Hart's War on DVD

Hart's War starts off as one of the best displays of the hardships of war we've ever seen.

Unfortunately, it then develops into a courtroom drama, which takes away much of the power. It's still very good, but could have been one of the best war films ever made if it had continued the way it started.

Lt. Thomas Hart (Colin Farrell) is the son of a very powerful man, and that's pretty much how he got where he is today. He's never really had to deal with any overly difficult situations, and has never really been thrust into battle.

One day he's driving along and is captured by Nazis, who interrogate him and eventually send him to a POW camp. Things seem to be going okay (as okay as they can be) until two black pilots arrive at the camp. Things begin to go awry as Hart seems to be the only one -- including the Germans -- who don't care about the difference in skin color. One of the pilots is killed by the Nazis for leaving his room during the night, and the other is accused of the murder of a fellow POW.

Hart is then assigned by Col. McNamara (Bruce Willis) to act as defense lawyer in the case. But McNamara has something else in mind, as we learn later in the movie.

Hart's War starts off great, but ends up merely being good. It should have been about Lt. Hart finally being thrust into command, and having to take charge of the situation to thwart the Nazis. That would have been perfect Hollywood irony. Instead, Hart merely acts as a pawn to McNamara's cause, and much of the power of the film is lost in the black vs. white courtroom second half.

Admittedly, the movie is more enjoyable on second viewing, when you know what to expect. The courtroom drama thing caught us a bit off guard and we were somewhat disappointed.

The cast is great, particularly Farrell, who's here to prove he can hold a movie on his own. Willis is also very good, reminding us that he can, indeed, act. The best job, though, is probably done by Marcel Iures, playing Col. Visser, the man in charge of the camp.

Hart's War also features excellent direction by Gregory Hoblit (Frequency), and gripping tension. The second half is a little lackluster, but the first half more than makes up for it. An easy recommend for fans of war films.

Perhaps due to its poor box office performance, MGM has decided not to give Hart's War a special edition, despite the fact that bigger flops like Rollerball got one. The picture quality is average though the sound is great, and there are a couple decent extras.

The disc is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, 16x9 TV compatible, but the picture is pretty grainy most of the way through. This is the kind of film that needs a great video transfer, so it's a bit disappointing. Quite a bit of the movie is dark, and the grain makes it harder to make out what's onscreen.

There is also a separate pan & scan version on the second side of the disc.

The audio, however, is excellent. The 5.1 Dolby Digital is used to full effect during the action scenes. Planes start out coming towards you, and as they fly offscreen, you can hear them in the speakers behind you. That's exactly how it should be done, and this would be a good track to demonstrate the advantages of 5.1.

There are two audio commentaries. The first is by director Gregory Hoblit, writer Billy Ray and Bruce Willis. The second is by producer David Foster. There are also a few deleted scenes with optional commentary. A few of them are okay (some are quite good), but all of them are unnecessary.

Hart's War, from MGM Home Entertainment
125 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) 16X9 enhanced, 5.1 Dolby Digital
Starring Bruce Willis, Colin Farrell, Terrence Howard, Cole Hauser, Marcel Iures
Produced by David Ladd, David Foster, Gregory Hoblit, Arnold Rifkin
Screenplay by Billy Ray and Terry George
Directed by Gregory Hoblit

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