A Few Good Men [DVD]

One of the best Tom cruise films cruise plays a navy lawyer investigating a apparent murder at the marine base in Cuba under the command of colonel Nathan Jessop played by Jack Nicholson it leads to one of the best court room scenes between cruise and Nicholson I have ever seen

Someone else in the family must have bought this on my account. One of my favourite films. That’s the truth, if you can handle the truth of course.

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One of the most quoted movies in recent decades, Rob Reiner and Aaron Sorkin's legal drama pits Tom Cruise's talented young JAG Corps officer against Jack Nicholson's tyrannical Marine Corps division commander. Cruise excels as the plucky lawyer faced with the task of defending two marines on trial for murder. However, this one will always be remembered for his co-star's scenery-chewing turn as the defendants' base commander and the man behind their illicit orders to "train" the soon-to-be victim.A host of top names fill out the rest of the bill with both Demi Moore and Kevin Pollak (as Cruiser's legal team) playing more grounded roles than was typical of their careers at that point. Kevin Bacon is his usual safe pair of hands as the prosecutor while a nasty Kiefer Sutherland and the late great J.T. Walsh offer strong support as Nicholson's underlings. Aaron Sorkin's sharp script is best remembered for its relentless courtroom dialogue but it's laced with subtleties that augment the drama from all angles. From its nods to the various character's backgrounds to the unspoken enmity between the Marines and the Navy, they provide a rich subtext to the plot. From the director's chair, Rob Reiner generates a palpable tension and swift pace from the screenplay with much help from composer Marc Shaiman's exciting score not to mention his two leads.Though "Colonel Nathan Jessup" has probably gone down as Nicholson's most famous role and though he certainly provides the lion's share of the movie's dramatic thump, it's not the most nuanced piece of acting we've seen from the acting legend. Playing up to the caricature of his own celebrity he never attempts to escape his "Big Jack" persona and is content to let his sneering delivery and scathing smile do most of the work. Not that it hurts the movie in the slightest but it seems a relevant footnote when discussing one of modern cinema's most memorable characters.

Brilliant story with great characters played by some of the best actors.I have watched it several times over the years.

quick delivery & what I ordered

Great film cruise, moore and nicholson. Hard to beat cast with a fantastic story line.

very good

Parfait

D'occasion mais un très bon blu-ray pas encore vu en 4K

This product ended up not being what I thought I was buying. It was not the sellers fault as I don't think I read the product detail clear enough. I wanted a dvd not one for a PSP. The seller was very prompt on shipping, and I was very happy with the way the transaction was handled.

