{{Short description|1998 comedy film directed by Richard Benjamin}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Multiple issues| {{primary sources|date=August 2010}} {{All plot|date=December 2020}} {{More footnotes needed|date=August 2022}} }} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}} {{Infobox television | image = The Pentagon Wars.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = HBO release poster | genre = {{ubl|Comedy|War}} | director = [[Richard Benjamin]] | executive_producer = {{ubl|[[Martyn Burke]]|[[Danny DeVito]]|[[Michael Shamberg]]|[[Stacey Sher]]}} | producer = Howard Meltzer | screenplay = {{ubl|Jamie Malanowski|[[Martyn Burke]]}} | story = | based_on = {{Based on|''The Pentagon Wars''|Col. [[James G. Burton]]}} | narrated = | starring = {{ubl|[[Kelsey Grammer]]|[[Cary Elwes]]|[[Olympia Dukakis]]|[[Richard Benjamin]]}} | music = Joseph Vitarelli | cinematography = [[Robert Yeoman]] | editor = [[Jacqueline Cambas]] | location = Washington, D.C. | company = [[HBO Pictures|HBO NYC Production]] | network = [[HBO]] | released = {{Start date|1998|02|28}} | runtime = 103 min | country = United States | language = English | budget = }} '''''The Pentagon Wars''''' is a 1998 [[HBO]] [[comedy film]] directed by [[Richard Benjamin]] based on ''The Pentagon Wars: Reformers Challenge the Old Guard'', a book written by retired [[United States Air Force]] Colonel [[James G. Burton]] about the development of the [[Bradley Fighting Vehicle]].
==Plot== The [[M2 Bradley|Bradley Fighting Vehicle project]], stalled in development for seventeen years at the running cost of $14 billion, is the charge of [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] Partridge. To curtail further excessive [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]] spending, Congress appoints [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|Lieutenant Colonel]] James Burton to observe the Bradley's field development and tests.
Burton delves into the complicated development history, beginning in the 1960s under Colonel Robert L. Smith, who becomes frustrated with the continuous design changes mandated by higher ups, leading to the Bradley's transformation from a light troop carrier into a bulky tank-like vehicle poorly suited to its original role. Burton also discovers discrepancies in testing of the Bradley's survivability due to Partridge's cronies, Colonel Bock and Major Sayers. Burton receives confidential information from Smith on the condition of anonymity. Master Sergeant Dalton, the man in charge of live fire testing, reveals he's been routinely ordered to manipulate the test results, asserting that honest officers such as Burton always end up buckling to the pressure of corruption to gain their next promotions.
Burton's continuous insistence on fair testing prompts Partridge to reassign Burton to [[Alaska]] but another anonymous leak from General Smith convinces Defense Secretary [[Caspar Weinberger|Weinberger]] to demand a full written report on the Bradley. Partridge cancels Burton's transfer and orders him to write the report which he plans to alter when it is sent to him for approval. Burton circumvents this by highlighting the changes made on Partridge's orders in a memorandum, which is leaked to the press and instigates a [[United States congressional hearing|hearing]] before the [[House Armed Services Committee]].
Partridge is humiliated at the hearing and the Committee Chairwoman orders the tests Burton has demanded go ahead. Burton reminds the soldiers performing the survivability tests that despite Partridge's orders to manipulate the tests, their real responsibility is to their fellow soldiers whose lives depend on honest testing. Partridge is humiliated when the live fire testing results in the complete destruction of the vehicle. Dalton and his men admit they were swayed by Burton's sincerity and integrity.
A postscript explains the Bradley was extensively redesigned in response to Burton's demands, significantly reducing casualties during its use in the [[Gulf War]]. Most of the officers involved in the Bradley's development earned promotions and high paying jobs while Burton was forced to retire.
