War is . . . well, best left to the movies
Feb 12 '04 (Updated May 03 '04)
The Bottom Line One of Our Aircraft . . . lands atop a list of exceptional movies about the horrors and glories of war.
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(Added 5/3/04: Four people have sent e-mails to suggest that The Longest Day (1962) should be included on any list like this. I haven't seen it yet.)
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War is hell for people who've been there. For the rest of us, it can sometimes seem the stuff of great adventures.
Agony, death and the ceaseless suffering of the survivors. Excitement, romance and the unflagging certainty that we could whip the bad guys. War is about all of those things. War movies are about all of them as well.
There are many exceptional movies about wars. Trying to list just ten of them requires a campaign of attrition that leaves many casualties. Some of those are cited below, after the list of ten movies left standing when the smoke cleared.
This list is stacked with movies that could be described as anti-war. Many other lists in this category are like that, but certainly not all of them.
#1) One of Our Aircraft is Missing (1941)
Written and directed by Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell.
Reviewed on Epinions by SusanGranger and by some guy who just can't let it go.
There are no weak elements in this gripping thriller about a crew of British aviators during World War II. Their plane is shot down over Nazi-occupied Holland and they get help from many brave Dutch citizens as they try to make their way back to safety.
The movie is riveting. Bits of humor break up the suspense. It all comes together in a rousing but mournful celebration of the unbroken spirits of people determined to free their country and its people from those who seek to conquer them.
There's a lot more about this movie at the end of this piece. That essay is quite long, but you can spare yourself reading it if you just see the movie. Then I promise I'll stop writing about it.
#2) All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Directed by Lewis Milestone. Written by Maxwell Anderson, George Abbott and Del Andrews.
Adapted from Erich Maria Remarque's novel.
Academy Awards for Director and Best Picture.
Added to the National Film Registry in 1990 and named one of the Top 100 movies by the American Film Institute in 1998.
Reviewed by isinga and GeorgeChabot.
Young men are transformed by World War I from eager recruits to battle-weary soldiers, or much worse. This is a flawless big-screen treatment of the landmark novel.
Everything about the movie works well. Lew Ayres is perfectly cast as a young German soldier struggling to make some sense of war's senselessness. Unforgettable images suggest some of what war does to us, including the haunting moment in which the title is revealed to be the grimmest irony.
#3) Henry V
(1944) Starring and directed by Laurence Olivier.
Reviewed by BrianKoller and Korova.
(1989) Starring and directed by Kenneth Branagh.
Reviewed by GeorgeChabot and jaxmom28.
These are two exceptional movie versions of William Shakespeare's play about the king who united medieval Britain.
Each movie reflects the spirit of the time in which it was made. Olivier's wartime version is rousing and was intended to rally its audiences to continue supporting efforts to turn back Hitler and his hordes. Branagh made his during a time of relative peace and so he more fully considers the terrible costs of war. Both are well worth watching.
#4) Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
Directed by Henry King. Written by Sy Bartlett and Beirne Lay, Jr.
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Dean Jagger.
Named to the National Film Registry in 1998.
Reviewed by NFP and Sloucho.
Gregory Peck is haunting as the commander of a squadron of fliers during World War II who is haunted by his responsibilities. The movie powerfully suggests the tolls that wars inflict and the heroism of those who try to soldier on regardless of their crushing burdens.
#5) The Red Badge of Courage (1951)
Directed by John Huston. Written by Albert Band.
Adapted from Stephen Crane's novel.
Not yet reviewed on Epinions.
Real-life war hero Audie Murphy stars in this exemplary adaption of the classic novel about a young man caught between his courage and cowardice during the U.S. Civil War. The battle scenes are both stirring and upsetting. The movie presents the more personal dramatic moments with masterful restraint that makes them linger long after the movie ends.
#6) Paths of Glory (1957)
Directed by Stanley Kubrick. Written by Kubrick, Calder Willingham and Jim Thompson.
Adapted from Humphrey Cobb's novel.
Reviewed by Sloucho and mfunk75.
A general's flawed battle plan leads to disaster. He seeks to shift attention from his actions by sentencing three soldiers to execution for cowardice. Kirk Douglas and Adolphe Menjou are memorable in this complex consideration of where one's responsibilities lie in times of war.
#7) The Tin Drum or Die Blechtrommel (1979)
Directed by Volker Schlondorff. Written by Schlondorff and Jean-Claude Carriere.
Adapted from Gunter Grass' novel.
Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.
Reviewed by Nilo24 and BrianKoller.
David Bennent gives a heartbreaking performance as a young man who sees what Nazis and other adults are capable of. He does not want to be like them and so he wills himself not to grow up.
