One of the greatest scenes in movie history. The tension and drama created by Cruise and Nicholson is just amazing. This movie will always be one of my favorites!
One of my favorite movie scenes without a doubt. The chemistry in this scene is off the charts. Jack can play one hell of a SOB & make you believe it. Tom played the Colonel like a fiddle so well that his reaction to his admittance was beautiful.
I’d say not one of the greatest, the greatest. This is the perfect storm of all movie history… Budget,Casting, Acting all at the highest levels. #Perfection
The crazy thing is he actually didnt. MORALLY, possibly even catching him in a lie, yes. But until he admitted aloud to performing the code red order, he was completely in the clear. You could argue he knew Jessop would rise to the bait if he proved he was a liar /incompetent and admit to it in anger, but i think the shock in the room after he actually admits to it speaks otherwise.
@@2009Patches I believe you missed the point of jkvs4448 saying it's a checkmate. I think it was not a checkmate because he knew it was a redundancy nor was it because he was played into committing perjury. It was a checkmate because Jessop fell for his fake subservience when Kathee answered to Jessop's counter-arguments saying "Yes sir" and got a massive ego boost, leading to his immediate downfall. That pride stemming from the sadistic sensation of overpowering someone with authority was shown since the start of the film when Jessop pressured and humiliated his officers into rejecting the letter for transfer, it is what Jessop loves doing and it will also be his undoing. It is Jessop's mindset that was the checkmate, it blinded Jessop from keeping his calm, and the contradiction hurt his pride so badly he monologued a minute just to justify his actions. If he did not get the ego boost and thought he was winning the hearts of the court, he wouldn't have tried so desperately to keep that victory.
Also, although it’s blurred, the little rub of his forehead in despair before he reads Colonel Jessup his rights. Little detail, but adds to the emotion of the scene.
Everyone’s acting in this scene is incredible. Even the side characters. Kevin Bacons realization that he lost the case for example, so subtle yet so freaking good
Indeed. Bacon was totally speechless when Jessup dropped the bomb on himself. I think even the judge was taken aback with the confession. Everybody was phenomenal here. I can usually take or leave courtroom dramas, but this one I never tire of.
Throughout the film, Captain Ross had shown he was a decent person just doing his job as thoroughly as he could as a prosecutor. But it's clear in several scenes he didn't trust or respect Jessup or Kendrick. He did have respect for Kaffee, and it's clear they outside of this case are on good terms with each other. Ross' reaction is one of shock and relief, as he had clearly been worried about the consequences the path Kaffee took in his examination of Jessup, but also because he is a decent person and is glad the truth finally came out, but he is in utter disbelief Jessup was stupid enough to allow his emotions to explode and take Kaffee's bait.
@@kylestorsin9907 ~ Agreed, Kyle. You could tell Kaffee and Ross were on good terms. They were both just doing their respective jobs. As for Jessup, it was his arrogance that undid him. He couldn't stand that the guy in the 'Faggoty white uniform' was one upping him. I think that comment that Jessup made about his uniform is one of the things that ignited his fire. Thus, Kaffee managed to push the right buttons with Jessup to get a confession. Go with works, I always say. 😁
He didn't really lose the case. Downey and Dawson were still found guilty of conduct unbecoming of a U.S. Marine and dishonorably discharged. The evidence of the order only removed the murder and conspiracy charges.
I think you have not grown in all these years. This is overly dramatised bullshit scene. It was ok to love them in the 90's and early 2000's..but now to say they are good, just shows pigheads still rule ..
Jack Nicholson deserves the credit he receives for this scene, but let's not forget the impeccable performance Tom Cruise put forth. This was absolutely Oscar worthy for best supporting actor.
No CGI. No explosions. No cheesy dialogue or cheap punchlines. No slow motion. Just the right amount of music. That´s why THIS was just amazing cinema.
