| A Few Good Men | |
|---|---|
 "You can't handle the truth!" | |
| Directed By | Rob Reiner |
| Written By | Aaron Sorkin |
| Cast | Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon |
| Produced By | Rob Reiner, David Brown, Andrew Scheinman |
| Cinematography By | Robert Richardson |
| Film Editing By | Robert Leighton |
| Music By | Marc Shaiman |
| Studio | Castle Rock Entertainment |
| Distributed By | Columbia Pictures |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Release Date | December 11, 1992 |
| Runtime | 138 Minutes |
| Rating | R |
| Budget | $35,000,000 |
| Gross | $243,240,178 |
Overview[]
A Few Good Men is a 1992 American produced legal drama film starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, and Demi Moore. It was directed by Rob Reiner and was adapted from a play written by Aaron Sorkin who based it on an actual court martial that took place at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.
JAG Lawyer Daniel Kaffee is assigned to defend two U,S, Marines charged with the murder of a third Marine. As Kaffee prepares to plea bargain, the two contend that they were following orders from their superior officer resulting in a court matial trial unlike any other.
Kaffee has no case, no evidence, and is up against a legendary superior officer with an impeccable and impressive military record and a legion of honors and awards.
All he has on his side ... is the truth. But will it be enough to save his clients?
Plot[]
Lt. Daniel Kaffee is a Navy JAG lawyer with a reputation for being a lightweight; instead of actually trying cases, he prefers plea bargains and making deals. Which is his first reaction when he is handed a court martial of two US Marines, Corporal Dawson and Private Downey stationed at Guantanamo Bay for accidentally murdering their fellow Marine Private Santiago.
Until an idealistic crusading JAG lawyer, Lt. Commander JoAnne Galloway reveals that is what his superiors were expecting all along: preferring that he make it all go away very quietly.
As both Kaffee and Galloway investigate the incident, they discover a conspiracy at Guantanamo that reaches up from the lowest private to its highest commanding officer.
Considered a substandard Marine and a discipline problem, Private Santiago made numerous attempts to transfer out of Guantanamo only to be denied every time. His superior officer, Colonel Jessup is furious at Santiago's poor example; particularly since Guantanamo is in his words: "a forward base" that exists in enemy territory and his negative example will lead to a breakdown in military discipline.
"I want the truth!"
But when Santiago attempts to bargain for a transfer order if he informs on his fellow Marines for illegally shooting on Cuban soldiers; Jessup orders him transferred out for his own safety. Only for one of the suspected shooters, Dawson to apparently take matters into his own hands with his henchmen, Downey assisting him.
The JAG investigation is hampered by the fact that Dawson is highly contemptuous of Kaffee, believing that he is unworthy of his rank or uniform; to the point where he even refuses to salute Kaffee as his legitimate superior in rank. Dawson is also fanatically devoted to the Marine Corps and contends that he was simply following orders in hazing Santiago and did not intend to kill him. The younger soldier, Downey is not only simple minded but worships Dawson, cheerfully and eagerly following his example.
"You can't handle the truth!"
Kaffee and Galloway come to suspect that Jessup ordered his subordinates to ensure that Santiago undergo severe hazing to force him to shape up as a Marine; only Dawson and Downey inadvertently went too far and accidentally caused his death. Only one man, Lt. Colonel Markinson admits to the truth and Jessup's role in the cover up. But rather than testifying in court, Markinson commits suicide rather than face professional disgrace.
Despite Markinson's unofficial confession, it's all hearsay and Kaffee risks ruining his career by smearing a high ranking officer in open court. But despite the risks, Kaffee realizes that there is something far more important at stake: the honor of the Navy and Marine Corps. Despite having no evidence, no reliable witnesses, and nothing to pin any charges to; Kaffee decides to do the unthinkable; demand a trial and face down with Colonel Nathan Jessup, the tyrannical Commanding Officer of Guantanamo Bay.
Forced onto the witness stand, the belligerent Jessup badgers Kaffee but inadvertently contradicts himself with a statement that Kaffee uses to crack his defense. Outraged, Jessup arrogantly admits that he did order Santiago to undergo the hazing to make him a better Marine; proclaiming proudly that Kaffee might be disgusted with Jessup's actions, he also secretly needs him to be a soldier guarding the very freedoms that Kaffee luxuriates in.
Jessup's confession results in his arrest for murder but although cleared of murder charges of deliberate murder; both Dawson and Downey are dishonorably discharged for "conduct unbecoming".
Downey is confused as to why as they had only been following Jessup's orders but Dawson bleakly accepts the verdict and explains that they might have been following the traditions and codes of the Marines; they forgot the most important one: that they were supposed to stand up for those too weak to defend themselves like Santiago ... which is why they lost.
A Man of Honor's Final Salute
Kaffee tells Dawson that he doesn't have to be a Marine in order to have honor and Dawson solemnly salutes Kaffee in response.
