{"id":2329,"date":"2012-02-29T08:36:06","date_gmt":"2012-02-29T13:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/wpblog\/?p=2329"},"modified":"2012-07-15T19:55:36","modified_gmt":"2012-07-15T23:55:36","slug":"the-horror-the-horror-must-see-war-films-by-john-w-whitehead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/the-horror-the-horror-must-see-war-films-by-john-w-whitehead\/","title":{"rendered":"The Horror! The Horror! Must-See War Films by John W. Whitehead"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t show war as it really is on the screen, with all the blood and gore. Perhaps it would be better if you could fire real shots over the audience\u2019s head every night, you know, and have actual casualties in the theater.\u201d\u2014Sam Fuller, film director and author<\/p>\n

War is a grisly business, a horror of epic proportions. In terms of human carnage alone, war\u2019s devastation is staggering. For example, it is estimated that approximately 231 million people died worldwide during the wars of the 20th<\/sup> century. However, this figure does not take into account the walking wounded\u2014both physically and psychologically\u2014who \u201csurvive\u201d war.<\/p>\n

Eventually, war will be our undoing. As Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent and author Chris Hedges observes:<\/p>\n

War is like a poison. And just as a cancer patient must at times ingest a poison to fight off a disease, so there are times in a society when we must ingest the poison of war to survive. But what we must understand is that just as the disease can kill us, so can the poison. If we don’t understand what war is, how it perverts us, how it corrupts us, how it dehumanizes us, how it ultimately invites us to our own self-annihilation, then we can become the victim of war itself.<\/p>\n

War is one of the most heady and intoxicating, addictive enterprises ever created by humankind. It has an allure, a fascination, a draw that sweeps across national lines, ethnicity, race, religion. It has perverted, corrupted, and ultimately destroyed societies and nations across the globe. The only way to guard against it is finally to understand what it does and how pernicious it is and the myths and lies that we use to cover up the fact that, at its core, war is death.<\/p>\n

As Hedges implies, war is entertainment. Indeed, from books to television to the internet to film, war has<\/em> been a centerpiece of American entertainment culture. Yet of all the artistic mediums, film may be the most suitable forum for a discussion of war, because of its visual impact.<\/p>\n

War movies deal in the extremes of human behavior. The best films address not only destruction on a vast scale but also plumb the depths of humanity\u2019s response to the grotesque horror of war. They present human conflict in its most bizarre conditions\u2014where men and women caught in the perilous straits of death perform feats of noble sacrifice or dig into the dark battalions of cowardice.<\/p>\n

War films provide viewers with a way to vicariously experience combat, but the great ones are not merely vehicles for escapism. Instead, they provide a source of inspiration, while touching upon the fundamental issues at work in wartime scenarios.<\/p>\n

Here are 12 war films which touch on modern warfare (from the First World War onward) and run the gamut of conflicts and human emotions and center on the core issues often at work in the nasty business of war.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The Third Man<\/a><\/em> (1949). Carol Reed\u2019s The Third Man<\/em>, which deals primarily with the after-effects of the ravages of war, is a great film by anyone\u2019s standards. Set in postwar Europe, this bleak film (written by Graham Greene) sets forth the proposition that the corruption inherent in humanity means that the ranks of war are never closed. There are many fine performances in this film, including Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten and Alida Valli.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Paths of Glory<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(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. This film is packed with good performances, especially from Kirk Douglas and George Macready.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The Manchurian Candidate<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(1962). John Frankenheimer\u2019s 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\u2019s release with the assassination of John F. Kennedy. This chilling film is well written (co-written by Frankenheimer and George Axelrod) and acted. Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Angela Lansbury head a fine cast.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(1964). One of the great films of all time, Stanley Kubrick\u2019s\u00a0Dr. Strangelove<\/em>\u00a0burst onto the cinematic landscape and cast a cynical eye on the entire business of war. Strange and surreal, this film is packed full of amazing images and great performances. Peter Sellers should have walked off with the Oscar for best actor (but he didn\u2019t). Sterling Hayden and George C. Scott are excellent in support.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