So it's an amazing scene because it doesn't have all of those things or because it's just a great scene? It's a great scene by itself and should be appreciated as such and not because it doesn't have other things in it.
I loved J.A. Preston as the Judge. Shuts down Jessup hard. “The witness will address this court as Your Honor or Judge. I’m quite certain I’VE earned it.”
2:51 I love this little exchange. "Danger" or "grave danger" is just semantics and absolutely irrelevant to his case, but Kaffey expertly uses it to annoy the Colonel and make him more angry about him, which ultimately leads to his downfall.
"Is there any other kind?" I like the exchange too. It's not just to annoy the colonel, it really gets him to "confirm" that Santiago was in danger. Then later when Kaffee asks, if you gave the order that Santiago was not to be touched, and your orders are always followed, why would he be in danger -- Jessup knows he has been caught in a contradiction.
@sueprice3315 The thing to do there would've been to say, "Well perhaps I exaggerated my men's ability to follow my orders to the letter. And since Santiago is in fact dead, it's never been more clear to me that my first instinct to transfer Santiago out of Guantanmo was correct."
My favorite line (or word), is when he looks at Ross, and says "Jack"! It's just this little nuance that reminds him that in the JAG Corps the adversary aspect of the system cedes to their greater duty and obligation as officers in the military.
I believe it is a smirk of contempt, I see zero respect. This "son" just destroyed his career and he believes the nation is weaker because of it. He is utterly disgusted.
I think that smirk means something different: In this moment he begins to understand that he will spend the rest of his life in prison. He had justified his needless cruelty (that probably began with him just being a bully) for all his life until he had no more doubt that he was always right. Now that smirk is the first tiny shimmer of doubt returning; and with it the realization that a good chunk of his hard guy mindset might be nonsense. He smirks because he feels a piece of that deep, almost comic absurdity: He might actually have worked hard and dealt harsh punishments and just generally lived and kept living for all the wrong reasons.
Great scene! The intensity of the delivery for both Jack and Tom was the perfect climactic ending to a wonderful movie addressing a very plausible reality.
In all the practice sessions and read-throughs for the actors beforehand (in street clothes)... they said Nicholson was just as intense every single take. After initially shocking everyone, It set the tone and got everyone to lift their efforts throughout the process.
He had him. Then he nearly blew it. He came that close to throwing it all away. He looked intently as Jessop floundered, sensing victory. Then he went for him. Had Jessop retained his cool, it would have been game over. The gamble succeeded, and the period of silence after the admission, the gathering of thought on what he has just heard was absolutely incredible. Terrific acting, writing and directing. The camera wok was outstanding. Just great.
He did the right thing. He pushed Jessops buttons and got him riled up so he would slip. Jessop threatening Kaffee's life while still under oath was icing on the cake. That's an extra criminal charge.
See that's what I struggle with. Did Caffee plan the whole thing out? If you look back, one of his first questions to Jessop was with regards to the two separate orders. A seemingly innocent question. Then it comes back at the end with a vengeance.
I think he went in for the kill at the perfect moment! He spent the entire time up till then, carefully being as smug and condescending as he could get away with, which successfully aroused the Colonel's indignation, and when he sensed that Jessup was close to boiling point, he pounced. It was still a long shot, of course, but he had his whole game-plan worked out.
I still get goosebumps when I watch this! Jack and Tom were amazing! I didn't know until a few years after this movie came out that the "You can't handle the truth" line was improvised by Nicholson.
It was not improvised. It was in all of the earlier versions of the script, which are available online. One change from the script ot the film is that Kaffee and Jo agree to go on a date. A "real" date. She tells him to wear matching socks, which pays off a line from earlier. While the possibility of romance still lurks underneath, the film (wisely) ended on a different note.
