Recent war films are more like psychological thriller/horror survival films. I approve of this. Even for the Victor war should not be a gaudy thing.

Films like Dunkirk, the German release of All Quiet on the Western Front and even Hollywood’s Fury still show courage, valor and decency but the same time in the face of a much more plausible horror, life under the constant threat of death, enormity of the cost of war.

Happily gone are the ridiculous jingoistic cowboy war films like Pearl Harbor, Midway and their like.
In my opinion, if a war film doesn’t fill you with dread, or disgust at the wastefulness of it - it has failed.

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

Richard65 · M

I like war films as much as the next guy, but really, making a film drama about war simply acts to normalise it. It becomes almost clichéd and loses any potency. As someone once said, you should only be allowed to watch war films in a trench whilst someone hurls live grenades at you and a sniper tries to blow your head off with real ammunition. Then you might appreciate something of the reality of it.