The movie has been targetted for boycotts because of scenes in which the boy has sex with an older girl. One hopes this is another instance in which attempts to repress a work actually draw more attention to it. The Tin Drum richly rewards viewers and so it deserves the largest possible audience.
#8) Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Directed by William Wyler. Written by Robert Sherwood.
Academy Awards for Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor (Fredric March) and Supporting Actor (Harold Russell, an injured veteran who also received a special Academy Award for inspiring other injured veterans).
Named to the National Film Registry in 1989.
Reviewed by tbrown and isinga.
World War II is over and several soldiers try with varying degrees of success to adjust to civilian life. A powerhouse cast movingly brings to life all the triumphs and setbacks that war's painful aftermaths can cause.
#9) Execution of Private Slovik (made for television, 1974)
Directed by Lamont Jackson. Written by Richard Levinson and William Link.
Reviewed by thewasp.
Martin Sheen has given many powerful performances. His portrayal of the first U.S. soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion is likely his best. The movie suggests that Sheen's character did not deserve his punishment, but the nuanced screenplay deftly manages the near-impossible by making Sheen's character a hero of sorts while not making villains of those who challenge him.
#10) The Caine Mutiny (1954)
Directed by Edward Dmytryk. Written by Stanley Roberts and Michael Blankfort.
Adapted from Herman Wouk's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
Reviewed by isinga and weirdo_87.
This is a provocative consideration of what it can mean when the military's chain of command is challenged. Humphrey Bogart gives one of his best performances as a naval commander who appears to be losing his mind. Several other actors give exceptional supporting performances, including Jose Ferrer, Van Johnson and -- especially -- Fred MacMurray as an officer who understands himself with remorseful clarity.
The movie drags when its attention falls on a standard-issue romance between two characters for whom it is possible to feel happy but whom it is impossible to remember long after the movie ends. Everything else about the movie is absorbing.
THE FALLEN
From Here to Eternity (1953) and Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) would be on my list if I could make it longer than ten. So might Friendly Persuasion (1956), which is not in every respect a masterpiece but which does feature moving performances by Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire and Tony Perkins as a Quaker family trying to hold on to their pacifist faiths during the U.S. Civil War.
Other movies that deserve acclaim greater than merely being mentioned alphabetically include Apocalypse Now (1979), Glory (1989), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Patton (1970), Platoon (1986) and Stalag 17 (1953). Perhaps less well-known and certainly undeservedly so are Johnny Got His Gun, the adaptation of Dalton Trumbo's novel, (1971) and A Rumor of War (1980), a powerful made-for-TV drama about a Vietnam-era court martial.
I've tried to make the cases for several movies about World War II (Hollywood vs. Hitler: Movies that helped KO the Third Reich) in the category about such movies.
THE UNKNOWNS
There are many war-themed movies I have yet to see, including King Vidor's silent The Big Parade (1925), John Huston's Across the Pacific (1942), and Jean Renoir's Grand Illusion (1937). Also Stairway to Heaven (aka A Matter of Life and Death, 1946) and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), both by Powell and Pressburger, the creators of The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus and a previously-cited classic:
MUCH MORE ABOUT ONE OF OUR AIRCRAFT IS MISSING
The circumstances in which we watch them help shape our responses to movies. I tried my best to encourage people to watch this movie, and then wanted to try a second review after watching it again in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. This is something I wrote in November 2001 but didn't post because I already have a review about the movie on Epinions.
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People under siege take strength from knowing that they are not alone, that there are others who will help them triumph.
That is true whether the enemies are loose networks of terrorists hiding in the shadows or organized armies of Nazi soldiers goosestepping across Europe. So the challenges that much of the world faces now add resonance to what even during more peaceful times would be a top-notch piece of rousing, amusing and suspenseful entertainment. Filmed at a time when Allied victory over Hitler's forces was far away and far from certain, One of Our Aircraft is Missing (1942) carries both reminders that people have won their freedom from the threats of brutal opponents before and encouragement that we can do so again.
The riveting story is about six British aviators who are returning from bombing targets in Germany and are forced to parachute from their plane before they reach England. They land in the Netherlands and must make their way to the North Sea, where they hope a British ship will find them. If they are to survive, the Royal Air Force (RAF) crew must gain the trust and cooperation of Dutch citizens who oppose the Nazi forces that have seized control of their homeland.
One of Our Aircraft is Missing gives us a glimpse into what it might be like to live in a world in which brutality has forced the suspension of the pre-war rules of civilization. Unease is inescapable. It is a world in which possessing by chance a piece of the right newspaper can prove that you are trustworthy, but possessing the wrong LP record can get you killed.
The movie begins with the crew preparing for the mission that will end with their abandoning their plane. It ends as they prepare for their next mission. But while the movie rouses the spirits of its viewers, it also acknowledges the costs of war. There is an early suggestion that the happy ending signalled at the start will come at a terrible price.