When the other actors had to do their lines for this scene Nicholson already finished up with his while the directors had to shoot different angles. Nicholson while off camera volunteered to do the entire scene for each actor and gave the same performance every single time as the one in the movie here. He is simply amazing
Actually they did the reaction shots first, because Nicholson's choose that option when the director asked him. He did the exact same performance every time, to the point the director suggested to him that maybe he should save something for his shot. Nicholson replied that he loved acting and he loved acting in such a great part. So, indeed, when it came time for Nicholson's shot he again did the exact same performance.
Apparently, after Nicholson left Rob Reiner would have liked a few more reaction shots. Kevin Pollack does a spot-on Nicholson impression and volunteered to do Jack's lines. As far as I know, no one was ever told which shots were used in the final cut.
I have seen this movie several times and Jack's performance still amazes me. He is such a fantastic actor who can show his acting abilities in drama and comedy with such panache and professionalism.
Hard to believe this movie came out in 1992, 31 years ago. What makes it even more phenomenal is that these actors were all already well established actors and had huge careers after this movie. With that said, Nicholson gave the performance of a lifetime in this and it’s not even considered as his best performance. Actors like him just aren’t to be found anymore, he’s truly one of the greatest actors of this, or any other, time. One of the greatest actors of all time and I seriously doubt that anyone will come along in the future to match, let alone surpass, his skill and talent.
Still one of the most powerful scenes ever commited to film. Both of them are pulling out all the stops, giving everything they have. No background music to distract the audience, just pure talent from both actors. You can feel the fury and anger. This is on par with Pacino's "I'll show you out of order" scene, if not better.
I love it. Kaffee was pretending he was cooked, but the way he shakes as he takes a drink of water, we can see that he really was nervous, because even though he's not quite finished yet, he knows what he's about to do has almost no chance of working. He intends to goad the witness into confessing. Even if Jessup can be coaxed into confessing, the judge, and opposing counsel could easily stop Kaffee before he does. Kaffee was on the highway to the Dangerzone. When Jessup admitted to ordering the Code Red, you can see the shock and relief in Kaffee, as if he would have fainted. Just brilliant.
Kaffee: 'DID YOU ORDER THE CODE RED?!' Jessup: 'YOU'RE GOD DAMNED RIGHT I DID!!!' I was thinking, 'You just hung yourself, pal.' Jessup was guilty of ordering the Code Red that led to a wrongful death, and he was guilty of perjury. His arrogance and short temper destroyed him in that split second. Kaffee played a risky game, but it paid off.
@@JamesBond-sr7fw it goes over it earlier in the film. Jessup is a colonel and if a lieutenant was to accuse a higher rank of something like a code red and there wasn't evidence, Kaffee might be disbarred or thrown in jail. So him trying to get a confession without evidence is very risky. The airmen were also bluffs, so he had no backup, he drinks the water because he's genuinely taking a massive risk and is building up the courage.
Jack Nicholson is such a great actor that he portrayed a seasoned full bird marine colonel which is high brass and his mannerisms were right on target. Great movie.
He was so committed to this work, that he even did the readbacks, and with the same inflection when other actors were shooting their scenes, like when they're getting reaction shots from the lawyers and members of the jury. As a bigshot actor, he could have easily skipped that.
Jack is SO good, you almost forget he's barely in the movie... like 2-3 scenes at the start and then this courtroom scene, and I think that's it. But his presence, both the character and performer are so large they can't/won't be ignored.
@@jillweekley2148 agreed, but he was really still just getting started while Jack was at his peak. I like to compare it to Tom in Minority report. When he learns he has his sons killer in hand the rage and anger turning to glee, then shame then finally pride at choosing to follow the law. Great actors
@@drewsachs6238 I don't think he was still getting started here he was a movie star for 10 years and one time Oscar nominee he was an established star already at that time
I am from a small town in India and rarely watch Hollywood movies. But I am watching this movie for last 17 years repeatedly. Kind of an addiction 😀. Good to see similar people after reading these comments
Hard to believe that Cruise didn't even get nominated. Hard to believe that an actor playing transvestite got nominated over Cruise. Actually it's not had to believe. it has now become an automatic nomination anytime anyone plays a member of the MCBLTW/CHEESE community
It just doesn’t get any better than that. You could watch this over and over again and you’re still sitting on the edge of your seat, 2 of the best actors of all times, just amazing.
