Courage Under Fire - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Courage Under Fire or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Courage Under Fire

[elmer]

Matt Damon not only went on an extreme diet, he would also run twelve miles a day, drinking four to six pots of coffee to muster up the energy. His extreme dieting went to the point where he had to had to wash his mouth every time his girlfriend kissed him, because he could taste what she had been eating. Director Edward Zwick got so scared by Damon's emaciated appearance that he ordered the actor to start eating again, but Damon refused. Unfortunately for him, as he was not an established star at the time, he had to do all of this under his own steam, without the help of a nutritionist. After filming was done, Damon was diagnosed with deregulated blood sugar, which required medication. It would take Damon a good two years to get his body back to normal.

[sandra]

Matt Damon lost forty pounds for his role in the movie.

[jim]

In actuality, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker is the only female to be awarded the MOH for her services as a surgeon during the civil war.

[kenneth]

The patch on Sterling's shoulder is referring to the U.S. Army 2nd Cavalry. The motto in french "toujours prêt" means "Always Ready" and the fleur-de-lis is related to the fact that they fought in France during both World Wars.

[liam]

Matt Damon and Scott Glenn appeared in The Bourne Ultimatum (2007).

[victoria]

Denzel Washington visited with B 1-12 CAV at Fort Hood, to prepare for his role of Lieutenant Colonel Nate Serling. The dip he puts in, while giving his OPORD in the opening sequence, is a tribute to the time he spent with B 1-12.

[eli]

After LTC Serling gets back in his tank following his pre-battle talk and prayer, he orders, "Battle carry Sabot" and his loader replies, "Silver Bullet coming up!" "Silver Bullet" was a nickname for the 120mm Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding-Sabot anti-tank round for the main gun of the M1A1 Abrams tank. "Sabot" is from a French word meaning "shoe" and was a hold-over from old artillery terminology. The armor piercing part of the round, with a depleted uranium core, is smaller than the gun bore, so it is held in the bore by a "sabot" of three aluminum petals that peel away after the round leaves the muzzle, and only the subcaliber armor-piercing penetrator travels to the target.

[carla]

Harrison Ford and Tom Hanks were considered for the role of Nathan Serling.

[manuel]

Scott Glenn and Albert Hall appeared in Apocalypse Now (1979).

[richard]

To prepare for his part in the film, Denzel Washington met with two combat veterans from the Gulf War, to ask about their experiences there, and any particular memories that had stuck with them since the war.

[russell]

In an October 2009 interview, Bronson Pinchot said that Denzel Washington was verbally abusive to him and others on the set, for the sake of "staying in character".

[melinda]

At least one of the Centurion-based M1A1 Abrams tank mock-ups, used during the 'Al-Bathra' battle scene in the film, was re-used in Cradle 2 the Grave (2003).

[wallace]

The Iraqi battle scenes were filmed at the Indian Cliffs Ranch, located just outside of El Paso, Texas. Many of the props were left there, and became a tourist attraction.

[dustin]

The tanks are British Centurions, with sheet metal added to make them look like M1A1 Abrams tanks; they were shipped from Australia when the U.S. Department of Defense withdrew their cooperation.

[ray]

At 05:34, after LTC Serling orders CPT Boylar to move his unit to the right, as the tanks begin to turn you can see an M1A1 tank with the insignia of the World War 2 German 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich" on the right turret front (this is not the tape from mounting Combat Identification Panels or MILES).

[edgar]

The White House rose garden set was destroyed twice: once by a tornado, and once by a sandstorm.

[tamara]

Matt Damon and Zeljko Ivanek appeared in School Ties (1992).

[oscar]

In order to lose the required amount of weight for the present day scenes, Matt Damon went on a strict regimen of food deprivation and physical training. This caused his health to become so frail, that he was put on medical supervision for several months after the shoot. However, his efforts didn't go unnoticed: Director Francis Ford Coppola was so impressed by Damon's display of method acting, that he offered him the leading role in The Rainmaker (1997). While making Good Will Hunting (1997), after regaining his healthy weight, Damon met Steven Spielberg (who was then casting Saving Private Ryan (1998)). Spielberg told Damon that he had loved his performance in this movie and had wanted to hire him to play Private Ryan, but was afraid that Damon was too skinny. Once Spielberg saw Damon at his normal weight, he hired him for Ryan.

[bernice]

The basic concept of the movie is borrowed from Rashomon (1950).