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Casualties of War
Spielberg once said, ” Making a war film changes you.” Well I guess watching one does too. It’s an amazing feeling to experience what the humanity has gone through to make this world what it is today. Sitting in the dark theatre watching all the bloodshed with your eyes moist, you cannot help but think the kind of courage, valiant effort and determination that these guys exemplified.
As with everything else, Hollywood has been a front runner in producing superbly executed war movies and the initial ones can be traced back to the silent era when the focus was much on civil wars(Birth of a Nation - 1916). However it wasn’t until the first world that truly great stuff documenting the perils and horrors of war started coming out. The most notable among these was “All Quiet on the Western Front” (1930)
Then came the Second World War and and once the US entered it, Hollywood studios began churning out movies demonizing the enemy. It wasn’t until the mid 50s that the studios picked up the gauntlet and started making anti-war cinema. Kubrick’s “Paths of Glory” (1957) being a case in point. Another popular genre during this point were escape films that recounted heroic stories of escape from POW camps. And then there were Cold War films like “Dr. Strangelove” that took satirical approach to the tense years of Cold War. However the real stuff was still to come.
I have always been surprised by the regularity at which Hollywood keeps criticizing and lashing out against the Iraq war, but the trend started way back in 1970s after US got out of the mess that it had created in Vietnam. Films like “Platoon”, “Apocalypse Now”, “The Deer Hunter” and “Casualties of War” turned over a new leaf in the filmmaking world.
As war films generally require vast amounts of investment in every aspect be it finance, actors, crew or extras, the losses are huge if the movie doesn’t click. Anyway here are my picks for the 10 best war movies of all time.
1. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola) (1979) - A landmark film from a living legend.
2. Platoon (Oliver Stone) (1986) - Oliver Stone may have fizzled out lately but he started with a bang with this epic movie about the horrors of Vietnam war and the atrocities of US army.
3. Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg) (1993) - The film that proved to everyone that there was more to Speilberg that aliens and sharks.
4. Letters from Iwo Jima/ Flags of our Fathers (Clint Eastwood) (2006) - No one can make movies like Clint Eastwood does. And this time he provides two sides to the famous battle of Iwo Jima. Make sure you watch the Japanese version to truly digest this masterpiece.
5. Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg) (1998) - The second foray into WW II by Spielberg, the film is worth a watch for its opening sequence itself.
6. The Thin Red Line (Terrence Mallick) (1998) - Released the same year as Ryan, the film marked a return of Mallick 20 years after he directed his second feature. A beautiful allegory on man and nature, this is war at its philosphical best.
7. Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick) (1987) - One of the last directors of his time to make a movie on the Vietnam war, Kubrick might have been late to the party but makes you sit up and wonder.
8. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean) (1962) - David lean was known for his meticulous sets and shoots, waiting days just to get that proper sunset or the right wind. This film is a visual feast and is one of the last films to be shot on 70 mm.
9. Das Boot (Wolfgang Peterson) (1981) - If you think that the last thing you can have for the Nazi Army is sympathy, then you need to watch this film.
10. Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick) (1957) - One of the first anti war WWII films, and also the first in a series by Kubrick.
Notable Omissions - Lawrence of Arabia, All Quiet on the Western Front, Patton, The Great Escape, The Longest Day, Bridge on River Kwai, The Deer Hunter
23 Responses to “Casualties of War”
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Black Hawk Down!!!
That’s a movie that u just can’t miss… probably the most closely shot film that took the maximum causalities when it came to the number of crew members actually injured!
Down memory lane kinds post!
Platoon….. Hands down best best war movie ever made…..
Black hawk down…….Excellent photography……..^:)^^:)^^:)^^:)^^:)^^:)^
I absolutely agree with ravptor. Balck Hawk Down should make it to the list. And personally I strongly feel that its only “Letters from Iwo Jima” that makes it to the list and not “Flags of our Fathers”. Though both the movies are from Clint Eastwood, there is stark difference in the two. “Letters from Iwo Jima” would go down as one of the best war movies made. And add to that its a japanese film made to show japanese perspective of the war agains america made by an american.
