User Reviews

this movie accurately portrays what is was like for green recruits to be on the front lines of battle. this movie is about a private Manning who is part of a squad that is entirely wiped out. having been the only one to survive he is promoted to sergeant and put in change of his own squad. After exemplifying himself is an act of heroism he is recommended to be given his own platoon. The movie accurately displays on how friends you have been fighting with and assume so naively would live actually end up dying in your arms. i enjoyed this movie because i enjoy movies about war with violence and gore. however i have to say that there was drama in the script that came up just out of the blue and it didn't really add anything to the story. on a side not Private Sanderson is the man! He should be made next company commander. to conclude i would recommend this movie to anyone who likes band of brothers or any of the call of duty games.

WHEN TRUMPETS FADE is one of the very best recent WWII films. It doesn't have anywhere near the scope of something like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, but it captures what it was like to fight as a typical "grunt" in Europe during the winter of '44-'45--and what it's like to fight in a war anywhere--about as well as any movie can. Appropriately enough, its setting is the bloody, intense Battle of Hürtgen Forest, the longest single engagement in the history of the United States Army and one that, ironically, many of the history books largely ignore. Many experts now believe that this battle should have been avoided altogether.

Ron Eldard gives a really fine performance as "Manning," a reluctant draftee-type who's "not about to take a bullet for anyone." One of the best aspects of this film is the way it shows the psychology--and irony--of how Manning's higher-ups use him via a combination of threats, flattery, and promotions just to take one small strategic spot during the battle. Just about everyone else in the film--American or German, I don't believe that there are any non-military characters --gives a commendably believable performance, but special mention goes to Zak Orth, who plays a typical replacement who, young, green, and unsoldierly though he may seem, turns out to be a fine soldier, and Martin Donovan as Captain Pritchett, a typically ruthless, uncaring commander to the men in his company but a bit of a Private Manning himself to his superior officers.

Like most of today's war films, WHEN TRUMPETS FADE is gory, disturbing, and, by necessity (since it's about an unpopular and rather ineffectual battle), somewhat depressing. Still, the dialogue, battle footage, and various other aspects are nothing if not realistic. WHEN TRUMPETS FADE captures the cynicism of war-in-general incredibly well.

Two years ago a WWII veteran asked me if I saw WHEN TRUMPETS FADE, the story of the battle for Heurtgen Forest. He said that he was wounded in the battle, which history has almost forgotten because it was so overshadowed by the Battle of the Bulge starting several days later.

He informed me that it was chilling in it's dead-on accuracy, not only of the events within the battle itself but of the ferocity of carnage that permeated the senses 24/7 of everyone who was there.

After watching it, I realized this was not a "Let's travel to Middle Earth, and slay the dragon fantasy" but a testimony to the barvery, or lack of it, in battle, that men must endure to justify their existance, which is continually threatened by the enemy. There isn't room for sub-plots when all that is on your mind is staying alive; and at what cost?

All the performances are exemplary in this regard, Eldard creating a character that is not only believable but admirable in it's honesty.

It should be ranked among the new age of war classics of recent years. But please don't look for any love stories or soul searching introspectives, there wasn't any time for that when you are cursing the very ground to get lower than the bullets flying over your head.

What for the first 40 minutes or so seems like a good, downbeat and authentic ww2 drama sadly turns into just another phoney ww2 action film capped off by a contrived piece of irony. Anyone who says this is a better film than Saving Private Ryan seriously missed the point of that masterpiece and are more satisfied by a conventional war story here, despite the cynical and bleak depiction of the Hurtgen Forest battle. The film in fact seems to strain too hard to be bleak and gruesome in order to compete with Ryan. The stark realism however doesn't cover up the fact that the story, which keeps you interested all along, simply lets you down in the end. You never really get to know the truth about Manning , whether he truly is yellow, crazy, just an instinctive survivor, or a closet hero. Not one action he takes in the story is resolved by the conclusion. We just accept he has a heart of mud and acts and adapts depending on the situation. This just makes him a faceless character to me despite an impressive performance by Ron Eldard.

Another beef about this story is the portrayal of the replacements. Obviously these young men would have been prone to inexperience but all of them act like a bunch of 14 year old girls who haven't got the slightest idea where they are or why. The scene where Zak Orth gets seperated and hides behind that bush is so much a cliche from other war movies I wanted to change the channel. Not believable in the least. Ditto for the nonsensical way they charge the German artillery battery with the flame throwers. Regardless of the fear these guys would have conducted themselves in a less than over the top manner. War is hell but no individual ever wants to show his comrades, whom his life depends on and him theirs, that level of terror. It just doesn't ring true. If Orth's character snapped the way he did with that flame thrower he wouldn't have been able to mumble three coherent words in the scene afterward. If it were only his character dealing with his weaknesses it might have been believable. But the whole squad?.

