''The Pentagon Wars'' is a 1998

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military

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Richard Benjamin Richard Samuel Benjamin (born May 22, 1938) is an American actor and film director. He has starred in a number of well-known film productions, including ''Goodbye, Columbus'' (1969), based on the novella by Philip Roth; ''Catch-22'' (1970), fr ...

and based on the book ''The Pentagon Wars: Reformers Challenge the Old Guard'' by Colonel James G. Burton,

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

, about the development of the

Bradley Fighting Vehicle The Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle platform of the United States developed by FMC Corporation and manufactured by BAE Systems Land & Armaments, formerly United Defense. It is named after U.S. General Omar Br ...

Plot

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Partridge (

Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained notoriety and acclaim for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom '' Cheers'' (1984-1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993-2004), ...

) is in charge of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle project, which has been in development for seventeen years at a cost of $14 billion. In an effort to curtail excessive spending by

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

, Congress appoints an outsider,

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

James Burton (

Cary Elwes Ivan Simon Cary Elwes (; born 26 October 1962) is an English actor and writer. He is known for his leading film roles as Westley in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), Robin Hood in '' Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993), and Dr. Lawrence Gordon in ...

) to observe the testing of several new weapons in development, including the Bradley. Burton quickly becomes disillusioned by the atmosphere of corruption and inefficiency at the Pentagon. He delves into the mountains of paper documenting the Bradley's development history and comes to the conclusion that it is "a troop transport that can't carry troops, a

reconnaissance vehicle A reconnaissance vehicle, also known as a scout vehicle, is a military vehicle used for forward reconnaissance. Both tracked and wheeled reconnaissance vehicles are in service. In some nations, light tanks such as the M551 Sheridan and AMX-13 have ...

that's too conspicuous to do reconnaissance, and a quasi-tank that has less armor than a snowblower, but has enough ammo to take out half of D.C." Burton's attempts to test the Bradley under combat conditions are obstructed by Partridge and his two cronies, Colonel Bock (

John C. McGinley John Christopher McGinley (born August 3, 1959) is an American actor. His best known roles include Perry Cox in '' Scrubs'', Bob Slydell in ''Office Space'', Captain Hendrix in '' The Rock'', Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's ''Platoon,'' ...

) and Major Sayers ( Tom Wright). But then Burton is contacted by Brigadier General Robert L. Smith (

Richard Schiff Richard Schiff (born May 27, 1955) is an American actor and director. He is best known for playing Toby Ziegler on ''The West Wing'', a role for which he received an Emmy Award. Schiff made his directorial debut with ''The West Wing'', directing ...

), the frustrated officer previously in charge of the vehicle's development program, who feeds him evidence on condition of anonymity. Burton confronts Master Sergeant Dalton (

Clifton Powell Clifton Powell (born March 16, 1956) is an American actor who primarily plays supporting roles in films, such as in '' Ray'' (2004), for which he received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture nomination. Care ...

), in charge of the testing range, who admits being ordered to manipulate the test results, but bitterly tells Colonel Burton that every officer who tries to conduct honest tests eventually buckles under the pressure to gain his next promotion. When Burton refuses to approve the Bradley without a live-fire test, insisting that the current version of the vehicle is a death trap, he loses his position and is ordered to Alaska. But an anonymous leak from General Smith leads to

Defense Secretary The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The s ...

Weinberger demanding a full written report on the Bradley. Partridge, ignorant of the Bradley overall, cancels Burton's transfer and orders him to write his report, then has the report extensively rewritten by his own aide. Following the Army rule book, Burton then sends a memorandum referencing the original report to everyone who is technically involved in the project. This information leaks to the press and the resulting scandal leads to a

hearing Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psycholog ...

before the

House Armed Services Committee The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of Defe ...

. The hearing is humiliating to Partridge, who attempts to duck simple questions by pretending to search for documentation (which his helpful aide provides to him in front of the Committee, to his further humiliation). The skeptical Committee Chairwoman (

Olympia Dukakis Olympia Dukakis (June 20, 1931 – May 1, 2021) was an American actress. She performed in more than 130 stage productions, more than 60 films and in 50 television series. Best known as a screen actress, she started her career in theater. Not lon ...

) goes on to order the test that Burton has requested. The night before, Burton visits the barracks on the range and tells Dalton and his men that, regardless of whatever orders they have received from Partridge, it is their duty to their fellow soldiers to make sure the test is performed honestly. On the day of the live-fire test, Partridge, Bock, and Sayers fully expect to confirm their story that the vehicle is perfectly safe, but are unaware that Dalton and his men have actually made sure the Bradley is fully armed and fueled. When hit by an anti-tank missile, the vehicle explodes spectacularly, showering the horrified audience, including the House Committee members, with debris. Afterwards, Dalton and his men confide to Burton that they had already become convinced of his sincerity and were with him ever since. A postscript explains that the Bradley was extensively redesigned in response to Burton's demands, which significantly reduced casualties from its use during the

Persian Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. However, the

system A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment (systems), environment, is described by its boundaries, ...

was too strong: Partridge and his cronies earned their promotions and lucrative private sector jobs, while Colonel Burton was forced to retire.

