John Whitehead's Commentary
War Movies and Human Conflict
As our beleaguered nation embarks on a war against terrorism, President Bush is attempting to prepare the nation--and the American people--for a "lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have ever seen." But do Americans really understand what war means beyond the footage of cruise missiles falling on night-darkened targets? One has to wonder if it's really possible to understand war when it's being waged against such an enemy--one who is not only ferocious, intelligent, dedicated and wily but also hidden from plain view.
Not only will this war be unlike anything we've ever seen, we also have several generations of young people who have never been involved in a war. And unlike prior generations during armed combat, we have a president who has not seen overseas action. Yet rather than avoiding the grim reality of war--and hiding from that reality--let us take this opportunity to better understand the nature of war and help our young people understand that no matter who is victorious in the end, there is always a high price to pay.
Thus, film being the most readily accessible venue--and one to which most Americans readily relate--perhaps we should start there. That said, let me first clarify that movies are not reality. "You can't show war as it really is on the screen, with all the blood and gore," legendary film director Sam Fuller once said. "Perhaps it would be better if you could fire real shots over the audience's head every night, you know, and have actual casualties in the theater."
There are, however, some classic films that come close to representing what war is like. And while many critics rail against the amount of violence in war films, I would suggest that the right ones provide us with an opportunity to correct some of our horrid misconceptions of what war is all about.
War movies deal in the extremes of human behavior. The best films address not only destruction on a vast scale but also reach the depths of humanity's response to the grotesque horror of war. They present human conflict in its most bizarre conditions--where men and women caught in the perilous straits of death perform feats of noble sacrifice or dig into the dark battalions of cowardice.
War films provide viewers with a way to vicariously experience combat. But the great ones are not mere vehicles for escapism. Instead, they provide a source of inspiration, while touching upon the fundamental issues at work in wartime scenarios.
War movies are a popular genre. There are literally hundreds, with many now available on video or DVD--and some endlessly replayed on television. Following are ten films that run the gamut of conflicts and human emotions and center on the core issues often at work in the nasty business of war.
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949). John Wayne is Sgt. Stryker, the toughest and meanest platoon leader alive. Stryker leads his men through boot camp and into the Pacific area to fight the Japanese. This film is one of the best of its kind and, as it was meant to do, it inspires.
From Here to Eternity (1953). Fred Zinnemann's adaptation of the James Jones novel is one of the best films ever made. Set in Hawaii on the eve of the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack, it interweaves the personal conflicts of individual servicemen and women with the angst of military life lived on the verge of war.
Paths of Glory (1957). This Stanley Kubrick film is an antiwar masterpiece. The setting is 1916, when two years of trench warfare have arrived at a stalemate. And while nothing of importance is occurring in the war, thousands of lives are being lost. But the masters of war pull the puppet strings, and the blood continues to flow.
The Manchurian Candidate (1962). John Frankenheimer's classic focuses on the psychological effects of war and its transmutation into mind control and political assassination. All the lines of intrigue converge to form a prophetic vision of what occurred the year after the film's release with the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
The Train (1965). This is another superb film by John Frankenheimer and an equally great performance by Burt Lancaster--who, at age 51, does all his stunts. Lancaster is cast as Labiche, the reluctant leader of a French resistance group who valiantly attempts to derail a Nazi train loaded with stolen French artwork masterpieces.
Patton (1970). George C. Scott gives a great performance here as the maniacal World War II general, George Patton. Patton's philosophy was one that conquered his times: "Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country." If only it were this simple.
Apocalypse Now (1979). I consider this Francis Ford Coppola's best film. Based on Joseph Conrad's novella, The Heart of Darkness, Captain Willard treks to the Cambodian jungle to assassinate renegade, manic Colonel Kurtz. This antiwar epic is a great visual experience with fine performances from its ensemble cast.
The Big Red One (1980). Though Lee Marvin won his best actor Oscar for Cat Ballou (1965), his performance as the Sergeant in Sam Fuller's autobiographical view of World War II may be his best work. The story actually starts in World War I and winds its way into World War II Europe. This is a surreal film punctuated with bleak humor. "Killing insane people is not good for public relations," the Sergeant says. Fuller, however, brings the audience face-to-face with the horror of war and our tendency to surge forward into hell without counting the consequences.
Mother Night (1996). This adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's surreal novel is a film that is meant to keep the viewer off-balance and, thus, engaged in the story. It centers on American Howard W. Campbell, Jr. who, by becoming a Nazi propagandist, spies for his country. Eventually, Campbell is captured by the Israeli government and is headed toward the gallows.
Saving Private Ryan: The Invasion Sequence (1998). The long opening sequence of this film is unlike anything in any other Hollywood depiction of war. It's 25 minutes of barely comprehensible chaos and mutilation, and many veterans have stated that it's the most accurate re-creation of an amphibious assault.