Did anyone else catch the slight “heh, you got me” face Nicholson makes to Cruise after Cruise says “the witness is excused.” VERY subtle. I’ve seen this movie a million times but just noticed it watching the clip here.
This is a masterclass for directing! The blocking, the positioning of shots, the pacing, the fluidity is absolutely perfect. Rob Riener is on the Mt. Rushmore of directors!!
I love the look on Kaffee's face when Jessup admitted to ordering the 'Code Red'. It was more or less a Hail Mary play he made. He had no concrete evidence against Jessup and knew the dire consequences if his plan failed. He was probably shocked that he took the bait. In short, Jessup's arrogance was his own undoing. Such a great scene.
@@ChokeslamToHell ~ I'm not sure if the airmen were there to actually prove Kaffee's case, or if it was a bluff. We don't know if could prove Jessup was lying or not. Regardless, it was dangerous ground that Kaffee was treading.
@@DBarns7 It was a bluff. He says it to Capt. Ross. Ross asks him what the airmen were going to testify to and Kaffee says "unless I'm mistaken, they were going to testify to seeing absolutely nothing."
@@DBarns7 They were going to testify there was no flight, and as soon as they did, Kaffee was going to be court martialed. Kaffee is screaming his last questions about the Code Red because he's almost out of time to get the witness off his game. Kaffee's jaw dropped because the bluff actually worked and Jessep was completely explicit in what he did.
I've seen this scene over a dozen times and it never gets old. Jack Nicholson IS Colonel Jessup. You simply believe it. Notice how he rarely blinks. His intensity is off the charts. When you see a performance like this you realize why he is paid a small fortune for a few minutes of screen time. He gives 110%. Lt. Kaffee knows he has very little to support his case. The strategy is to push Jessup's buttons and hope pride and arrogance will cause him to slip up which is exactly what happens.
There's one extra facet to the plan aside from pressing Jessep's buttons and appealing to his pride: the two airmen. We learn from Kaffee telling Ross, that the two airmen had no recollection of the covered-up flight. This is understandable; they deal in a high volume of flights so how could they possibly remember a random unremarkable flight from a random uneventful night from what is presumably quite a while ago? . So as witnesses they were worthless. There was no value in Kaffee calling them to the stand. And in fact, he was saying he was gonna call them as rebuttal witnesses to rebut Jessep's testimony. If they couldn't do that, then calling them to the stand without their being on the witness list wasn't even allowed. *But Jessep didn't know that.* He would've assumed the flight would be forgotten. But he couldn't be sure. Maybe something had been randomly, unpredictably memorable about that particular flight for one of those airmen. After all, if the only reason they could be called as rebuttal witnesses was that they could rebut Jessep's testimony, then in Jessep's mind, surely that proved that they WERE about to blow his story wide open. So the final part of Kaffee's plan was to convince Jessep that those two airmen were about to blow his story wide open. Or at least remove his confidence that his story was bulletproof - Kaffee mentioning that he was going to call them to the stand next and the discourse about how the only reason Kaffee was going to get away with doing that without their being on the witness list was because they could rebut Jessep's testimony was calculated to make Jessep sweat that his story had a hole in it. Kaffee was hoping that Jessep's worry about being on a leaky ship would cause him to jump ship prematurely in an attempt to get ahead of things. In other words, Kaffee was saying to Jessep "your story is about to fall apart and there's nothing you can do about that. So you have to decide whether you want to: A. keep telling easily disproven lies and making yourself look even more unsympathetic when your own court martial comes, or B. switch from denial to defence and instead of futilely claiming that you didn't do it, claim that what you did was necessary. You might think I'm bluffing, but if you think that, ask yourself why I'm accusing you directly when doing that without evidence would get me court martialled myself. I seem pretty certain this accusation is gonna stick, don't I? I still have two surprise witnesses coming up, don't I? Are you SURE you wanna stick to your 'I didn't order it' story? Especially since you don't actually believe you did anything wrong anyway?". The third part of Kaffee's plan was bluffing Jessep into believing he'd already been caught.
