War Films

OK - so war is evil, war is bad - but it makes for damn fine films for us to rumple and fetish. Unlike crime pix, just about every decade has given us a war film that is well worth watching; 1940's - In Which We Serve (would we have won the war without John Mills?), 1950's - The Cruel Sea  etc. Here are my pick of the bunch.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Most people talk about the opening and closing 10 minutes and confidently proclaim that these are the only two parts of the film worth watching (you know who you are so I will not mention any names!) OK - I will concede that these are the best parts of the movie but there is a hell of lot else going on - particularly the relationship between the squad and their leader.

Basically - it is the story of Captain Miller and his squad who have to rescue a certain Private Ryan in order that he can be taken home after his brothers are all killed in combat (the reality of this story is somewhat less grand - but as John Ford said; when the truth becomes a legend, you film the legend!).

Best Bit - the opening and closing ten minutes (complete with washed out colours and fixed focus lenses). Beyond description.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

OK - so it is not strictly speaking a war film - but it is set during the cold war and that will do for me. This film was banned upon its initial release (not always a guarantee of quality but in this case it is) and even today seems a bit on the controversial side - it must have been terrifying to a Red Scare obsessed US public back then (early 1960's).

Basically - a GI is captured and brainwashed during the Korean War - implanting him with instructions to assassinate at the behest of his right wing loony mother. The trigger for this turns out to be a game of solitaire; spooky.

Best Bit - the GI's are being brainwashed, but as far as they are concerned they are at a flower arranging lecture.

Cross of Iron

This is a bit of a toughie - it is filmed in a strange style (rather like the Sam Peckinpah Westerns), is confusing to watch, and at times is delivered more like an arthouse pic than a war film. But what a cast; David Warner, James Mason, James Coburn and Maxmillian Schell. The spookiest thing about this film is the fact that it is filmed in Yugoslavia, and it is not difficult to concede that the very locations chosen for the battle scenes are the same fields that the Yugoslavian Civil War will be thought upon before the century is over.

Basically - Steiner (James Coburn), an old sweat, is pitched against his exact opposite in Captain Stranski (Schell) - the Prussian aristocrat who has come to the Russian Front to get the Iron Cross.

Best Bit - Demonstrating the difficulties involved in retreating after the enemy has already overtaken you and there are thousands of the buggers, all armed with tanks and machine guns.

Gettysburg & Gods and Generals (1993 & 2003)

Neither film was really all that commercially viable as a film - both were very long and tended to be quite heavy going - especially so if you were not a big fan of the period or the genre. The cast and scope for both films is massive (too damn much to list here!) and the biggest battles of the Civil War get the scope they deserve (forget about all of that Stephanie Beacham Mini Series stuff!). These films could be argued to have been the personal project of Ted Turner (he of CNN and TCM fame) and were based around the novels of father and son Jeff and Michael Shaara. Sadly, both films both cost and lost a fortune and the completion of the trilogy looks pretty unlikely at the time of typing (September 2007).

Basically Gettysburg - the turning point of the Civil War presented in utterly complete form - nothing is missed out. The Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia meet at a tiny crossroads in Pennsylvania and blow the hell out of each other. Eventually the North come out winners - had General Lee and his Southerners won then they could have basically walked into Washington DC. Legend has it that a letter had been prepared to be given to President Lincoln setting out terms for peace anticipating Lee carrying the day.

Basically Gods and Generals - this is a prequel, focusing on the leaders and battles that preceeded Gettysburg. Whilst Gettysburg picks out the one battle, this film follows the early civil war careers of Joshua Chamberlain (he who won the Medal of Honour at Gettysburg), General Lee (who had not put a foot wrong until Gettysburg) and the legendary General "Stonewall" Jackson (his death - shot by a nervous sentry from his own side - is said to be the turning point of the South's fortunes). Originally, Russel Crowe had been in the frame to play Jackson but his wife giving birth at the time of shotting ended that. Stephen Lang (who had played General Pickett in Gettysburg, thus meaning that another actor had to be found to play Pickett in Gods and Generals) stepped in to play the part. 

Best Bit - Battle of Manassas from Gods and Generals. The first land battle of the Civil War and Jackson's finest hour, brilliantly put together and filmed.

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

The best of the Vietnam films - FACT. Filmed in London (Kubrick never a big fan of working in the US of A) and other silly locations around the UK (old RAF bases and the Fens). This really is a nasty piece of work. The drill instructor bits are utterly terrifying (delivered by a retired Marine Drill Instructor who plays it to the hilt). The combat bits are few and far between (and then very short) - but superb.  Based on the novel The Short Timers by Gustav Hasford - but very loosely based.

Basically - follows Private Joker from basic training in Parris Island to Vietnam at the time of the Tet Offensive - and that's about it.

Best Bit - Gunnery Sgt Hartman introducing himself to the terrified recruits.

Das Boot (1981)

You can check this out as a television series or a shorter film. This was filmed in a set that followed the exact dimensions of the U-Boat so it was as much a test of endurance as was possible to imagine - the cast were encouraged to stay out of sunlight to give them that totally bleached out look - thus it made sense to film it in chronological order to reflect the crew being under the sea for so long, which is a very strange thing to do when putting a film together. I have watched this as both the television film and the film - I went to the Cornerhouse to see it when it was re-released and it was the best experience of the lot.

Basically - A German War Correspondent goes to sea with a U-Boat. Don't expect a happy ending.

Best Bit - the 'Tommys' unveil their sonar equipment a depth charge the hell out of the sub - for ages....

Downfall (2004)

This truly is the Big One. Here again the Germans show us how a war film should be done and I doubt if anyone will ever make a better war film than this for some years yet. This was the first German film to feature Hitler since the war. The performance of Bruno Granz, a Swiss actor, in the role of Hitler is utterly terrifying. However, it is a very balanced view of the man, showing how easily he endeared himself to people. It is based on the memories of Traudl Junge who was Hitler's personal secretary - a lot of her story was told in a piece she recorded for World at War back in the 1970's. I was so impressed that I went to the cinema to see this three times.

Basically - the last ten days of Hitler's life

Best bit - Hitler totally losing it with his generals

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