When Trumpets Fade 1998, Rated R

Buy it from

Starring Ron Eldard, Frank Whaley, et al.

I've never been a big fan of war films, especially the gory, graphic war films like Platoon, Apocalypse Now, or Small Soldiers. This isn't to say that the aforementioned movies aren't stunningly realistic and well-crafted pieces of celluloid, although the verdict on Small Soldiers is still out, but watching photogenic Hollywood stars having their limbs and faces blown off in front of me doesn't necessarily run to the front of my list of ways to spend an enjoyable Wednesday or Thursday evening. However, When Trumpets Fade transcended the level of trite and saccharine that normally surround said war pictures with a poignant script that was penned by W.W. Voight and an accurate representation of the Battle of Hurtgen Forest created by director John Irvin.

Ron Eldard, late of television's ER and Men Behaving Badly, stars as an rather lackadaisical American foot soldier fighting on the front lines of the European portion of the Second World War, during the fall of 1944. After returning to camp, the only living member of his 200 plus member platoon that went into battle, Eldard gets a battlefield promotion to that of sergeant. As a sergeant, Eldard is forced to begin looking out for other people, namely the group of five soldiers he commands, and ultimately leads the five men on a near suicidal mission to surprise the German artillery atop a nearby ridge, and, subsequently, on a covert attack on the Nazi tank encampment.

When Trumpets Fade is a particularly moving film that, like Saving Private Ryan, presenting in no small manner, the ravages and pointlessness of war. Of course, Irvin makes this point by showing exactly how depraved and meaningless the battles are and what a waste of life was is, but these were exactly the messages he wished to send. And while Irvin does stop short of showing Eldard and company risking their own lives to rescue the last of four brothers who is MIA behind German lines, nothing else is held back; the on-screen action is positively riveting.

Particularly effective in When Trumpets Fade was the fashion in which Irvin heightened the sense of tension through the use of off-camera sound effects, like far off gunshots and people screaming in pain, and fog machines that were constantly belching a thick layer of fog in the Hurtgen Forest. This sense of palpable tension was present throughout the film' entirety, and, with my heart in my throat, one of its most underappreciated facets as well.

Despite last really have been seen in a sit-com that placed even below the WB's Sunday night lineup in Men Behaving Badly, Eldard delivers a surprisingly credible dramatic performance as a caustic foot soldier, whose only focus is on self preservation (a noble goal, mind you). Coupled with his solid performance in Stacy Title's The Last Supper, Eldard has carved out a niche for himself in well made independent films, and seems poised on the cusp of stardom.

When Trumpets Fade isn't necessarily the movie with which you want to wind down your long, tiring week of work, like say Rich, Runaway Chicks and Bondage Part 8, but is instead, like Passion in the Desert, a film that will cleanse your soul of the layer of grime the stereotypical Hollywood comedies and buddy, action flicks have thrust upon you. Despite one hell of an awkward, and ultimately unexplained title, When Trumpets Fade is a surprisingly well-made film that you should see, regardless of whether Matt is standing over you, mentioning off-handedly that it would be in your best interests to do so.