While these films, among others, address some of the important issues involved in war, the real battles are being fought in the hearts and minds of people the world over. As we face some long, dark days ahead, let us hope that at the end of it all, we can find a way to, as John Lennon put it, "give peace a chance."
Not only will this war be unlike anything we've ever seen, we also have several generations of young people who have never been involved in a war. And unlike prior generations during armed combat, we have a president who has not seen overseas action. Yet rather than avoiding the grim reality of war--and hiding from that reality--let us take this opportunity to better understand the nature of war and help our young people understand that no matter who is victorious in the end, there is always a high price to pay.
Thus, film being the most readily accessible venue--and one to which most Americans readily relate--perhaps we should start there. That said, let me first clarify that movies are not reality. "You can't show war as it really is on the screen, with all the blood and gore," legendary film director Sam Fuller once said. "Perhaps it would be better if you could fire real shots over the audience's head every night, you know, and have actual casualties in the theater."
There are, however, some classic films that come close to representing what war is like. And while many critics rail against the amount of violence in war films, I would suggest that the right ones provide us with an opportunity to correct some of our horrid misconceptions of what war is all about.
War movies deal in the extremes of human behavior. The best films address not only destruction on a vast scale but also reach the depths of humanity's response to the grotesque horror of war. They present human conflict in its most bizarre conditions--where men and women caught in the perilous straits of death perform feats of noble sacrifice or dig into the dark battalions of cowardice.
War films provide viewers with a way to vicariously experience combat. But the great ones are not mere vehicles for escapism. Instead, they provide a source of inspiration, while touching upon the fundamental issues at work in wartime scenarios.
War movies are a popular genre. There are literally hundreds, with many now available on video or DVD--and some endlessly replayed on television. Following are ten films that run the gamut of conflicts and human emotions and center on the core issues often at work in the nasty business of war.
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949). John Wayne is Sgt. Stryker, the toughest and meanest platoon leader alive. Stryker leads his men through boot camp and into the Pacific area to fight the Japanese. This film is one of the best of its kind and, as it was meant to do, it inspires.
From Here to Eternity (1953). Fred Zinnemann's adaptation of the James Jones novel is one of the best films ever made. Set in Hawaii on the eve of the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack, it interweaves the personal conflicts of individual servicemen and women with the angst of military life lived on the verge of war.
Paths of Glory (1957). This Stanley Kubrick film is an antiwar masterpiece. The setting is 1916, when two years of trench warfare have arrived at a stalemate. And while nothing of importance is occurring in the war, thousands of lives are being lost. But the masters of war pull the puppet strings, and the blood continues to flow.
The Manchurian Candidate (1962). John Frankenheimer's classic focuses on the psychological effects of war and its transmutation into mind control and political assassination. All the lines of intrigue converge to form a prophetic vision of what occurred the year after the film's release with the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
The Train (1965). This is another superb film by John Frankenheimer and an equally great performance by Burt Lancaster--who, at age 51, does all his stunts. Lancaster is cast as Labiche, the reluctant leader of a French resistance group who valiantly attempts to derail a Nazi train loaded with stolen French artwork masterpieces.
Patton (1970). George C. Scott gives a great performance here as the maniacal World War II general, George Patton. Patton's philosophy was one that conquered his times: "Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country." If only it were this simple.
Apocalypse Now (1979). I consider this Francis Ford Coppola's best film. Based on Joseph Conrad's novella, The Heart of Darkness, Captain Willard treks to the Cambodian jungle to assassinate renegade, manic Colonel Kurtz. This antiwar epic is a great visual experience with fine performances from its ensemble cast.
The Big Red One (1980). Though Lee Marvin won his best actor Oscar for Cat Ballou (1965), his performance as the Sergeant in Sam Fuller's autobiographical view of World War II may be his best work. The story actually starts in World War I and winds its way into World War II Europe. This is a surreal film punctuated with bleak humor. "Killing insane people is not good for public relations," the Sergeant says. Fuller, however, brings the audience face-to-face with the horror of war and our tendency to surge forward into hell without counting the consequences.
Mother Night (1996). This adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's surreal novel is a film that is meant to keep the viewer off-balance and, thus, engaged in the story. It centers on American Howard W. Campbell, Jr. who, by becoming a Nazi propagandist, spies for his country. Eventually, Campbell is captured by the Israeli government and is headed toward the gallows.
Saving Private Ryan: The Invasion Sequence (1998). The long opening sequence of this film is unlike anything in any other Hollywood depiction of war. It's 25 minutes of barely comprehensible chaos and mutilation, and many veterans have stated that it's the most accurate re-creation of an amphibious assault.
While these films, among others, address some of the important issues involved in war, the real battles are being fought in the hearts and minds of people the world over. As we face some long, dark days ahead, let us hope that at the end of it all, we can find a way to, as John Lennon put it, "give peace a chance."
ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.
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