==Cast== {{Div col}} * [[Kelsey Grammer]] as Major General Partridge * [[Cary Elwes]] as Lieutenant Colonel James G. Burton * [[Viola Davis]] as Sergeant Fanning * [[John C. McGinley]] as Colonel J.D. Bock * [[Tom Wright (American actor)|Tom Wright]] as Major William Sayers * [[Clifton Powell]] as Sergeant Benjamin Dalton * Dewey Weber as Spec-4 Granger * [[Richard Schiff]] as Colonel Smith * [[J.C. MacKenzie]] as Jones * [[Richard Benjamin]] as Caspar Weinberger * [[Olympia Dukakis]] as Madam Chairwoman * [[Sam Anderson]] as Congressman * [[Randy Oglesby]] as Test Range General * [[Dann Florek]] as Major General Bob Braden * [[Beau Billingslea]] as General Rainero * [[Richard Riehle]] as General Vice * [[Chris Ellis (actor)|Chris Ellis]] as General Keane * [[Drew Snyder]] as Admiral Morehouse * [[Bruce French (actor)|Bruce French]] as General De Grasso * [[Tim DeKay]] as Junior Officer Embassy Party {{Div col end}}
==Production== Col. James Burton is credited as a consultant on the film. Russell Murray II is also credited as a consultant on the film. Murray served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Systems Analysis from 1962 to 1969 and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Program Analysis and Evaluation from 1977 to 1981, both during the development of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}
Writer [[Martyn Burke]] also wrote the 1999 film version of [[Animal Farm (1999 film)|''Animal Farm'']], also starring [[Kelsey Grammer]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Pentagon Wars |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144550/?ref_=ttloc_loc_tt |website=IMDb |access-date=September 27, 2022}}</ref>{{bsn|reason=IMDb is [[WP:RS/P|not a reliable source]]|date=June 2024}}
HBO rated the film TV-MA-L upon release.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Daryl |title=TV Review; Savvy 'Pentagon Wars' Scores a Direct Hit |work=Los Angeles Times |edition=Home |date=February 28, 1998}}</ref> The MPAA rated the film "R for Language".<ref>{{cite web |title=The Pentagon Wars |url=https://www.filmratings.com/Search?filmTitle=The+Pentagon+Wars&x=19&y=19 |website=Film Ratings.com |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref>
=== Filming === ''The Pentagon Wars'' was filmed at [[Camp Roberts, California|Camp Roberts]], California.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Pentagon Wars |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144550/?ref_=ttloc_loc_tt |website=IMDb |access-date=September 27, 2022}}</ref>{{bsn|reason=IMDb is [[WP:RS/P|not a reliable source]]|date=June 2024}}
==Reception== 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."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Daryl |title=TV Review; Savvy 'Pentagon Wars' Scores a Direct Hit |work=Los Angeles Times |edition=Home |date=February 28, 1998}}</ref>
== Awards == * [[Primetime Emmy Award]]s 1998: Amy Stofsky (costume supervisor): Winner of Outstanding Costuming for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special<ref>{{cite web |title=Outstanding Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Movie – 1998 |url=https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1998/outstanding-costumes-for-a-miniseries-movie-or-a-special |website=Emmys}}</ref> * [[Columbus International Film & Animation Festival|Columbus International Film & Video Festival]] 1998: Winner of Chris Award for Social Issues * [[Satellite Awards]] [[Cary Elwes]]: Nominee Golden Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television
== See also == *[[Bradley Fighting Vehicle#Col. James Burton and the joint live fire testing program|Col James Burton and the Joint Live Fire Testing Program – Section of article on Bradley Fighting Vehicle]]
==References== {{reflist}} * James G. Burton, ''The Pentagon Wars: Reformers Challenge the Old Guard'' (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1993), {{ISBN|1-55750-081-9}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|0144550}} * [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/03/books/corrupt-from-top-to-bottom.html?pagewanted=1%20October%203,%201993 Tim Weiner's review of the James Burton's Book, "Corrupt From Top to Bottom", ''New York Times'']
{{Richard Benjamin}} {{Portal bar|1990s|Comedy|Film|Television|United States}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pentagon Wars, The}} [[Category:1998 television films]] [[Category:1998 films]] [[Category:1998 comedy films]] [[Category:American comedy television films]] [[Category:Films based on non-fiction books]] [[Category:Films about the United States Army]] [[Category:Films about American military personnel]] [[Category:Films about bureaucracy]] [[Category:Military comedy films]] [[Category:Films directed by Richard Benjamin]] [[Category:Films with screenplays by Martyn Burke]] [[Category:HBO Films films]] [[Category:FMC Corporation]] [[Category:Films set in Washington, D.C.]] [[Category:Films set in the 1980s]] [[Category:1998 American films]]