sonofhades 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.

disdressed12 this little gem of a movie is fairly unknown.it tells the story of a World War II battle that is pretty much forgotten(but no less important)and overshadowed by other more famous battles.it's a gritty movie,with a rough unpolished look to it.there no big name superstars here either.this film has a more intimate personal feel to than many other war movies.the acting is first rate all around here,but Martin Donovan and Dwight Yoakam are real standouts.this movie is well worth the watch in my opinion.just like the battle it depicts,it may have been overshadowed by other war pictures with bigger budgets and bigger names,but this one is no less important.for me,When Trumpets Fade is a 9/10

phatrick88 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.

ethan-hinch-1 This movie portrays the common soldier in a very different light than many other war movies. In so called "War Epics", the soldiers are all courageous and heroic, willing to do anything to fight the enemy and save Europe. Their is perhaps one soldier in the squad who is a coward, the one who stands out compared to his allies bravery. But in this movie, the main character is a coward, or at least he thinks he is. He doesn't want to fight, and does whatever he can to save his skin. But when the Commander reads the Captain's report about Manning, he is right when he describes his innate ability to lead and his battlefield six sense. He shoots one of his own soldiers in the back, but by doing so he stops his squad from retreating and they successfully destroy their objective, an artillery gun, and save the lives of many other soldiers. This is a new, refreshing spin on the common soldier, and is perhaps more realistic than other views that are presented. The only detractor from the film is the weak music, which is thin and distracts one from enjoying the otherwise superb war movie.