Make no mistake, this is another vietnam story wrapped up in a ww2 setting. People, even in the wake of the new war on terrorism, still tend to think world war two was fought by cynical and selfish soldiers who had no sense of purpose other than to die for nothing ala vietnam. The allied fighting man of world war two lest we forget was mostly a volunteer who a sense of duty to defend the world from pure evil. This is not to say soldiers under Patton, Bradley etc didn't have their moments of disgruntlement and cynicism toward the men who commanded them. As they say, sh*t flows down. But to depict the American fighting man in ww2 as one who looks around and sees there is no objective other than to just to save his own rear at all costs is a slap in the face to those who gave their lives to ensure freedom. Manning's story has no other point in this context. Maybe if he truly WAS through too much combat and bordering on a section 8 there might have been a point. As it stands this film has nothing to say.

And to top it off it features Dwight Yoakam in a terrible performance as a Lt. Colonel. Nuff Said.

Finally a nice war movie made by Hollywood after a long period of time. Very realistic presentation of war and what's in it. No propaganda on WWII which is a Hollywood must on regular basis and nothing to blur original idea of the director. Let's start with WWII: one of the seldom American films that shows in real light the war events on the western front. Even when heavy crippled, outnumbered and almost defeated after five years of war against the whole world, Germany was still like the wounded tiger when American army landed in Europe- mortally dangerous. Unmotivated and scared American soldiers on one side versus toughest military professionals that World had seen for many hundred years before that. Film develops very cleverly that main character is exactly like that - not bad or selfish, but rather completely unmotivated for that war - and he was the best soldier they got. 350.000 dead US soldiers for just 11 months of American participation in WWII since landing in Normandy are US casualties. The film is pretty well describing how that happened. Movie is even better depiction of the war itself, its nature, cruelty and rotten chain of command, showing that the bravest are not always the heroes, and the heroes are not always brave. Also, war doesn't make people you want to be, but kills all the people you would like to survive, by that ruining every movie pattern made by the most of the Hollywood war epic masters. What I didn't like about this film is the music which completely failed. Such a potential ridiculously ruined by some tones that look like editing experiment rather than edited film. Also, I have to mention some of the WWII history gaffs: there is no single American plane in the film, even though every battle in it happened during the good weather. Also, even though the battles are pretty realistic, sometimes we can see German soldiers walking with their machine guns in the middle of the battle on very short distance which is absolutely ridiculous even for the artillery crew in German army. All in all, this is a war movie to be recommended.

by a firing squad. Very seldom have I started to laugh in middle of a movie because the music playing on the background did not suit the action presented on the screen. This was probable the single most reason I could not rate this movie any higher. On the other hand, my son who watched the movie with me did not feel the music to be as painful as I did, so perhaps some people enjoy a drum beat and a jazz trumpet playing on the background of an intense action sequence...

Apart from that, this movie was perfectly average as a war movie. It had very few characters one could identify with. The main character seemed fine to begin with and there were moments where I thought the other characters could develop during the film.

Some of the explosions resembled fireworks a bit too much for my taste, but the vast majority of the special effects was what you could expect from a decent war movie. However, make no mistake: This is not of Band of Brothers - quality. Perhaps the closest resemblance would be with the Dirty Dozen or some other war movie from 70s/80s than any modern war movie.

Due to the fact that the two films came out close together, it is tempting to compare When Trumpets Fade to Saving Private Ryan. This would be a mistake. Unlike Private Ryan, Trumpets is not an epic set to a background of a crucial point in history, like D-Day, nor are the central characters members of an elite unit who are given a "heroic" assignment. Instead, the main character, Manning (Eldard), starts off as a private reluctant to risk his life, but who finds himself promoted and burdened with increasing responsibilities he does not want as his unit suffers horrendous attrition attempting to fight its way into Germany in late 1944. Manning's dilemma both contrasts and parallels that of his company commander, Captain Pritchett (Donovan), who has to balance achieving the objectives he has been assigned and keeping as many of his men alive as he can, and succeeding at neither. The greatest contrast with Private Ryan, however, comes in the form of the replacement troops, all green recruits with no combat experience - a far cry from Captain Miller's seasoned Rangers. Rounding it off is Dwight Yoakam as the nameless battalion commander who is unapologetic about driving his men to the slaughter, but whose face betrays the fact that, as with Captain Pritchett, their deaths weigh heavily upon him. When Trumpets Fade successfully showcases combat at its most gruesome and frustrating as Captain Pritchett's company batters itself to pieces against its target with nothing to show for the effort and bravery of the men except an ever-increasing pile of American corpses. But we get two good looks at the face of a German squad leader, portrayed by Frank-Michael Köbe, and in it we can see the despondency of a man who knows that he is fighting only to postpone the inevitable defeat of his country. A gritty, realistic, and depressing, but nonetheless excellent film.