MASH<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(1970). This is one of Robert Altman\u2019s best and most influential films\u2014as can be seen in the popular spin-off television series. Everyone knows the story of this group of misfit American doctors during the Korean War. Fine performances by Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The Deer Hunter<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(1978). Michael Cimino\u2019s Academy Award-winning film is one of the most emotion-invoking films ever made. This story of a group of Pennsylvania steel mill workers who endure excruciating ordeals in the Vietnam War is one film that makes its point clear\u2014war is the horror of all horrors. Robert DeNiro is fine, and Christopher Walken, who won a best supporting actor Oscar, is superb.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Apocalypse Now<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(1979). I consider this Francis Ford Coppola\u2019s best film. Based on Joseph Conrad\u2019s novella,\u00a0The Heart of Darkness<\/em>, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) treks to the Cambodian jungle to assassinate renegade, manic Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando). This antiwar epic is a great visual experience with fine performances from its ensemble cast.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Platoon<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(1986). This is not Oliver Stone\u2019s best film, but it is one helluva war movie. Set before and during the Tet Offensive of January 1968, this is a gritty view of the Vietnam War by one who served there. Indeed, when Stone is not filling the screen with explosions, he makes the jungle seem all too real\u2014a wet place for bugs, leeches and snakes, but not for people. Fine performances by Willem Dafoe and Tom Berenger.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Full Metal Jacket<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(1987). Stanley Kubrick\u2019s take on Vietnam is one of the most powerful and psychological dramas ever made. Focusing on the schizophrenic nature of the human psyche\u2014the duality of man\u2014Kubrick takes us through a hell-like Parris Island boot camp and into the bowels of a surreal Vietnam through the eyes of Joker (Matthew Modine). Every facet of this film, as in all of Kubrick\u2019s work, is top notch.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Jacob\u2019s Ladder<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(1990). Adrian Lyne\u2019s thriller hits the psyche like a thunderbolt. A man (Tim Robbins) struggles with what he saw while serving in Vietnam. Back home, he gradually becomes unable to separate “reality” from the surreal, psychotic world that intermittently intervenes in his existence. This bizarre film touches on the sordid nature of war and the corruption of those who manipulate and experiment on us while we fight on their behalf. Good cast (especially Elizabeth Pe\u00f1a), an excellent screenplay (Bruce Joel Rubin) and adept directing make this film one nice trip.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Saving Private Ryan: The Invasion Sequence<\/a><\/em> (1998). The long opening sequence of this film is unlike anything in any other Hollywood depiction of war. It\u2019s 25 minutes of barely comprehensible chaos and mutilation. Many veterans have stated that it is the most accurate re-creation of an amphibious assault. Credit for this sequence goes mainly to director of photography Janusz Kaminski\u2014to be shared with editor Michael Kahn, sound designer Gary Rydstrom, writer Robert Rodat and director Steven Spielberg. Beyond this\u2014i.e., the other 150 minutes of the film\u2014Saving Private<\/em> Ryan<\/em> is a run-of-the-mill movie.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Jarhead<\/a><\/em> (2005). Sam Mendes\u2019 film follows a Marine recruit (Jake Gyllenhaal) through Marine boot camp to service in Operation Desert Storm, winding up at the Highway of Death. But what Mendes serves up is war as a phallic obsession in the oil-drenched sands of Kuwait and Iraq. Here soldiers fight not for causes but to survive in the nihilistic pursuit of destruction. Fine performance by Jamie Foxx as Sergeant Sykes.<\/p>\n

As these films illustrate, war is indeed hell. With each and every passing moment, we move closer to the point of no return. Thus, it is time for what Martin Luther King Jr. called a \u201ctrue revolution of values\u201d that \u201cwill lay hands on the world order and say of war, \u2018this way of settling differences is not just.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking from the pulpit of Riverside Church in New York on April 4, 1967, King declared that the only solution is \u201can all-embracing and unconditional love for all mankind.\u201d He maintained that \u201cWe can no longer afford to worship the god of hate or bow before the altar of retaliation. The oceans of history are made turbulent by the ever-rising tides of hate. And history is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and individuals that pursued this self-defeating path of hate.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cYou can\u2019t show war as it really is on the screen, with all the blood and gore. Perhaps it would be better if you could fire real shots over the audience\u2019s head every night, you know, and have actual casualties in the theater.\u201d\u2014Sam Fuller, film director and author War is a grisly business, a horror […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,214],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2329"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2917,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329\/revisions\/2917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}