Guantanamo auf Kuba: in dem US-Stützpunkt ereignet sich ein durch einen sogenannten „Code Red“ verursachter Todesfall. Zwei Soldaten „disziplinierten“ einen Kameraden, der sich davor verzweifelt per Brief an verschiedene Instanzen wendete, um seine Verlegung von dem Stützpunkt zu erwirken: er fühlte sich mental und physisch nicht mehr in der Lage zum Dienst bei den Marines und "durchbrach die Befehlskette" (böses Foul). Den beiden Marines droht nun mindestens eine langjährige Haft- wenn nicht gar die Todesstrafe. Der junge Anwalt Kaffee, gerade Mal ein Jahr in der Navy und 9 Monate Militäranwalt, soll die beiden mit Unterstützung eines weiblichen Navy Commanders in diesem scheinbar aussichtlosen Fall vor Gericht vertreten. Die alles entscheidende Frage ist: wussten die Vorgesetzten der beiden Marines von dem Code Red und haben sie ihn gar befohlen?Wir erinnern uns: seit 1903 nutzt die USA Guantanamo Bay als Stützpunkt, und seit 1959 akzeptiert Kuba die USA-Präsenz eigentlich nicht mehr. Aber was will man machen, wenn man der größten Militärmacht weltweit quasi einen Teil seines Vorgartens vermietet hat und der Mieter auch nach Anmeldung des Eigenbedarfs nicht ausziehen will.. Stattdessen hat die USA in Guantanamo nach 9/11 auch noch Gefangenenlager eingerichtet, wo des Terrorismus Verdächtigte mitunter jahrelang unter Missachtung der Menschenrechte und ohne Gerichtsbarkeit festgehalten wurden.Der „Code Red“ (in Armeen anderer Länder natürlich anders bezeichnet) war und ist ein probates Mittel der Truppe, diejenigen wieder in die Spur zu setzen, die ein wenig entgleist waren. Auch die Bundeswehr kennt dieses Phänomen: das ist nichts anderes als Gruppendynamik. Da erwachte schon mal ein eher Körperpflegeunwilliger nachts unter der kalten Dusche, mit Klebeband an sein Bett gebunden. Allerdings gingen die Maßnahmen (zumindest nach meinem Kenntnisstand) nie so weit, dass jemand verletzt oder gar getötet wurde.In „Eine Frage der Ehre“ müssen sich Tom Cruise, Demi Moore und Kevin Pollack nun gegen das schier allmächtige Militär stemmen; ein Militär, das auch schon mal Flüge ungeschehen machen kann und dessen Macht sich in dem Kommandeur des Verbandes manifestiert: der erfolgreiche und überaus arrogante Offizier hätte von niemand anders wie Jack Nicholson so kongenial dargestellt werden können. Gegen Nicholson kann in „A Few Good Men“ tatsächlich nur Tom Cruise als junger, mindestens genauso arroganter und schnöseliger Anwalt anstinken; bei Kevin Pollack, Demi Moore und Kevin Bacon werden im Vergleich die limitierten darstellerischen Fähigkeiten deutlich sichtbar.„Eine Frage der Ehre“ gehört für mich persönlich ohne Frage zu den besten Justizthrillern, ist ein zeitloser Klassiker, ist hervorragend gealtert und sicherlich auch in weiteren 28 Jahren noch sehr gut ansehbar.Das Bild der UHD des Films aus dem Jahr 1992 ist phantastisch. So und nicht anders sollten UHD-Aufbereitungen von älteren Filmen aussehen. Das Bild ist sehr scharf, perfekt kontrastiert, mit einem satten Schwarzwert aufwartend und mit natürlichen Farben versehen; dazu ist das Bild oft sehr plastisch. Wenn man überhaupt von Bildfehlern sprechen kann, dann sind es manchmal Spitzlichter: besonders wenn Haar von oben angestrahlt wird kommt es zu sehr hellen Abschnitten, die ein wenig blenden und unnatürlich wirken. Das allerdings ist Jammern auf sehr hohem Niveau. Vergleicht man „A Few Good Men“ mit dem jüngst gesehenen „Predator“ (von 1987), gibt es wohl für die deutlich unterschiedliche Bildqualität nur eine Erklärung: mehr ist aus dem Quellmaterial nicht herauszuholen, und somit dürfte die Hoffnung auf einen besseren Release des Arnie-Klassikers auf UHD dahin sein.Der Ton liegt in DTS vor und ist vor allem eins: frontlastig. Reicht auch; die Dialoge dominieren bei diesem Film; das Fehlen von Bass, Dynamik und Surroundkulisse fällt nicht so sehr ins Gewicht, da der Film dem Sound kaum Gelegenheit gäbe, die Muskeln spielen zu lassen.Extras habe ich nicht angesehen, ich vergebe zunächst mal den Mittelwert.Mein persönliches Fazit: „Eine Frage der Ehre“ gehört für mich nicht nur zu den besten Gerichtsthrillern bislang, er zeigt auch wie Schauspiellegende Jack Nicholson und der noch junge Tom Cruise darstellerisch alles aus sich herausholen. Wer den Film mag und wer ihn noch nicht kennt (ein gewisses Faible für Justizthriller vorausgesetzt): die UHD kaufen!

