John Irvin’s (Hamburger Hill & The Dogs of War) 1998 HBO film When Trumpets Fade is an intense, brutally honest  look at front line combat at the closing end of World War II. As the German Army is in full retreat towards its own borders, American infantry units (primarily the U.S. 28th “Keystone” Div. of the Pennsylvanian National Guard) converge on the Hurtgen Forest, Germany’s romantic hunting ground which borders Belgium in the late autumn of 1944.

Ron Eldard stars as reluctant anti-hero David Manning who is the sole survivor of a failed attack against the German lines at the beginning of the film. The supporting cast include Zak Orth (Pvt. Warren “Sandy” Sanderson), Frank Whaley (Medic Toby Chamberlain), Dylan Bruno (Sgt. Patrick Talbot), Devon Gummersall (Pvt. Andrew Lonnie), Dan Futterman (Pvt. Doug Despin), Steven Petrarca (Pvt. Sam Baxter), Dwight Yoakam (Lt. Col. George Rickman), and Timothy Olyphant (Lt. Terrence Lukas).

Manning shirks most responsibilities and has a hatred for anyone in authority. Manning is viewed by his fellow soldiers as an irresponsible individual who fails to conform to military protocol.  His commanding officer Capt. Roy Pritchett (Martin Donovan) believes that Manning has what it takes to lead men and promotes Manning to Sgt. and orders him to take command of a new squad of fresh faced troops who are heading to the front as replacements.

This week’s pick pits a small group of international mercenaries sent by a British corporation to overthrow a two bit Idi Amin dictator in Sub Saharan Africa. John Irvin (Hamburger Hill, When Trumpets Fade) directs The Dogs of War (1980) which was based on the best selling novel from acclaimed author Frederick Forsyth (Day of the Jackal).

Christopher Walken stars as Jamie Shannon, an ex-soldier who hires himself out to the highest bidder whether its toppling a regime change in Central America, or putting a puppet government in power in the fictitious African country of Zangaro. Rounding out the cast is Tom Berenger (Drew Blakeley), Colin Blakely (Alan North), Paul Freeman (Derek Goodwin), Hugh Millais (Roy Endean), JoBeth Williams (Jessie Shannon), Winston Ntshona (Dr. Okoye), and Ed O’ Neill (Terry).

The film opens up in war torn Central America circa 1980 as the mercenary group is trying to make a hasty exit aboard a government plane as bullets and explosions are happening all around them. Shannon and his men push their way on board and force the plane into the air as soon as possible. Just within these few short minutes, you clearly can tell what their profession is and that they are not there working for the Peace Corp or distributing bibles for that matter. In this scene, a Central American army officer notices that one of the mercs is dead and demands that he give up his seat.

Drew (Berenger) pulls the pin out of a grenade and puts it in the palm of his dead comrade and tells the soldier “he’s alive you pimp.” Walken then barks, “he’s alive and he goes with me.” Derek (Freeman) looks towards the camera and with a knife he yells at the pilots “lets see this thing fly.” One of the best opening scenes of any action or war film ever. These are professionals you don’t want to mess with.

Hamburger Hill (1987) is an intensely, well acted Vietnam War movie which shows seasoned combat troops at their very best. The film follows a group of men of the U.S. Army’s 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division as they are ordered to assault a hill fortification of Vietnamese trenches and bunkers from May 10,-20, 1969.

The troops of the 3rd Battalion nicknamed Hill 937 “Hamburger Hill” because it chewed men up like a meat grinder. In fact, according to military historians, the battle for “Hamburger Hill” was one of the last major ground battles fought in Vietnam before American personnel became downsized due to the unable to be won nature of the war, and against America’s enemies.

The film stars a group of up and coming actors, many who went on to becoming huge stars including Dylan McDermott (SSgt. James Frantz), Steven Weber (Sfc. Dennis Worcester), Courtney B. Vance (Spc. Abraham “Doc” Johnson), Michael Boatman (Pvt. Ray Motown), and a young Don Cheadle as (Pvt. Johnny Washburn).

One of the main reasons I have always enjoyed this film is because it shows the hardships, camaraderie, and the dedication that each of these men had for each other while facing some of the most brutal combat in the war. The main characters open up to one another and begin to learn about each others lives as well as what their plans are when they get out of the war.