Otherwise you have compiled a fine list of war movies. You just can’t put “Letters from Iwo Jima” and “Flags of our fathers” in the same line. They are two different films and “Letters…” is far better a film and “Flags..” is not.
I would add the following to list - Killing Fields, Ran, Great Dictator, Brave Heart, Children of Men and last but not least “Born on the Fourth of July”.
Pankaj
I would have felt in a completely different manner had you posted this a month back. I would have agreed with you. How much a month can change in your outlook.
Right now my view is almost too critical of this whole war movie business. Except for Kubrick I’m not impressed by most. It took be seconds to shed my worshipping of my fav vietnam war films. PLATOON has moved me to tears. Oliver stones movies have been very influential on my psyche. But right now i see that as another WHite Man’s Perspective. IF they really had the fuckin heart they would make movies from vietnamese perspective white vietnamese protagonist. It was hard to watch RESCUE DAWN with that outlook in the presence of Herzog. Maybe i’m expecting too much.
But thats what HEROES do. TOO MUCH!
I liked We Were Soldiers too. I thought it tried to provide a balanced view-point as well.
Band of Brothers - The Tele series… nothing technically or script-wise has had such a hard hitting impact on me. Most war movies give the view “outside->in” but Band of Brothers it’s the view from inside->out. 6 Discs… and even today there are at times Band of Brother weekends at HQ… 14 - 16 hours at a stretch… dissecting each and every episode, shot, concept, script detailing, focus…
Ravptor, Varun… Love Black Hawk Down.. wanted to include it in the list. Don’t know why I didn’t. My elder brother was part of the UN peacekeeping force in Somalia.. just out of the academy and his first posting. Still remember how I used to long for his letters as a kid. Anyway Ridley Scott is one of the best directors around . Eagerly awaiting his “American Gangster”. With Denzel and Russell Crowe in tow, expect fireworks.
Rahul, Wb.. totally agree with your comments. Mainak.. I don’t think I totally agree with your comments. It could be true in cases like Iraq and Vietnam, where the projected enemy wasn’t an enemy at all. Moreover it’s not only director’s vision also satisfying all the financiers. But do you seriously think that Oliver Stone could have managed to show all that he did from Vietnamese pepective. Besides dealing with morality issues, the movie through it’s cental character shows how a war changes you as a person. From an innocent 19 year old drop out to a 20 year old man who has seen it all. Moreover I don’t think that movies like Schindler’s List or Ryan or Paths of Glory could have been made in any other which way. Yes, maybe you are expecting too much.:)
Oz, I think it’s a shame that despite owing the DVD for 3 years now, I’ve watched only two episodes of “Band of Brother”. Anyway keep hearing about these screening sessions at the HQ. envy you. ::-l
How can you forget LOC? :(( The scene where Ajay Devgan was shown strolling in the red zone and in turn killed by a stray bullet from a paki soldier :( is still fresh in my memory.
Most (few havent watched) of the movies that you mention is no more in my fav list, though some of them used to be. If you ask me to pick my favs, I would say Underground, Train of hope, etc though I do not know whether they are war movies or not based on your criteria.
m not into war movie genre but Enemy at the Gates i think is one of the finest cos it keeps u guessing and gets u totally involved….i know its more on a personal level…like a conflict between two snipers but the way it is executed is just too good…
Not war films, but.. whenever I see “Pinjar” or “The Legend of Bhagat Singh” - I feel like: I wish I was fucking there. I do not know why; I just do.
Also “Rang De Basanti” and “Swades” mek me feel like: I wish I was fucking here.
it just meks me feel angry, peeved.. i don’t change, though.
“..Kuch Aisa Kar Ke Dikhan
Khud Khush Hojaye Khuda..”
(Song: Aashayien; film soundtrack: Iqbal)
i certainly feel that after watching those kind of films. i still do.
i have seen a few world war movies… have seen Black Hawk Down.. don’t remember anything about those movies.
