A Few Good Men (1992)

Director:

Rob Reiner

Writers (WGA):

Aaron Sorkin (play)
Aaron Sorkin (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 December 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

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.

Plot:

Neo military lawyer Kaffee defends Marines accused of murder; they contend they were acting under orders.

Plot Keywords:

Courtroom | Military | Murder | Law | Navy

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Tom Cruise	...	Lt. Daniel Kaffee
Jack Nicholson	...	Col. Nathan R. Jessep
Demi Moore	...	Lt. Cdr. JoAnne Galloway
Kevin Bacon	...	Capt. Jack Ross
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Lt. Jonathan Kendrick
Kevin Pollak	...	Lt. Sam Weinberg
James Marshall	...	Pfc. Louden Downey
J.T. Walsh	...	Lt. Col. Matthew Andrew Markinson
Christopher Guest	...	Dr. Stone
J.A. Preston	...	Judge Julius Alexander Randolph
Matt Craven	...	Lt. Dave Spradling
Wolfgang Bodison	...	Lance Cpl. Harold W. Dawson
Xander Berkeley	...	Capt. Whitaker
John M. Jackson	...	Capt. West
Noah Wyle	...	Cpl. Jeffrey Barnes

Also Known As:

Cuestión de honor (Argentina) (Venezuela) [es]
Des hommes d'honneur (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Eine Frage der Ehre (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Ärans man (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Algunos hombres buenos (Spain) [es]
Bahurim Tovim (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Codice d'onore (Italy) [it]
Et spørsmål om ære (Norway) [no]
Homens de Honra (Brazil) [pt]
Kanged mehed (Estonia) [et]
Kunnian miehiä (Finland) [fi]
Ludzie honoru (Poland) [pl]
På heder och samvete (Sweden) [sv]
Questão de Honra (Brazil) [pt]
Uma Questão de Honra (Portugal) [pt]
Zadnji dobri mozje (Slovenia) [sl]
Zitima timis (Greece) [el]

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

138 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:L | France:Unrated | South Korea:15 | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:TE | Finland:K-8 | Germany:12 | Ireland:15 | Norway:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | Netherlands:MG6 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

The Aaron Sorkin trademark of showing two characters walking down a hallway toward a moving camera talking sidelong to one another (as seen in The American President (1995), "Sports Night" (1998) and "The West Wing" (1999)) originated on this movie. A scene between Kaffe and Ross was written as being set in an office, but Rob Reiner, in an effort to create more action on screen, suggested that it be changed so that they were walking down a hallway... and the rest is history.

Goofs:

Factual errors: There is no such thing as "conduct unbecoming a Marine" under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The closest thing to it is what is known as a "general Article 134 violation," which does not carry a dishonorable discharge as a possible punishment.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Drill Master: Forward, march!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Masters of Horror: The Washingtonians (#2.12)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

TIMBER I'M FALLING IN LOVE

Slam dunk

This is my all-time favorite movie. I've probably watched it 300 times and I can recite it line by line. I once wrote the script during the course of one semester in a class I hated. I still have the notebook.

Demi Moore definitely is the film's weakest link, but the acting is superb and Aaron Sorkin's story sucks you in from the opening minute. There is so much great dialogue, headlined by Tom Cruise's courtroom battle with Jack Nicholson at the movie's climax.

Too many people say the movie is average because it's "too slow," but I really believe anyone who appreciates good acting and good stories has to put this one near the top of their list.