When Trumpets Fade (1998)

A raw, realistic look at a how a fictional soldier tries to get through an actual mismanaged battle against the Nazis. As the deaths mount, the leading man (played by Roy Eldard) has to take larger risks to try to not get killed. It's a depressing movie with scant heroism except for the main effort near the end, which has a kind of Hollywood bravado at odds with the tough psychology of the rest.

Saying all that, it's clear that this movie is bravely trying to understand an actual situation of war that might be typical. Forget the aura of other movies, or the storytelling of veterans around the fire (if that ever happens). This is about the mechanics of failure and the will of a single man.

A tense and unforgiving war epic that follows David Manning (Ron Eldard), an American soldier in World War II who tries to get a discharge for being mental unstable although his superior officer, Captain Roy Pritchett (Martin Donovan) who immediately promotes him to be the squad leader of a platoon where all the members are new and inexperienced.

The performances here are nothing short of excellent, the battle scenes are well-executed, and Thomas Burstyn's photography isn't only gloomy, it also hides some unexpected surprises from Germans to mines, that are hidden in the ground.

Director John Irvin, who is no stranger to making effective and intelligent war films ("Hamburger Hill", "The Dogs of War") and turning raw talent into top-notch, has made another classic here. What this film has in common with the previous movies is that one or some of the characters are cynical or determined to survive. However, it's a shame that this film was only made for cable instead of being given a fair chance to gain some attention at the box office.

This was more of a drama/entertainment film than a credible account of anything that did or could have happened. The acting was nothing special, and in fact a little disappointing, and definitely detracted from the story. It also focuses mostly on two characters throughout, which, even in other movies is generally avoided, as more characters are at least more developed even in supporting roles where they are not in this movie. However, it was well filmed with decent picture and sound editing. The sets were also fairly well designed and the costumes and props were good too. The end was also disappointing and somewhat abrupt. The original footage was a nice touch, though. There were some inconsistencies but nothing major. Hurtgen forest campaign was no picnic. I was there. Saw my buddies all torn up. Darn them krauts.

In 1944, in Hurtgen Forest in the border of Belgium, Pvt. David Manning (Ron Eldard) is the only man of his company to survive a battle in the woods. He joins a new company trying to get a medical waive, and although having difficulties to respect his superiors, he is promoted to sergeant due to his leadership and instinct of survival. After a new battle, when he destroys the German cannons, he is promoted to lieutenant.

"When Trumpets Fade" is a great surprise: totally unknown in Brazil, without any publicity, it is indeed an excellent war movie. Based on a true story, the Hurtgen Forest Battle, where 24,000 soldiers died, this film shows, without any clemency or romance, how stupid a war is. The soldiers are moved by the instinct of survival, and not by patriotism like other movies usually present. The battle scenes are amazingly real, showing shattered bodies or man losing parts of their bodies. A must-see movie, recommended for audiences who look for raw and naked true story, with magnificent interpretations and direction. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Quando os Bravos se Calam" ("When the Braves Silence")

"When Trumpets Fade" is a noble albeit low budget HBO film which tells of one of WWII's bloodier and all but forgotten battles; the battle for Hurtgen Forest. The film attempts to be a realistic representation of the carnage and horror of a battle where 24,000 American GI's died with some attention paid to the men who fought it, the focus of which is one enigmatic foot soldier played by Eldard. Although "WTF" may well be eclipsed by "Band of Brothers", a much more elaborate and in-dept WWII movie/series, the film nonetheless should be of interest to those who remember the war or have an interest in WWII history.

After reading all the positive reviews on IMDb about this movie, I couldn't wait to see it. Well, it was a nice effort but alas a bit overrated. It's hard to forget you're watching a made for television movie while sitting through this one, unfortunately the film can't shake that air of low budget. The fighting scenes, what little there were, had a certain cheese factor to them. Some of the explosions looked like they came from cheap fireworks, the gunfire was dubbed in later and is totally incorrect for the weapons being used, we didn't get to see enough of the Germans, just American G.I.'s charging into endless explosions. Wish there had been more character development, because there was really none. The movie tries hard to be dramatic, but it's hard to feel emotional or sympathetic about someone you know nothing about. Attention to detail was really pretty good, everything looked pretty much correct(weapons/uniforms/gear) except for the German Tanks.