How much critical thought can the military allow its rank and file? Certainly most orders must be followed unquestioningly; otherwise ultimately the entire Armed Services would collapse. But where do you draw the line? Does it matter how well soldiers know not only their military but also their civic duties? Does it matter whether trials against members of the military are handled by way of court-martials, or before a country's ordinary courts?I first saw "A Few Good Men" as an in-flight movie, and after the first couple of scenes I thought that for once they'd really picked the right kind of flick: A bit cliched (yet another idle, unengaged lawyer being dragged into vigorously pursuing a case against his will), but good actors, a good director and a promising storyline.Then the movie cut from the introductory scenes in Washington, D.C. to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Jack Nicholson (Colonel Nathan Jessup) inquired: "Who the f**k is PFC William T. Santiago?"And suddenly I was all eyes and ears.Director Rob Reiner and Nicholson's costars describe on the movie's DVD how from the first time Nicholson spoke this (his very first) line in rehearsal he had everybody's attention; and the overall bar for a good performance immediately rose to new heights. Based on my own reaction, I believe them sight unseen. Or actually, not really "unseen," as the result of Nicholson's influence is there for everybody to watch: Never mind that he doesn't actually have all that much screen time, his intensity as an actor and the personality of his character, Colonel Jessup, dominate this movie more than anything else; far beyond the now-famous final showdown with Tom Cruise's Lieutenant Kaffee. Nobody could have brought more power to the role of Jessup than Nicholson, no other actor made him a more complex figure, and nobody delivered his final monologue so as to force you to think about the issues he (and this film) addresses; and that despite all the movie's cliches: The reluctant lawyer turning out a courtroom genius (as lead counsel in a murder trial, barely a year out of law school and without *any* prior trial experience, no less), the son fighting to rid himself of a deceased superstar-father's overbearing shadow, and the "redneck" background of the victim's superior officer Lieutenant Kendrick (Kiefer Sutherland, who nevertheless milks the role for all it's worth).Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, who adapted his own play, reportedly based the story's premise - the attempted cover-up of a death resulting from an illegal pseudo-disciplinary action - on a real-life case that his sister, a lawyer, had come across in the JAG Corps. (Although even if I take his assertion at face value that assigning the matter to a junior lawyer without trial experience was part of the cover-up, I still don't believe the real case continued the way it does here. But be that as it may.) Worse, the victim is a marine serving at "Gitmo," the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, where *any* kind of tension assumes an entirely different dimension than in virtually any other location. In come Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) and co-counsels Lt. Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollack) and Lt.Cmdr. JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore), assigned to defend the two marines held responsible for Santiago's death; L.Cpl. Harold Dawson (Wolfgang Bodison) and PFC Louden Downey (James Marshall), who claim to have acted on Kendrick's orders to subject Santiago to a "code red," an act of humiliating peer-punishment, after Santiago had gone outside the chain of command to rat on a fellow marine (none other than Dawson), attempting to obtain a transfer out of "Gitmo." But while Kendrick sternly denies having given any such order and prosecuting attorney Captain Ross (Kevin Bacon) is ready to have the defendants' entire company swear that Kendrick actually ordered them to leave Santiago alone, Kaffee and Co. believe their clients' story - which ultimately leads them to Jessup himself, as it is unthinkable that the event should have occurred without his knowledge or even specific direction.By the time of this movie's production, Tom Cruise had made the part of the shallow youngster suddenly propelled into manhood one of his trademark characters (see, e.g., "The Color of Money," "Top Gun" and "Rain Man"); nevertheless, his considerable skill (mostly) elevates Kaffee's part above cardboard level. Demi Moore gives one of her strongest-ever performances as Commander Galloway, who would love to be lead counsel herself in accordance with her rank's entitlements, but overcomes her disappointment to push Kaffee to a top-notch performance instead. Kevin Pollack's, Kevin Bacon's and J.T. Walsh's (Jessup's deputy Lt.Col. Markinson's) performances are straight-laced enough to easily be overlooked, but they're fine throughout and absolutely crucial foils for Kaffee, Galloway and Jessup; and so, vis-a-vis Dawson, is James Marshall's shy, scared Downey, who is clearly in way over his head. The movie's greatest surprise, however, is Wolfgang Bodison, who, although otherwise involved with the production, had never acted before being drafted by Rob Reiner solely on the basis of his physical appearance, which matched Dawson's better than any established actor's; and who gives a stunning performance as the young Lance Corporal who will rather be convicted of murder than take an unhonorable plea bargain, yet comes to understand his actions' full complexity upon hearing the jury's verdict."Unit - corps - God - country" is the code of honor according to which, Dawson tells Kaffee, the marines at "Gitmo" live their lives; and Colonel Jessup declares that under his command orders are followed "or people die," and words like "honor," "code" and "loyalty" to him are the backbone of a life spent defending freedom. Proud words for sure: But for the "code red," but for the trespass over that invisible line between a legal and an immoral, illegal order they might well be justified. That line, however, exists, and is drawn even in a non-public court-martial. I'd like to believe that insofar at least, this movie gets it completely right.Also recommended: Basic Rules of Engagement The Firm The Border Guantanamo: 'Honor Bound to Defend Freedom' The Caine Mutiny (Collector's Edition)BasicRules of EngagementThe FirmThe BorderGuantanamo: 'Honor Bound to Defend Freedom'The Caine Mutiny (Collector's Edition)