A Few Good Men

Trivia: Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin has a cameo as a lawyer in a bar talking to a woman about one of his cases.

Trivia: Maud Winchester, who plays Aunt Jenny, is the sister-in-law of Rob Reiner, the film's director.

Trivia: A Few Good Men was based loosely on an incident which involved a group of soldiers performing a hazing act on a recruit by the order of their platoon commander. The recruit nearly died, and it wasn't until the commander finally confessed in court that the soldiers were let off. This is confirmed by the director commentary.

iceverything776

Trivia: The marching band in the beginning is The Capital Band and has a brief mention in the closing credits. The director in black is Col Charles Erwin, USMC Ret, former Assistant Conductor and solo cornet for the President's Marine band. The Marine Corps would not allow the real band to be shown in the film. Col Erwin used his Capital Band for the scene.

bbotzong

Trivia: Aaron Sorkin wrote dialogue and ideas for the original stage version of "A Few Good Men" on cocktail napkins while he was a waiter at the Palace Theater. He would scribble notes on the napkins whenever he had a chance, and get home with his pockets stuffed with them.

wizard_of_gore ★

Trivia: This movie, which was adapted from the play, was actually based on a real-life Code Red event. In Guantanamo Bay, Lance Corporal David Cox and nine other men tied up and severely beat a Marine for snitching to the NCIS. Cox was found not guilty, although he was sentenced to thirty days for simple assault and honorably discharged. In 1994, Cox disappeared but was found three months later murdered, execution style.

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Mistakes

Continuity mistake: During the trial at the end, Jessup struggles with the MPs to get to Danny Kaffee. After the struggle, his tie is all out of place. In the following close-up shots, it's re-aligned, before becoming completely askew as Jessup goes to retrieve his hat.

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Quotes

Col. Nathan R. Jessep: Son, we live in a world that has walls and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lieutenant Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and you curse the Marines; you have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives and my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives.
You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you, " and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

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Questions

Question: What's the significance of PFC Louden Downey not being in his room when the "Code Red" was given?

Answer: It'll be considered hearsay.

Answer: The point is that he wasn't there when the lieutenant ordered the code red. The lance corporal told him LT Kendrick had ordered the code red, but since he didn't hear it himself he couldn't testify to that fact.

Mobrien316

Answer: In addition to the previous answers, it was also particularly devastating to the defense because Kaffee and his team had believed that both Downey and Dawson were present when the order was given; this was what Dawson had led them to believe, since, in his mind, an order from Kendrick via Dawson was the same as an order directly from Kendrick. Therefore, Kaffee et al. were blindsided in open court by the revelation that Downey wasn't there.

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