War Heroes in Movies

[Trey of Diamonds]

Instead of a "What's your favorite", type thread, I thought we could discuss what a war hero is within the context of movies. When you watch war movies you can see the differences in movies made in the 60s, 80s and now. Lets start with a recent one.

Hal Moore from We Were Soldiers.

Hal has the added benefit of being a real person as well as a Hollywood representation of a war hero. I really thought they portrayed his character well. This movie really took me by surprise, I hadn't read the book and didn't expect to see the military shown in such a positive light. Sure, the political problems were still there, but the soldiers were shown as decent human beings just doing the job they were trained to do. And Hal Moore was shown as an exceptional leader who truly cared for his men and his country.

I'm also very fond of R. Lee Ermey's Drill Instructors, specifically the one he played in the Boys in Company 'C', Staff Sergeant Loyce. This role was far superior to the one he would play in Kubricks Full Metal Jacket. I love this scene with him and one of the recruits in boot camp. It really explains the purpose of boot camp and the training given there better than any other movie I've seen.

YouTube - boys in company c

Thoughts? Comments?

 

[gnomon]

The first thing I think about in war movies are the differences between the personality and attitude of the heroes. And there is a remarkable difference between what the actors portrayed, or could portray, from the older films from what we see now. Watching a director interview, just a bit, on TMC the other night where they discussed the patriotism regardless of historical accuracy films portrayed.

Watch an old film like Sergeant York and you get no sense of a character who fought in trench warfare during WWI. Not much of what fighting the war seems to be conveyed much in the movie. York is one of the most famous military heroes of the United States and there was no way a biopic from the early '40's made during WWII would do anything but provide a feel good patriotic film.

Then watch When Trumpets Fade (1998) where the central character is trying to get himself discharged for mental instability but becomes an unwitting hero even with the questionable decisions he makes to lead the platoon he does not want to lead. A soldier primarily concerned with self preservation Now this is not based on a historical figure but it does, in my opinion, show a character with more realistic qualities than earlier films which did not allow for writers to question much about the authenticity of war heroes.

The film The Outsider(1961) about Ira Hayes and the problems he faced as a famous war hero, especially a Native American (Pima), facing life after the war. Ira Hayes was one of the men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima.

And just for my own sentimentality: spoilers for those who have not seen the film
YouTube - Madworld When Trumpets Fade
The only video mashup with this song that I've liked so far.

 

[Trey of Diamonds]

Now this is not based on a historical figure but it does, in my opinion, show a character with more realistic qualities than earlier films which did not allow for writers to question much about the authenticity of war heroes.

I disagree. What about Private John Steele who hung from the bell tower and was made deaf during D-Day, played by Red Buttons in the movie The Longest Day (1962). I think this was a very realistic depiction of a real hero who was placed in an extreme situation.

Another example would be Commander Shears from Bridge on the River Kwai done in 1957.

 

[gnomon]

I disagree. What about Private John Steele who hung from the bell tower and was made deaf during D-Day, played by Red Buttons in the movie The Longest Day (1962). I think this was a very realistic depiction of a real hero who was placed in an extreme situation.

Another example would be Commander Shears from Bridge on the River Kwai done in 1957.

I would have to broaden the number of films I've seen to give a better opinion on a historical aspect of war biopics. I've seen fewer films along the lines of We Were Soldiers and Patton then I have such as The Dirty Dozen, Stalingrad, Stalag 17, All Quiet On the Western Front, The Grand Illusion....

I want to watch To Hell and Back. Never seen that one. It's been a long time since I watched The Outsider so I would need to watch it again.

Actually this thread is a great idea since watching Valkyrie I've been interested in Henning von Tresckow and Stauffenberg's plot to kill Hitler and who these German commanders were as well as The Counterfeiters and Adolf Burger's efforts to sabotage the Nazi plot in counterfeiting Allied currency.

It would be interesting to reach back to those early post WWI films and watch them chronologically to get a view of the differences in portraying war heroes through different eras and from different countries.

Get back to you after watching a few of them.