian actor Marcel Iures is camp commandant, Col. Werner Visser. Terrence Howard is Lt. Lincoln Scott. Each stands out in his role, and the rest of the cast are superb. This movie makes an excellent 21st century addition for any serious World War II film library.

This is one of the most disappointing movies I have ever seen, the reason I say this is because it started out really awesome and then slowly turned into a terrible movie that is totally forgettable. I would say that the movie is actually really good up to the point when the African-American prisoners are brought into the prisoner of war camp and then what started out as a really interesting movie about the conditions of POW's in WWII turns into some kind of misguided statement about racism. In the end, I couldn't really understand what kind of statement or message this movie was trying to make. On the one hand it seemed to be about the inequality of US soldiers during WWII but on the other hand that whole thing was just a cover-up for some clandestine sabotage operation. The ending was completely unbelievable but by that point I didn't care because I wanted to watch a "War" movie not a courtroom drama about racism that was just a sideshow to hide an operation that no one, watching the movie, knows about until the very end(and it wasn't one of those "wow, what a cool endings" either, it was just a "WTF just happened?" ending that was stupid. I seriously doubt that this movie was an accurate portrayal of how POW's, even of different races, would treat one another.Conclusion, to make a long post even longer ;), This movie starts out really good and you think you are about to see a really awesome WWII movie but instead you have been tricked and what you end up with is a boring courtroom drama that in then in is completely meaningless because it was just a cover-up for some larger goal, and top off the stupidity the unarmed Bruce Willis character walks unopposed back into the prison camp, through the front gate...seriously, and basically let's himself get killed. This movie makes me mad because from the beginning you can tell this thing had potential and then someone, I guess the writers and director just quit caring about making sense and just told a complete fiction and nothing even remotely close to a good fictional WWII movie like "Inglorious Basterds".

Amid the heavy snows of the winter of 1944, near the Ardennes forests of what would later be called the 'Malmedy Massacre' lay the quiet, frozen bodies of 150 dead American soldiers murdered by the Sixth SS Panzer Army. Other Americans who survived were captured by Wehrmacht forces and sent to one of a dozen German P.O.W. camps. It was in one of these camps that Lt. Thomas Hart (Colin Farrell) and others are sent for internment. Here amid the growing number of captured Prisoners, he is introduced to Col. William McNamara (Bruce Willis) a serious, disheartened West Point officer who believes every leader must prove himself worthy of command. Settling in a non-com barracks, Lt. Hart meets Staff Sgt. Victor Bedford (Cole Hauser) a 'scrounger' and man of surprising resources. Aside from his talent, he is a myopic, hate filled bigot who angrily protests the inclusion of two captured black pilots sent to their unit. When one pilot is shot for allegedly trying to escape, Bedford is accused of betraying him and is subsequently murdered. The blame immediately falls on Lt. Lincoln Scott (Terrence Howard) who is charged and given a General Courtmartial. With his life in the balance, Col. McNamara assigns Lt. Hart to defend him. With little experience Hart begins to construct a defense when he learns of the restrictions place in his way by his commanding officer. However, Col. Werner Visser (Marcel Iures), the German officer commanding the P.O.W. camp seeks an opportunity to prove his superiority over McNamara, decides to help Hart. What the ulterior motives of both Commanders are becomes Hart's objectives as he realizes there is more at stake than a single man's innocence. The dark drama of this movie is filled with tension, anger and shadowy perceptions. I believe this film will be seen in the future as one of Willis' all time Classics and a silent tribute to the spirits which linger in the Ardennes Forests. ****