War Movies

Ten War Films You May Have Yet to See and a Couple You’ve Maybe Never Heard Of:

 

There is no genre manlier than the war film. Forget about action films, war is where it’s at. Every great action flick can trace its roots back to the war genre. The tricky thing about putting together any kind of list is that war films tend to be very personal in nature. While it’s generally accepted that nearly everyone finds some humor in comedies, tears-up appropriately at dramas, or cheers on the hero in a western; war films tend to separate the audience into two main camps: I like and I hate. Unlike any of the aforementioned genres, the war film concept usually has very loose ties to theory.  After all, nearly everything that presents a struggle of some sort between two opposing entities could technically be labeled “war.” Is a war film the portrayal of an internal struggle or is it the portrayal of mass external struggle? Or is it both? With that in mind, consider the following ten films as an amalgam of the internal expressed externally:

 

Paths of Glory (1957, director Stanley Kubrick)  Kirk Douglas takes center stage as the unlikely hero of this based-on-a-true story. Is one man’s conscience enough to save three men’s lives, or do the games of war finally change what one believes? In typical Kubrick-ian fashion every shot is a visual metaphor. Pay special attention to the court martial scene and the chessboard flooring throughout the General’s chateau.

 

Apocalypse Now (1979, director Francis Ford Coppola)  Okay, you’ve probably seen this and for sure you’ve heard about it. But to tell the truth, a surprising number of people have yet to see this absolute masterpiece. So, be a good friend and force a viewing on whoever you know that has yet to see it. A corpulent Marlon Brando as a psychotic, renegade general; Martin Sheen as the harried intelligence officer sent to find  and neutralize him are two who help make up the stellar cast in this epic retelling of The Heart Of Darkness. Production problems, weather, illness and logistics, helped drive costs to an obscene thirty-million-plus dollars, and the first cut ran just over three hours. “I wish I had words, man. I wish I had words.”

 

Full Metal Jacket (1987, director Stanley Kubrick)  Kubrick really didn’t set out with his heart set on masterminding some of the greatest war (and anti-war) films around. But he did. The break from sanity and questioning of morality are what makes this film not only interesting, but important. Where do you draw the line in war? In all his films Kubrick sets out to make you uncomfortable and in Full Metal Jacket he achieves just that.

 

Patton (1970, director Franklin J. Schaffner)  A screenplay adapted by Coppola based on the exploits of General George S. Patton during the Second World War. George C. Scott’s portrayal of the abrasive, ambitious general won him the Best Actor Oscar in 1971, and helped make Patton one of Hollywood’s most gripping biographical war films. The film’s iconic imagery, including the opening scene as Patton addresses his troops in front of a giant flag is often revisited in current pop-culture references; proof of its power as both story and film.

 

Dirty Dozen (1967, director Robert Aldrich)  Dirty Dozen was among the first films to portray the dirtier, darker side of war, where the means to the end is not always a glamorous thing. Highly-choreographed action shots contribute to the realism Aldrich injects into the film. A group of 12 guardhouse soldiers are banded together to complete a mission, not always in the most civilized fashion. After all, who has time for civility in the middle of the battlefield?

 

Das Boot (1981, director Wolfgang Peterson)  Yet another film to deglamorize the experience of war, the heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat action sequences never fail to provide a surge of adrenaline, no matter how many times you see the film. Das Boot is not just another submarine film—it may just be the pinnacle of the genre. The tension, the claustrophobia, the inability to control any situation: all comes through via potent cinematography and exceptional storytelling. “… but well, this is reality.”

 

Kagemusha (1980, director Akira Kurosawa) To literally translate the title, Kagemusha, or Shadow Warrior, is to take the first step towards understanding the film. Pre-Ran (another Kurosawa classic, although to say the words Kurosawa and classic together is redundant in this reviewer’s humble opinion), Kagemusha’s ethereal cinematography plays perfectly against the concept of the ‘shadow warrior’ and his careful duplicity. As for the aforementioned Ran, pick that up as well. You surely will not be disappointed.

 

Platoon (1986, director Oliver Stone)  Yet another Vietnam film by yet another director-giant. Even if it sounds like Platoon and Apocalypse Now would cover the same territory, they most definitely do not. Where Stone veers away from Coppola-like storytelling is in drawing from his personal experiences in Vietnam as an infantryman thus lending an even grittier layer to the film. Plus Coppola uses Martin Sheen as his lead and Stone uses Martin’s son, Charlie. “Free your mind… your ass will follow”.

 

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957, director David Lean)  Why is it that people no longer enjoy watching classics? Why have we filmgoers shunned them to the back of closets and the bottom of bargain bins at the discount mart? Bridge is set during the time of the construction of the Burma Railway, but the focus of the film is on the POW’s who build the bridge, as opposed to the events that got them there. Lean’s straightforward style and minimal use of soundtrack enhances the pace and story of the film even more.