Cast

as General Partridge *

as Lt. Colonel William Burton *

Viola Davis Viola Davis (; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, she is the only African-American to achieve the Triple Crow ...

as Sergeant Fanning *

as Colonel J.D. Bock * Tom Wright as Major William Sayers *

as Sergeant Benjamin Dalton *Dewey Weber as Spec-4 Granger *

as Colonel Smith * J.C. MacKenzie as Jones *

as Caspar Weinberger *

as Madam Chairwoman *

Sam Anderson Sam Anderson (born April 2, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his character roles such as Sam Gorpley on '' Perfect Strangers'', Holland Manners on ''Angel'', dentist Bernard Nadler on ''Lost'' and in film, as the principal in ''F ...

as Congressman *

Randy Oglesby Thomas Randell Oglesby (born 1949) is an American actor, best known for his recurring role as Degra on '' Star Trek: Enterprise''. He is also known for his other ''Star Trek'' roles, including captain Trena'L in the '' Star Trek: Enterprise'' epi ...

as Test Range General *

Dann Florek Ezekial Dann Florek (born May 1, 1950) is an American actor and film director. He is best known for his role as New York City Police Captain Donald Cragen on NBC's '' Law & Order'' and its spinoff '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', and Dav ...

as Major General Bob Braden *

Beau Billingslea John "Beau" Billingslea (born 1944) is an American actor, known as the voice of Jet Black in the critically acclaimed anime '' Cowboy Bebop'', Ogremon in ''Digimon'' and Homura and Ay, the Fourth Raikage in ''Naruto Shippuden''. In addition to ...

as General Rainero *

Richard Riehle Richard Riehle (born May 12, 1948) is an American character actor. He portrayed Walt Finnerty on ''Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005) and The Warden on ''The Young and the Restless'' (2007). He also appeared in over 200 films, including '' Glory'' ...

as General Vice * Chris Ellis as General Keane *

Drew Snyder Drew Snyder (born September 25, 1946 in Buffalo, New York) is an American actor of film and television. He is best known for his roles in films such as ''Commando, Firestarter,'' and ''Cruel Intentions'', a well as numerous guest and recurring r ...

as Admiral Morehouse * Bruce French as General De Grasso *

Tim DeKay Timothy Robert DeKay (born June 12, 1963) is an American actor. He starred in the USA Network series '' White Collar'' (2009–2014) Early life Tim DeKay was born June 12, 1963, to Jim DeKay and Jill Vaughn in Lansing, New York, where he and ...

as Junior Officer Embassy Party

Production

Col. James Burton is credited as a consultant on the film. Russell Murray II is also credited as a consultant on the film. Mr. Murray served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Systems Analysis from 1962-1969 and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Program Analysis and Evaluation 1977-1981, both during the development of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Writer

Martyn Burke Martyn Burke (born 1952) is a Canadian director, novelist and screenwriter from Toronto, Ontario. Biography Born in Hamilton, Ontario, to Freda and Les Burke who immigrated from England to Canada during World War II as part of the British Civ ...

also wrote the 1999 film version of

Animal Farm ''Animal Farm'' is a beast fable, in the form of satirical allegorical novella, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to crea ...

, also starring

. HBO rated the film TV-MA-L upon release. The MPAA rated the film "R for Language."

Filming

The Pentagon Wars was filmed in Camp Roberts, CA.

Reception

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website

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, the film holds an approval rating of 86%, and an average rating of 3.9/5. Upon its premiere on HBO, Daryl Miller reviewed the film for the Los Angeles Times and described it as "a savvy satire of military spending--an epic tale of boys and their toys...a triumph for that cable outlet."

Awards

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

s 1998: Amy Stofsky (costume supervisor) - Winner of Outstanding Costuming for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special *

Columbus International Film & Video Festival The Columbus International Film + Animation Festival is a Columbus, Ohio, United States annual film festival which is designed to encourage and promote the use of film and video in all forms of education and communication. It is the first and ol ...

1998: Winner of Chris Award for Social Issues *

Satellite Awards The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...

- Nominee Golden Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television

References

* James G. Burton, ''The Pentagon Wars: Reformers Challenge the Old Guard'' (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1993),

External links

*
Tim Weiner's review of the James Burton's Book, "Corrupt From Top to Bottom", ''New York Times''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pentagon Wars, The 1998 television films 1998 films 1998 comedy films American comedy television films Films based on non-fiction books Films about the United States Army Films about American military personnel Films about bureaucracy Military humor in film Films directed by Richard Benjamin Films with screenplays by Martyn Burke HBO Films films FMC Corporation Films set in Washington, D.C. Films set in the 1980s 1990s American films