5:27 I've always loved that the camera cuts to Dawson's frantic look around the court room right after Jessup admits to his crime. It's like, "Boom, case closed. It was an ORDER from my commander. Can we go home now?" Great directing choice.
Incredible acting. Cruise's heavy "I got your ass" breathing at 3:20 is awesome. So intensely patient. And that neck shift by Nicholson immediately after he admitted his order. So creepily brilliant.
I watched an interview where Kiefer Sutherland discusses watching this from the sidelines. Bruce Willis wondered onto the set that day to watch as well. When the director yelled cut they got a standing ovation from the crew. Everybody knew that something incredible just happened. It's not just Jack Nicholson. Tom Cruise held his own in this scene as well.
I just saw an interview with Kiefer, and Willis was right by in another lot and came to watch this scene. Everyone but Jack was off for the day. Kiefer said that it was total silence, not any standing ovation. Silence. Rob Reiner stood up and said" I don`t see the point in filming another take, because this one was as good as it can get" You made a boo-boo, and you know it, but I just called you out. LOL. Sorry, I had to give you a noogie! No lying allowed!!👁😁
@@gib59er56 I'll have to go find that interview now. I'm not perfect, but I don't lie. Why on Earth would anyone lie about a interview?? That makes no sense. 🙄
@@gib59er56 okay I found the interview on the digital fix. Dead silence during the take. You were correct Rob Reiner says it can't get any better than that. After it was finished they did receive a standing ovation from cast and crew. Kiefer said he'd never seen that before.
@@Jamie-lw5sy J, I was just bustin your chops man!! I was not trying to be dickish. That must have been amazing watching Jack go Hardcore Leatherneck in that scene right!? I was suprised to see Kiefer with tat`s too. They must be pretty new. It sucks that this whole WOKE shit is going on, cuz we won`t get anything like that anytime soon!!! I razz people all the time man. I really do not do it with ill intent though. Happy to speak with you man!! Cheers!
“We follow orders or people die” It’s my favorite part! Jessep can only apply this to his subordinates, but his ignoring his superiors order (the memo/directive) is what cost Santiago his life.
I was just thinking that. All the subordinates following Jessup's orders are what cost Santiago his life. But Jessup goes by "We follow orders or people die”
This is by far the very best, most intense and believable acting I personally have ever seen. The adversarial chemistry as Tom and Jack portray it is no less than cinematic perfection.
Agreed. And I have no respect for people who can’t separate appreciation for ability from personal judgment. Dude may be a little batty off screen but the man puts in quality work in every movie he’s in. Except Vanilla Sky, but that movie was all around dogshit, no one could have saved it.
@@MultiDean1980 Agreed. I don't think I've ever seen a role of his where I wasn't impressed. He's coocoo off screen but he does phenomenal work and I always enjoy every role I've seen him in
The fact Jack didn't win an Oscar for best supporting actor is one of the great crimes in Oscar history. This movie and his acting will be remembered forever
Irrelevant. Just because he won 3, has nothing to do with him being denied another one. Or it shouldn't have stopped him from getting one for one of the greatest performances I've ever seen. See also Tom Hanks for Cast Away
This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime team-ups!! Like Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington in Philadelphia. We'd be lucky if we see something like that again.
Good point. Stunned that his long-shot gamble worked. But also trying to remember the law so that he doesn't throw away this opportunity to hold Nicholson accountable or maybe even to save his clients.
