Product Details

• Actors: Owen Wilson, Gene Hackman, Olek Krupa, David Keith, Vladimir Mashkov
• Directors: John Moore
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English, Spanish
• Dubbed: Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: April 23, 2002
• Run Time: 106 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (246 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005JKL8
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #79,711 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Behind Enemy Lines" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Fighter navigator Chris Burnett (Owen Wilson) wants out of the Navy: he was looking for something more than boring recon missions he's been flying. He finds himself the lone Christmas day mission over war-torn Bosnia. But, when he talks pilot Stackhouse into flying slightly off-course to check out an interesting target, the two get shot down. Burnett is soon alone, trying to outrun a pursuing army, while commanding officer Reigert (Gene Hackman) finds his rescue operation hamstrung by politics, forcing Burnett to run far out of his way.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Behind is in Front! January 26, 2003

By D. Jeter

Format:DVD

Wow! is this a thrill ride or what. The disclaimer at the beginning of the movie made me sit up and pay attention, because I knew the movie was on to a sensitive subject. The action sceens were fantastic. The SAMs chase of the Navy jet was awesome. The flight for home was a good mixture of reality and a little fantasy help from Hollywood but you are sure to be entertained by this hard hitting gritty action movie. It's parallel to past situations in western Europe make for a great hero movie. After you see this movie you will want to start it over from the begining. Great stuff!!!...

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Gene Hackman--and I don't like Gene Hackman! July 14, 2002

By Stephen M. Bauer

Format:DVD

This was a surprisingly thrilling story about the rescue of an American pilot in the war in Bosnia. The pilot's mission was to take photographs of the, "Killing fields.". Upon rescue of the pilot, he also manages to rescue the photographs. The Serbs are the bad guys. There is no gray.

The movie is loaded with special effects and explosions. Gene Hackman is pretty good in this one, even I have to admit. I liked the actor, Owen Wilson, who played the pilot. He looked and acted very different than most male actors would, especially in a military role. He seemed like an average, regular guy, with a normal personality, which I felt drew a lot of credibility and sympathy from me, to his character.

The film was based on a true incident. Some of the technology shown was amazing. I hope for our sake that we really have such capability.

23 of 29 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Pleasing Action Thriller! August 28, 2002

By Barron Laycock HALL OF FAME

Format:DVD

This is a very entertaining and visually pleasing film, one that will capture your interest and propel it along for the almost two hours of the movie. Yet it is really just an escape movie that happened to be released in the aftermath of the 911 events, and so capitalized on the pent-up feelings of patriotism everyone was experiencing at the time. As a thinly disguised although highly fictionalized representation of an actual case of an American flier rescued after evading the Serbs for several days during the Bosnian police action, this might have made some sense.

Yet the depiction of the Serb ground forces as brutal and conscienceless bogeymen is a bit overdone and not very accurate; most of the Serbs treated downed American fliers with consideration and in a very friendly manner. Of course, had this been depicted as part of the Kosovo effort, the scenes depicting the Serbs might have been more accurate. As it stands, however, the story is hardly representative of the reality on the ground during the Bosnian campaign.

Still, taken at face value as action entertainment, the movie isn't half-bad. Yet as anything like serious drama it has too many implausible elements and too many coincidences to hold water. So, while this is no "to Hell And Back', it is an exciting escapist excursion you will enjoy watching. The scenes filmed on the carrier are especially graphic and well done, and the shots of the planes coming off the deck are breath taking.

So too the aerial photography is very well choreographed and accomplished, and the action shots of the plane being engaged by ground batteries fairly realistic in its technical details. The cast is quite good, with Owen Wilson playing the downed flier and Gene Hackman the Carrier skipper who is trying to get him back. This is good stuff to wile away a Saturday evening as long as you don't take any of it too literally. Enjoy!