With that being said, the movie did keep my attention for the 90 minute running time. When it comes to war movies, i've seen much worse, and I don't mind the $5 I paid for this one and am glad to have it in my collection. It's not a terrible movie at all, just simply middle of the road; nothing more, nothing less. Certainly no Saving Private Ryan, but worth a look if you're a fan of World War II or War films.

When Trumpets Fade is a very decent war movie, but the fight scenes seem a tad bit fake. They are fighting a battle in Hurtgen Forest at the border of Belgium that seems to be impossible to win, and the platoon attempts many pushes against the German line with no avail. The main obstacle for the US troops is the tanks and flak 88 guns that their artillery cant take out. The newly appointed Sergeant Manning is given a squad of 4 men and ordered to go and take out the flak guns across from the bridge. The movie shows the difficulties and mental stress that comes with leading in war, and how sometimes you have to go to drastic measures to maintain control of the situation. This film is a great tribute to the remembrance of a very important battle that most people don't know about. I recommend it to everyone and you should all learn to love SANDERSON!!!

very one dimensional that lacks any significant sub plot.The characterization is not fully developed and it leaves one wondering exactly what makes these guys "tick"...besides wanting to stay alive. The acting done mostly by unknowns, aside from Frank Whaley (as Chamberlan), is commendable.Having never participated in war, I can only assume that this film comes about as close to reality as possible.The cinematography, insofar as war dramas go, can't get much better.This is far from the brilliance that is found in a film such as Das Boot ("The Boat")or the fully developed characters in Attack, yet for 95 minutes it's difficult to find any fault except for the obvious mentioned above.Good, but much more could have been done with this. 7/10 *By the way, I never saw Saving Private Ryan.

Director John Irving is known for his love of thin storylines, and this movie is no exception.

However this time he does dig a little deeper into human psychology, doing a competent job of portraying a dutiful coward, a soldier willing to be sent home. Cowardice or reasonable thought ? The end is dealt with in typical Irving fashion. We're left with an upending question on redemption.

Filming is your typical Irving fare, you get a generous dose of his peculiar love for pseudo-documentary realism. A deranged paintball gamer's dream of hell, with live ammo, exhilarating explosions, limbs flying, discarded ammo cases, burning vehicles and broken trees. You can feel the mud.

The duel between an artillery gun and a flame thrower is worth the watch. "War porn" at its best.

In was in the mood for that kind of movie today. Irving is a sure bet in this category. Hence my generous rating.

=== Ratings should be subdivided into categories. "When Trumpets Fade" would surely get a 1 star rating in the category "Best Movies of all Times", yet, John Irving being the Russ Meyer of war flicks, I would give it a 10 in a "War Porn Movies" category.

Good performances ensure satisfying viewing, the themes are well handled and the set pieces are impressive. Its a pity not more TV movies are like this, but it has a long way to match better War movies like Platoon or Saving Private Ryan. It does have some powerful moments, though, especially the stunning opening.

I give it 7 out of 10. See it if you liked Saving Private Ryan, Band Of Brothers or A Midnight Clear.

When Trumpets Fade is a great movie, with excellent action sequences, fine acting and a sound storyline. It's better than Platoon, and I'd put it up there with 84 Charlie Mopic, except that it deals with infantry warfare during WWII. It came out after a series of real to life WWII movies, Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line, but is made on a smaller budget and apart from Ryan's opening scene, it is a better movie. The cast consists of thoroughly unknown but very skilled actors, and the movie gives you a feel of what it must have been like to be on the front line in the Huertgen Forrest in Germany, late 1944. The Hungarian location adds realism as well.

The story basically revolves around the single minded efforts of private (then sergeant, then lieutenant) Manning (Ron Eldard) to stay alive and out of the meatgrinder that is conventional warfare, no matter what, even though ironically, the fact that he survives means that he has to put up for ever more dangerous tasks because he's the only one near who has any close-up experience.

I'll add that the videostore I go to allows you to rent 5 movies for the price of 3, and keep them for a full week. Every day after watching another movie, I couldn't help but re-watch "When Trumpets Fade", and every time I found something new and something more made sense to me.