The ordering of the code red isn't what is being questioned here, its the platoon colonel's deliberate attempts to have the two enlisted marines take the fall for his decision that is what this entire scene is about. Second, even if a code red was justified or right, it was made clear that code reds were prohibited, and his number one duty above all else was to obey orders.
the Colonel’s ego was what this was about. He figured no matter what kind of Marine Santiago was the marine corps cant be run any other way except for the way he’s fit
@@thefauxtist4387 IMO it about the Colonel taking responsibility for causing the death of someone under his authority. Had he simply taking ownership for Santiago's death, it could easily have been written off as overzealous discipline. It was his cowardice in placing blame on people he knew would follow his order(s) to the letter and without fail is the real crime. If he really believed his order was in the best interest, he would have accepted the consequences and probably only gotten a light reprimand. Cowardice!!
Nicholson, Cruise, & Bacon are brilliant. Pity they haven't put these 3 together in another movie. Maybe they should do another one. There is bound to be some conspiracies out there that we need to know about!
I'd love to see them do something with a comedic base - bet that would be hilarious. Jack is really good at comedy and wit, Cruise can be and Kevin Bacon can do anything he sets his mind to. Something like rob a Brinks truck with hardly any plan, and everything the "thought" was completely wrong, so they tie up the guards with duct tape, get strained at carrying the money, almost get caught many times, but skate onward, and the finale two are relaxing on a beach in the Carribean wondering what happened to the third, and the third walks up and they poke fun at him always being last, but hand him a cold one and all three start laughing..
They are thinking about doing a female version..."A Few Good Women". Madonna, Taylor Swift, and Bette Midler have been pegged to star in it. Takes place in a brothel. To all you "woke" folk out there: JUST KIDDING!
I have this on mute because I’m at work and I know the lines by heart. The intensity comes through no matter what. Kevin Pollack was a rock when Nicholson confessed 😆 Tom had folks joining the Navy as an Aviator then joining the Navy as a Lawyer.
@@hoopoe_ no, Tom Cruise was the main protagonist. After this movie NCIS shows started flooding the network. Bacon was good in this, but it was Tom’s performance that sold it
One of the greatest scenes because you understand the protagonist and antagonist. His motivation wasn’t “to kill everyone because I’m evil”. He was a very well thought out character with very believable motivations.
It was ego, plain and simple. He ended up believing that he and the defense of the nation were one and the same, making him untouchable. The whole movie is a commentary on that thought process which is so prevalent in armed forces, that because they're so hyped up as the "pride of the nation", "the last line of defense" etc, they think they can get away with anything. We've seen this in real life so many times, it's just that usually it's other people (Iraqis and Afghans, for instance) and not their own who suffer.
Yes, but only until he sold out two marines under his command. Still very believable motivations, but he was just a coward and hypocrite. If he really believed all those crap (which the movie actually supported through the comments of the co-council), he would have stood by his men, covered it up or just acknowledged that it was an accident. He might have lost his promotion, but it's not like the military would make too much a fuss about it. Then soldiers would have died for him instead of losing hearts. The other issue is that he wouldn't make that good a commander being easily provoked and losing his cool. Might have made a perfectly good field officer if he had earned his men's loyalty, but not higher up where cooler heads must always prevail. The lawyer really got nothing on him if he just said yes or no or I don't know to every question.
I first saw this monie when I was a Captain in the Army. 30+ years later, I still pop in the old DVD and give it a watch. One of the few Hollywood movies about the military that is somewhat realistic (unlike "The Hurt Locker," which was utterly absurd).
I can re-watch comedies over and over again. This is really the only drama that I watch repeatedly. My "favorite movie" changes, but this is definitely always in the top 3.
I must admit that I wasn’t a big fan of Jack Nickleson but later on when this movie was showed wherever I was, always was waiting for this bombshell in acting between mr Nickerson, Cruise and Bacon. My Lord what an explosion! In the meanwhile I’ve never knew if one or more of these gentleman had an Oscar for it?!👍👍