Black Hawk dawn should be added in the list.
the details, cinematography and bullets sound make you feel the atmosphere of war.
Recently 1971 was definitely a good honest attempt by Amrit Sagar and team (Post war ofc.. yet a small battle) .. though the film lacked finesse but considering his first film, I believe it was eloquently done..
apart from the hollywood flicks mentioned above a few films that I recall
1. Tora Tora Tora.. Its been quite some time when I saw this film but have strong impact and m
memories..
2. BraveHeart..
A great war experience for me.. Mel Gibson’s best to date..
3. Pearl Harbor.. The only reason I liked the movie that I got to experience real 5.1 factor in the initial days of DVD player.. Otherwise I found it a rehash of our own Sangam.. Could that mean Sangam was again a copy of some flick?
-*-
Childhood War Fantasies (Inherited from our parents)
1. The Guns of Navarone
2. Battle of the Bulge
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Casualties or War
1. Life is beautiful : A little different perspective on Life and War.. War was brilliantly used as a character in the film..
2. Gone with the Wind.. Beautiful film with a background of War.. in sync with the theme of the post..
-*-
Hitlist (looking forward to see ASAP)
1. Paths of Glory
2. Patton
-*-
Missing so many names.. cant recall now.. hope to continue adding to the list..
Not to Forget Haqeekat, simply the best war film made in India..
For me the best ones are ” Saving Private Ryan” and Black Hawk Down..
when started watching Saving Private Ryan(SPR) ..you will be totally shaken after the initial fighting scene.. and then u ask yourself.. oh my god.. what i have seen now,, totally immersed and seems like you are fighting the war there…
But in Black Hawk Down.. it gradually biuld up the tempo and reach the higest point while the fighting happens in the Dark… amazing Photography.. some continuous photography can be clearly visible in this movie..
I may get skewered for this but the only good thing about Sav Pvt Ryan was the opening landing on the Normandy shore scene. That scene shows Spielberg at the best of his abilities.
The rest of the film was such a contrived premise to frame a war and reeked of sentimentality. And that ending scene with the old Damon saying some tripe about living life as a good man or something….was worse than the pain inflicted by Montezuma’s revenge.
Loved the opening sequence of Black hawk down with the sound of choppers descending on Mogadishu and the sound design of that scene. Riveting film. Ridley Scott should stick to his forte and stop making Matchstick men and that other vomit starring crowe in france. Or was it Spain?
Looking fwd to Am Gangster but don’t expect much from it. In the one preview i saw, there’s denzel hamming it up already. That action with his arms and something about his wife.
@Pavan Jha Paths of Glory is typical kubrik’s cinema, I loved it,was not as expected but a pleasant suprise.
Patton is one man show….
The gun game that they play with vietnamese in deer hunter is freakingggggggggggggggg great, I was like fuck kill those bastards or die, but it was soo good and irritating. simply superb, Christopher Walken and Bobby deniro were simply outstanding.
@dabba - The Normandie Beach landing of Saving Private Ryan bears heavy resemblance to the pivotal battle scene of Kurosawa’s “Ran”. In fact Spielberg even admitted that it was the inspiration for the way he built the whole sequence.
BUT, if you thought that opening sequence was good, then watch the landing sequence from “Band of Brothers” where the airborne soldiers land into the battlefield jumping off airplanes in parachutes. That is pure genius and chilling!
@ vijay
Don’t remember Ran since I saw it a long time ago. will take ur recommendation on BoB. Season 1 Epi 1 or is it somewhere in the middle? I really don’t care for war movies that much and so don’t wanna watch the whole series. Ironical considering every short film i have made was shot on used Arri SR-1 and those were war cameras…
Dear all, the war movies shall always be liked due to the paradox evry war story has…which ws expressed by Sartre as”individuals are overhumble and institutions are overproud”.The heat of war exposes the softest part of humans which ego keep trying to cover up…