 

So Proudly We Hail (1943, director Mark Sandrich)  Before all the males in the audience disregard this war film centered on women, let’s take a second to think. Concentrating a war film’s plot on women who aren’t fighting isn’t the usual story-telling strategy, but this film’s powerful portrayal of the frustration felt by the female contingent in a war setting raises it above the level of “action chick flick”. Plus, how manly will you seem when your eyes tear up? Eh? That’s what I thought.

 

Ah, the noble spirit of man forging alone amongst the wilderness. Conquering nature for the sake of civilization. Codes of honor, views of justice, upholding the law. The man, the gun, and the trusty steed making their way through vast deserted plains, protecting land, chasing cattle, and snagging the occasional hot chick. This is the life, is it not? Westerns have been a part of American cinematic tradition since we first figured out how to take a piece of celluloid and tell a story with it. Even if the idea of the lone gunslinger isn’t exactly new, Westerns opened the door for a multitude of spin-off genres and influences that are seen throughout films’ short, yet extensive, history. Of course everyone, and I mean everyone, has seen the classics. But unless you’re some kind of buff there are some you haven’t…

 

Ten Great Westerns You’ve Probably Never Seen, and a Couple You’ve Never Heard Of.

 

Shane (1953, Director George Stevens) The most popular western film of the 1950s has sadly faded into obscurity in favor of more action-packed violent flicks. Told through the eyes of a young boy, the title character is a mysterious lonely Arthurian cowboy whose only destination is “one place or another. Some place I've never been”.

 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966, Director Sergio Leone) Spaghetti westerns are nothing new to American audiences and arguably this is the highest regarded film of the sub-genre. Highly exaggerated violence that is meant more as a tongue-in-cheek satire of the genre than a glorification of violent behavior; Il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo is the third in Leone’s “Dollars Trilogy”. To get the entire experience watch, A Fistful of Dollars (1964), and For a Few Dollars More (1965).

 

Seven Samurai (1954, Director Akira Kurosawa) Westerns weren’t just an American thing. One of the most influential archetypal western films to have a lasting impact on generations of film directors was Kurosawa’s brilliantly shot story of seven master less samurai (who could have guessed?) enlisted to defend a small village from threatening forces. Glorified as the epitome of Western storytelling, Shichinin no Samurai, is one of those films you tell people you’ve seen just to impress them, and you watch if only to change your idea of the genre.

 

High Noon (1952, Director Fred Zinnemann) Who cares if High Noon made it to number 27 on AFI’s “100 Most Important Films” list? You’ve still probably never seen it. A departure from the archetypes of violence and action present in westerns, High Noon is a simple story of one man’s honor and one town’s cowardice. Use of real-time narrative means the plot plays out in the same amount of time you’re watching the film; no need for fluffy extras.

 

Keoma (1976, dir.Enzo Castellari) If any sub-genre required the absence of sobriety to understand, it would be the “acid-westerns”. If acid-western and spaghetti western had a violent, gritty baby with a horrible theme song, it would be Keoma. Disjointed it may be, but purely philosophical camera work, (yes cameras can be philosophical too) and story telling is a huge departure from typical brainless flicks. Fun fact: Castellari draws heavy influence from Ingmar Bergman’s classic The Seventh Seal. Watch that, too.

 

El Topo (1970, Director Alejandro Jodorwsky) Another acid-western offspring, Jodorwsky has never been known for shy usage of story, camera work, or visual metaphor. Just watch. Don’t try to question what you’re seeing until at least your third time through. The Mole was released on DVD fairly recently, so this may take a little searching; trust me, it’s worth your time.

 

The White Sun of the Desert (1969, Director Vladimir Motyl) Another foreign western, White Sun is one of the single most popular Russian films, albeit within Russia. A blend of many different genres it receives western street-cred from hero Sukhov’s journey through the desert after being released from the Russian Civil War in Asia. Sukhov is tapped to guard the harem of a guerrilla rebel leader. Harems, do you need any more reasons to see this film?

 

The Searchers (1956, Director John Ford) Again AFI intrudes into this reviewer’s life. So what The Searchers was named the top western film of all time? Who cares if its another John Wayne film? Few people I know have seen this film. Barring serious buffs, that is. One of prolific team Ford-Wayne’s masterpieces, Searchers has stood the test of time and is oft cited as one of the most influential films to ever grace the silver screen. From Star Wars to Bollywood its impact should be enough to make you want to go out and rent it. Now.

 

Dead Man (1995, Director Jim Jarmusch) Does anything Johnny Depp classify as a western? I’m not sure Dead Man can be called a true western, but again, it’s the spirit that counts. Where it goes right is the portrayal of one man’s psychological journey and the accurate rendering of Native American culture, for which the film was highly praised. More of an acid or revisionist western, Dead Man takes the traditional elements of violence, isolation, and dogged determination and blends them in a thoroughly modern way.

 

3:10 to Yuma (1957, Director Delmer Daves) Of course everyone has seen the 2007 version of the 1957 classic; but why fix it if it aint broke? Absolutely beautiful black and white cinematography lend more to the story than any fancy-schmancy color version ever could. See this, then watch the remake, then decide if Hollywood needs to be banned from constantly ripping off the classics.

 

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