Great war movies for Veterans Day

Bill Knight column for Nov. 8, 9 or 10, 2018           

Cable, satellite and online entertainment around Veterans Day usually features war movies, and besides often presenting armed conflicts as simple dualities – war and peace, democracy and dictatorship, diversity and homogeneity, tolerance and repression, the spiritual and the shallow – war films are one of Hollywood’s most successful genres.

From silent pictures to today, war movies have included action, dramas, thrillers, comedies and musicals. Their formula was established by World War I veterans like director William Wellman (“Wings,” “Darby’s Rangers”) and screenwriter Laurence Stallings (“The Big Parade,” “What Price Glory?”). The formula has a hero who’s a loner leading a small group of soldiers against stereotypical foes (German Nazi’s, Chinese Communists, etc.) The plot usually focuses on one mission and its impact on ordinary people, and the soldiers from different homes, backgrounds, races and cultures eventually learn to work, fight and live as one.

Virtually every U.S. war has been used by studios to tell ageless tales about war’s gallantry and futility, bravery and cowardice, generals and foot soldiers, but World War II is the most frequent setting (600+ films). It’s difficult to reduce the many fine war movies to a handful, but these 10 are some of the best:

“All Quiet on The Western Front” (1930). This Oscar-winning anti-war picture was so well received, producer Carl Laemmle Jr. was nominated for a Nobel Prize. Based on Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, it stars Lew Ayres stars as an idealistic German high schooler enlisting in the “war to end all wars.”

“Battleground” (1949). Wellman directed this hard look at World War II’s Battle of the Bulge (softened some in ads that read: “The guts, gags and glory of a lot of wonderful guys!”) Starring Van Johnson and James Whitmore, it follows GIs facing winter and being trapped by Nazi’s in France’s Bastogne region in 1944.

“The Big Red One” (1980). Writer-director Samuel Fuller based this terrific WWII movie on his own experience in Africa, Normandy and Czechoslovakia. In one of Lee Marvin’s best performances, he’s a grizzled sergeant leading into battle youngsters, including Mark Hamill and Robert Carradine.

“The Bridge on The River Kwai” (1957). This Oscar-winning adventure is about the forced-labor construction of a railroad bridge in Burma by Allied prisoners of war commanded by a Japanese officer (Sessue Hayakawa). Another conflict emerges between a British Colonel (Alex Guinness) and an American escapee (William Holden) on whether to finish the project or blow it up.

“The Great Escape” (1963). This romp somehow blends the tension of “Stalag 13” with the hope of “The Sands of Iwo Jima.” Based on a true story, the plot revolves around one Nazi POW camp trying to keep troublemakers imprisoned. Through determination and ingenuity, 76 escape. The all-star cast includes James Garner, James Coburn, Charles Bronson and Steve McQueen.

“The Longest Day” (1963). Producer Darryl Zanuck used an all-star cast to tell some of the many stories associated with D-Day. John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, Sean Connery, Richard Burton and Robert Ryan star in an anthology of sorts. Based on Cornelius Ryan’s bestseller, the three-hour epic moves swiftly, helped by switching points of view from American, German, British and French characters.

“Paths of Glory” (1957). Kirk Douglas stars as an upstanding French officer in World War I, caught between the agony of generals sending men to certain death, and anger about three scapegoats. Based on the Battle of Verdun, where 89,000 French soldiers died, it reveals how bureaucracy can cover up incompetence at the expense of the victims, and how war can be tragic, ironic and meaningless.

“Platoon” (1986). This Academy Award-winning film by writer/director Oliver Stone is a riveting look at the Vietnam War and terrific cinema. A new replacement (Charlie Sheen) arrives in Vietnam and matures under fire. Meanwhile, a rivalry between Company leaders threatens the troops and anyone in the way. Willem Dafoe and Tom Berenger co-star.

“Saving Private Ryan” (1998). Steven Spielberg directed this emotional story of men who take part in the invasion of Normandy, then are assigned to find one enlisted man lost in the confusion. Tom Hanks leads the squad onto Omaha Beach, vividly depicted in the first half hour. Tom Sizemore and Matt Damon are featured.

“Sergeant York” (1941). Gary Cooper, who won an Oscar, stars as the World War I hero, raised as a religious Tennessee farmer and pacifist who is drafted, serves and becomes the most decorated U.S. soldier of the war. Directed by Howard Hawks, it co-stars Walter Brennan and Ward Bond.

“A Walk in The Sun” (1945). A small infantry unit must move from an Italian beach to attack a distant farmhouse Nazi’s hold. As soldiers advance, individuals advance, too – maturing and evolving. John Ireland and Dana Andrews star, with Lloyd Bridges and Sterling Holloway.