Cast[]
- Tom Cruise as Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee
- Jack Nicholson as Colonel Nathan R. Jessup
- Demi Moore as Lieutenant Commander JoAnne Galloway
- Kevin Bacon as Captain Jack Ross
- Kiefer Sutherland as Lieutenant Jonathan James Kendrick
- Kevin Pollak as Lieutenant Sam Weinberg
- Wolfgang Bodison as Lance Corporal Harold Dawson
- James Marshall as Private Louden Downey
- J.T. Walsh as Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Markinson
- J.A. Preston as Judge Colonel Julius Alexander Randolph
- Michael DeLorenzo as Private William T. Santiago
- Noah Wyle as Corporal Jeffrey Owen Barnes
- Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Corporal Carl Edward Hammaker
- Xander Berkeley as Captain Whitaker
- Matt Craven as Lieutenant Dave Spradling
- John M. Jackson as Captain West
- Christopher Guest as Commander Dr. Stone
- Joshua Malina as Tom
Production[]
Writer Aaron Sorkin's sister Deborah who had graduated from Boston University, was serving a three year stint as part of the United States Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG Corps) which functions as the legal arm of the US Navy and Marine Corps; prosecuting and defending the law and holding trials for Navy and Marine defendants. In September of 1986, Deborah mentioned over a phone call how she was being sent to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base for a trial involving a hazing incident that nearly killed the victim. Sorkin wrote notes about his ideas on cocktail napkins while bartending and would come home and type them up. His finished draft was a play, "A Few Good Men" which was named after an iconic military tagline used in recruitment ads for the US Marine Corps and how they were "looking for a few good men".
Sorkin's script attracted the attention of noted producer David Brown who wanted to develop it as a film and agreed that exchange for the film rights, he would also produce it as a play which premiered in 1989. However Brown failed to attract attention from various studios in the script for the next few months until he was approached by Castle Rock Entertainment who was interested in the project.
Principal photography took place between October 21, 1991 through January 30, 1992 and was shot on location at the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as well as Fort MacArthur in California and the St. Elizabeth's Hospital at the US Navy Yard in the District of Columbia. Additional scenes were shot in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Additional/Alternate Movie Taglines[]
- In the heart of the nation's capital, in a courthouse of the U.S. government, one man will stop at nothing to keep his honor, and one will stop at nothing to find the truth.
- You can't handle the truth!
Reception[]
A Few Good Men premiered in the Odeon Cinema, England on December 9, 1992. It subsequently opened on December 11 in 1,925 theaters nationwide in the United States alongside The Muppet Christmas Carol; Passion Fish; and Nuit et jour and grossed a total of $15,517,468 on its weekend run. It's success allowed it to immediately jump to the top 1 most popular movie for that week, displacing the previous frontrunner; Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. The film managed to retain its hold as the first ranking movie in the box office for the next three weeks despite challengers from several other premiering films before it was finally eclipsed by Aladdin and dropped to the number 2 slot by the fourth weekend. It successfully staged a comeback in its fifth weekend, recapturing the number 1 spot once more and successfully fended off challengers for the next two weeks before finally slipping to the second ranked movie by its 7th weekend.
A Few Good Men managed to retain its high ranking for the next few weeks, maintaining itself in the Top 10 before finally slipping in it's eleventh weekend and slowly slipped in the rankings over the rest of its 25-week box office run, respectfully finishing off as the 17th most popular movie. Overall, it earned a gross total of $141,340,178 with an additional $101,900,000 from the foreign markets for a combined worldwide total gross of $243,240,178.
A Few Good Men received primarily positive reviews from critics and audiences; the only real complaint being a relatively predictable plot but uniformly praised the outstanding performances from its main cast; primarily Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, and Demi Moore. The Rotten Tomatoes website gave it a 86% "Fresh" Rating with Metacritic scored it "62 out of 100" and gave it generally favorable reviews.
It was subsequently nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Jack Nicholson although it failed to win any. It did earn an Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Adapted Screenplay; an MTV Award for Best Picture; two People's Choice Awards for Best Motion Picture and Best Dramatic Motion Picture. In addition, it did earn recognition from the American Film Institute―in particular in the role of Colonel Nathan Jessup as portrayed by Jack Nicholson whose infamous quote "You can't handle the truth!" was named in 2005 as one of the top 100 Movie Quotes.
A Few Good Men was released on VHS and Laserdisc on June of 1993, and on DVD on October of 1997. It was subsequently re-released on May of 2001 in both VHS and DVD formats. A Blu-Ray version was released in September of 2007.
It was also paired with Jerry Macguire and released in a double feature DVD in December of 2009 and a 4K UHD Blu-Ray was released in April of 2018.
Trivia[]
- Certain film clips of A Few Good Men are actually used by the US Air Force Judge Advocate General's training program, mainly as what not to do during a court martial proceeding. In addition, military court rooms are actually plain offices for the most part; the filmmakers used an actual civilian courtroom as it looked more photogenic for the trial scenes.
- Tom Cruise was attracted to the role but actually flew to New York and saw the Broadway play version before he actually accepted his role as Lt. Daniel Kaffee.
- The U.S. Department of Defense refused to endorse the film and thus the filmmakers were unable to use any military installations during shooting. Many scenes were improvised on a soundstage and even the US Marine Corps Marching Band performing the "Silent Drill" at the beginning of the film are members of the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets Fish Drill Team, a Reserve Officer Training Corps.