A modern commentary on cinema’s status on the war genre.
From science fiction, character, true story, the war genre has seen it all and lets explore how it has been represented in the history of cinema.
The war genre has been around as way back as the world wars begun, we have seen the high’s and lows of the genre, with Michael Bay, Spielberg, Mel Gibson, Oliver Stone, Sam Mends and now Christopher Nolan whose film, Dunkirk, is as fresh as bag of ice cube lettuce, lets discuss.
Orchestra and theatrical performance in war, the director allows actors screen time to develop their emotion on screen, with some of the best and well-known examples being Apocalypse Now with Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando. However, the genre has depth and range, providing directors the opportunity to execute the genre differently, either through extreme violence, an original narrative or in our case study, the sublime editing of Dunkirk.
Another example could be Jarhead. Jarhead doesn’t particularly have a story but it has character, even when these characters are’nt fully developed, their screen time and presences allow us to learn a lot about them and who they are. In that case, the war element feels close to home, very relatable about a film that gets the most out of the characters before war even starts.
Platoon, on the other hand, blends both character and war together, we get the violence which is used in conjunction with character development. jarhead just does;not have the focus on the war effort, in fact, it purposely avoids it for thematic effect.
It’s one of the best subtle anti-war films ever made, a film that celebrates characters who are obviously opposed to the fighting war effort, but don’t actively say it or express it, they keep this frustration to themselves for it to only come out in outbursts and conflict between their crew.
A modern contrasting example is Dunkirk featuring less emphasis on character, which I believe could be “this decade’s quintessential war film”. Every decade has been met with an outstanding war film, yes we have experienced several low-budget war films that have stood on their own including Kajaki. Every decade has had their Saving Private Ryan.
Saving Private Ryan is more narrative driven, it has supposedly an original narrative that takes the viewer on an emotional long journey following the rescue of a brother who lost his family in combat. The film feels like its own theatrical picture rather than a piece that is made to just represent war alone, Saving Private Ryan takes it up a notch with character and story.
Dunkirk will be the war film of the late 2000s, more specifically the WW2 film that dominated the 2010’s, with its close competitor being Hacksaw Ridge, which was more story and character driven but perhaps Dunkirk’s technical charm, universal appeal with Nolan’s experienced yet down to earth wizardly approach outruns the heavy and dramatic Hacksaw Ridge, told by the knight Mel Gibson.
Another film that follows Dunkirk in its tradition is Black Hawk Down, a war film that is so situated in realism, that the approach allows for tight editing and sound effects. The crew are concerned with making sure the situation hits, which means that the film is light on character, however, its action scenes really make the characters stand out as heroes.
In terms of Dunkirk’s lack of grotesque imagery, this is a contradiction to Saving Private Ryan, as that film didn’t hold back on its violence. However, Dunkirk’s 12a/PG-13 rating is really important in drawing in a much larger audience, a film that could be seen for the whole family, Saving Private Ryan and Hacksaw Ridge are both brutal at times, urging younger viewers to perhaps take a backseat.
Dunkirk has established WW2 as a cinematic language and art form in the hands of Nolan and his editing team who have tightly knitted a tense situation from beginning to end. Although the cast is talented, the film pays homage to the battle and soldiers of Dunkirk more than anything else. This approach is incredibly contained and focused, leaving little filler and crust for anything else.
Dunkirk’s execution was a sight to not forget, but its story is remarkable and inspiring. Unlike Saving Private Ryan, where its narrative is more controlled, the story of Dunkirk actually happened, which really turns up the authenticity. Its inspiring, remarkable, and a testament to the thousands who risked everything.
Its visuals are a testament of how wonderful war cinema can get, its images belong in the same iconography as some of the images in Apocalypse Now I believe, take a peak. Its worth pointing out that Dunkirk excels in the plane action scenes, there are unlike any other war film.
Cast your mind back to Saving Private Ryan, another film with a great cast, but you forget about the celebrity status aspect as soon as that first bullet flies past the soldiers. As classic Spielberg tradition, he transports you’re attention into the scene and situation.
Dunkirk is strictly depicting an event that took place during WW2, its execution is simple and solid. It wastes no time with character development and its story is situated in plot context. The film has restablished war on the big screen, not many WW2 films in recent years have achieved a similar acclaim, Dunkirk may be the main WW2 film that younger viewers grew up with and connect with. Its story is fantastic and heroic, but its not too gruesome and the film never gets too dark.
Its thematic conclusion is uplifting when you consider what the soldiers had been through and the cinematography is a vast improvement from war films in the past, to not put any of those films down today but the technology that film crew have now means that the film will always look better than amazing at home on blu ray or 4K, Dunkirk is a must own in that regard and older war films just can’t compare in the same visual quality.
When Saving Private Ryan broke out in the late 90’s, it re-established war violence in a way that cinema had’nt seen before. In that regard, it was ambitious and took a lot of risks. When you go for hyper realistic violence, there is always a risk that the audience gets turned off because its just too much. Just like Spielberg fashion, the director likes to takes risks and sticks with his decisions. Nolan’s interesting cast is a hybrid of celebrity and newcomers, with the likes of Tom Hardy, Harry Styles, Cillian Murphy and the magnificent Kenneth Branagh, whose performance is one of my favorites from him.
Nolan on the other hand, has a more delicate brush to the war genre, utilizing the audience as a spectator in an exhibition, taking us along the way of the events of Dunkirk. Dunkirk is more of a museum, whereas Saving Private Ryan is a rollercoaster. I believe that Dunkirk will be the quintessential WW2 film for young audiences for the next couple of decades, but we will see. Considering the depth of its story, its perhaps the genre’s most down to earth representation.
Although, its spectacle is truly impressive, it never seems to take away from the core essence of Nolan’s themes. We have seen plenty of war films loose the plot with its action, which causes irregular pacing, editing and tone. Dunkirk is as fresh as a perfectly sliced tomato, yes the tomato may not be as exciting as passionfruit, but it’s well preserved, finely cut and ready to order…Dunkirk ladies and gentlemen.
Even though Dunkirk is our main case study, After looking at these war films, we have 4 dimensions of the genre on display here. These include, character in Jarhead, Performance in Apocalypse Now, story in Saving Private Ryan and plot in Dunkirk. These are 4 lovely combinations of the genre, just like a perfect chicken sub sandwich. For those that want the character and the action, Platoon is right up that angle.
As a standalone film, Dunkirk is an absorbing ride, however, I invite you to watch a number of the war films discussed before seeing Dunkirk, as it may just blow you away that little bit more, once you know how unique its approach is, lets find out.
As Dunkirk was our case study, you can pick the film up on blu ray here.
However, what is your favorite out of the bunch?
Author Bio
Sam is a content writer. He loves all elements connected with film and writes with passion, always. You can find him on Linkedin, where you will be able to read more articles. When he is not writing, you can find him practicing football.
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