The movie, written and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, is full of terrific touches. There is suspense, as when an organist in a Dutch church must distract attention from something that will give away the Brits. He risks incurring the anger of one of Hitler's henchmen by playing the Netherlands' national anthem. There is humor, including a scene in which the people of Holland frustrate their adversaries by following too literally an order intended to harass them and to show that the Nazis are in control. And there are meaningful glances between one of the British fliers and a Dutch woman, poignant hints of a romance that might have blossomed if the world were not torn by war.
One of the many master strokes comes in two scenes. In the first, the Brits have just landed in Holland and they discuss whether to split up and which of them will lead if they stay together. The other scene takes place behind closed doors and beyond the audience's view. We hear the Dutch townspeople debate whether to risk their lives by helping the downed fliers get back to England. No one articulates the obvious contrast between free people and people subjugated by Fuhrers. The eloquence of their instinctive exercises of freedom requires no emphasis.
But there are great words in One of Our Aircraft is Missing. Powell and Pressburger have made their movie ring with the rhetoric of people convinced they will overcome their oppressors. The Dutch have centuries of experience trying to keep water from flooding their low-lying land. One character refers to that history when she says, "The sea is a common enemy, and against a common enemy you must unite. Do you think we Hollanders who have saved our country from the sea will let the Germans have it?"
Later she apologizes to the six men of the RAF for not being able to feed them as well as she would if not for wartime hardships. "We haven't very much to eat, but we have everything else. We can think. We hope. We fight." Her determination inspires one of the Brits to reply, "We can't offer you anything except our love, our support and our admiration for a brave woman in a fearless country. We give you a growing help, an attack which will sweep the Germans from...."
His statement is cut off by the roar of Allied aircraft flying overhead. The Dutch woman watches the Nazis run for cover and expresses her gratitude for the air raids that have sent the would-be masters of the world scurrying like rats. The sound of Allied planes, she says, is "oil for the burning fire in our hearts."
That woman, played with convincing dramatic intensity by the comedian Googie Withers, is one of two standouts in a strong cast. The other is Pamela Brown, who plays the Dutch schoolteacher who first decides the British fliers can be trusted and then organizes her countrymen to help them get home safely.
The main characters are played by six English actors who are charming and likeable, but the movie emphasizes the airmen as a group more than as individuals. One plays a man who in civilian life is retired. Another is an actor and one is a football player, although people in the United States would say he plays soccer. None of the central male actors is allowed to shine as brightly as Withers or Brown. It is as if the moviemakers chose to highlight their heroes' ordinariness as a way of saying, "We will win because we are a nation full of folks just like these guys." If that was their goal, they achieve it.
They accomplish everything they set out to. The movie's flaws -- the lighting in a pivotal scene near the end is mismatched, and some bits of the fliers' conversation before they jump out of their plane are inadvertently drowned out by the sound of the engine -- are so minor that they are charming reminders of a time when the tricks of the moviemaking trade were not sophisticated. These tiny blemishes do nothing to dim a movie that glows wonderfully in every other moment.
To inspire Germans to see Hitler's war to its end, Nazi ministers made movies that emphasized seemingly endless phalanxes of marching soldiers and masses of tanks, planes and other weapons. In their movies, the Allies emphasized people. Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels reportedly envied Mrs. Miniver (1942) for the power of its emotional appeal. If Goebbels saw One of Our Aircraft is Missing, he must have been jealous of this masterful piece of entertaining propaganda as well.
One of the enviable touches Powell and Pressburger apply to their movie is their treatment of the Nazis. The villains in One of Our Aircraft is Missing are hateful and menacing, but they are not monsters.
In this, the movie shares the relative restraint of the British people during World War II. They faced a threat so ominous and direct that it could have justified demonizing their foes, but they resisted that temptation. Almost completely missing from England's wartime vernacular were the references to Germans as bloodthirsty Huns that were prevalent during the first World War.
Perhaps the British were mindful of the many ties between their country and Germany, bonds of history and blood symbolized by the English royal family, which is of German ancestry. Maybe Great Britain wanted to avoid repeating history by not giving into the vindictiveness of the victorious Allies after WWI, who humiliated Germany and helped sow the seeds of the second World War. It could be that England's people were confident of victory and were already looking forward to a time when their nation would be allied with a post-war Germany.
Whatever the reasons, One of Our Aircraft is Missing presents Nazis who are cold and hostile, but also people. Rather pitiful people at that. Withers' character describes how she is able to deceive the Nazis into thinking she is on their side while she works against them: "They are an unhappy people . . . They want to believe someone is their friend."
One of Our Aircraft is Missing provides a timely reminder that one can defeat enemies without dehumanizing them. It also provides engaging, inspiring entertainment that holds up well more than six decades later.
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