This is one outstanding movie, very well produced and if you like war movies from the grunt's point of view, don't miss it.

GOOD. Simple film produced for TV (HBO) and located in one of the battles of the period of the second world war. And because it's produced for TV, don't expect a big production, with great sets and excellent special effects. I like almost every film about wars, especially those that show them realistically, without ideological propaganda, utopian heroism, or the like. Therefore, I classify this as one of the good films I have seen, despite the excess of drama presented in the conflict between elements of the platoon and some small flaws in logic. This one managed to keep me motivated until the end and, for that reason alone, it deserves a good note. I RECOMMEND.

The film makers obviously intended a memorial to the soldiers who fought and died in the Hurtgen Forest. Though this was not a docudrama, the story had to be true to the context, and for what I could tell, it definitely achieved that goal. The Battle was not a victory for the U.S. forces. The Germans pushed back the Allies during this battle, creating the "bulge" in the front lines. The Battle of the Bulge was a later victory, and it is duly remembered. But the Hurtgen Forest campaign, which was a defeat and by many commentators is viewed as a huge strategic blunder paid for in American blood, has largely been forgotten.

Why does everyone (including viewers) assume that Manning is a coward? Because he is the only survivor of his platoon? Perhaps that assumption accurately reflects the command mindset which caused so many deaths: death is so cheap that one more death is expected, in order to prove valor. (That is not a new concept, "The Red Badge of Courage" had it in a Civil War context; but it also seems to be a motivation for contemporary suicide bombers.) Contrast that with these soldiers' motives for the last mission--when the objective was clear: to save their own lives, rather than to make a noble but unavailing gesture.

Usually war films have more plot. But the Hurtgen Forest campaign was not as carefully plotted as a screenplay. Did any mission in this film seem to have any real point? The battle is accurately reflected here. This is not a compelling film, and it does not attempt to impart any great moral lessons, but it's best virtue is that it is honest.

My late father was in the "Bloody Bucket" (the 28th Infantry, Pennsylvania National Guard--note the red keystone insignia) during this battle, and he was fortunate to have survived. Decades later, he often would say to me that the trees could kill you. I was never really sure what he meant. This film showed me what he meant: the tree tops which were blown off by artillery fire would fall on the soldiers below.

This is a must see film. It presents war realistically. Just as in real combat, some soldiers are reluctant to attack, some officers are not that smart, many soldiers are scared, and the mission is of dubious value.

This particular story focuses on one soldier who was the lone survivor of an allied attack or the Germans. He is promoted to Sgt. against his wishes because they are short of people. Put in charge of new replacements, he is torn between training the new men, and staying out of the fight so he will stay alive.

After another failed attack by his company, he is promoted to Lt. Again he does not want this responsibility, but now has to lead men into battle.

Its one of the few films that show how inept some officers are. Band of brothers is the only other film I can think of that shows an inept American officer, Capt. Herbert Sobel (played by David Schwimmer).

Its also one of the few American films about the Battle of the Hertgen Forrest, which was overshadowed a few months later by the Battle of the Bulge.

there was very little which was good about this. I'd say the only thing i REALLY found interesting/good was the odd choice of soundtrack - but that can probably be attributed to some degree to the budget - which is NOT what i'm complaining about here.

there are things in this movie that are just stupid - such as a guy with a flame thrower in a forest battle who takes a 50 yard charge - by himself - across a flat, open area towards a half dozen armed Germans who are manning a few 88s. They all fire at him, but somehow miss - i guess his screaming deflects it - anyway, he managed to reach them, at which point they all take turns screaming and running from him as he chases them all down individually - in the open - and torches them.

This pretty much explains a good chunk of this movies ridiculousness. I won't even get into the whole promoted from private to lieutenant in 3 days thing or anything else...

Surprised to find criticism here. This is a film for grown ups. Its about infantrymen, you know, the bulk of the troops in contact with the enemy. Watching other films you might be tempted to think that only Paratroopers and Rangers did any fighting, being made up of highly motivated men with a higher purpose on heroic missions. I note criticism that the cynical nonconformist type should not appear until Vietnam films. I would suggest that a very high proportion of those in combat in WWII also didn't want to be there - my father landed on Sword beach on D-Day and certainly would rather have been somewhere else. We can still respect their sacrifice even though they only wanted to survive, because we are grown up. We don't need a film packed full of sentimentality, directors manipulation and musical cues telling us what emotions to feel... and as to complaining about the plot, how do you defend the absolutely contrived plot of that other film I haven't named (but you can guess which one I mean). See this film. Rant over.