word 1st draft

First Draft

"Its a war that never ends cinematically speaking"(Pulver, 2020) which perfectly describes  the thought of war in cinema the genre that could be loved or hated from a certain point of view. The appeal of war films is something that could be instant or nurtured over time .The style of war  shown that would be prefer by at the general movie going audience is a big part of the appeal and weather you prefer the "varnished version of the truth" (The National, 2020) from the 1950s to 60s or the physiological thrillers of the late 1970s to present day. It is said that "Humans by nature are inquisitive and seek knowledge to assist in the understanding of life , its complexities , virtues and horrors"(Russell, 2020) so naturally we should be drawn to war films in our pursuit in knowledge and excitement which is what the war films of an older generation where like showing brave and daring soldiers "fighting a just, righteous battle against the forces of evil"(The National, 2020) whilst educating you on events and people of the second world war. But then we venture into the late 1970s into 80s and carrying onto present day where war films shifted from showed glorified victory into loss and despair where films start showing the repercussions and the harsh truth the allies lost a great amount of battle and suffered heavy losses showing a darker and more depressing representation which matured with its audiences and thrilled audiences with its new darker tone.

The evolution is shown well between The longest day (,1962) representing the light hearted patriotism from the 60s to 70s and Saving Private Ryan (Speilberg,1998) which depicts the horror of war and its serious tone and nature related with war films of the 1980s to present day. Both these films depict the Normandy beach landings on June 6th 1944 but from very different perspectives. The contrast is as a heroic affair whilst the other shows hell on earth and a dark horrific massacre. This shows the evolution in the genre and how audiences have also changed wanting a more realistic, gritty account of war, similar to the effects of New Hollywood in the 60s where audiences were tired of seeing a hyperealistic view of the world.. currently favouring the dark gritty realistic adaptations of war currently in cinema which depict the serious repercussions of war and the effects on the brave men who have fought through out time in these conflicts. The evolution is staggering due to how war has been changed through cinema in a short amount of time. Some could say this is because audience’s have become decensorcised to violence (reference needed). This could be due to the cinema movement New Hollywood where films where becoming more violent and serious and when they became popular it bleached into other genres and directors style. One of the most popular films that started this movements was The Wild Bunch (Peckinpah, 1969) with its violence and dark themes related and hit audiences with surprising dark realism and bright violence.

The longest day depicts the Normandy landings as a brave operation with a cast of iconic actors such as John Wayne Henry Fonda and Sean Connery this version of the event described as the "definitive classic" (Jones, 2020) which depicts heroism on behalf of the allies where in (Figure 1) a scene of an American ranger that is climbing up the cliffs at pointe du hock where he notices that one of the ropes next to him is falling and if it falls the other man climbing up will be killed so he is holding himself up and carrying another man up himself  showing the brute determination bravery and heroism of soldiers in war in the 60s. As well as if I was to look at the Omaha beach landings where the setting is a lot more calming and relaxed than the modern-day counterpart of Saving Private Ryan because after leaving the landing craft the troops are not being shot at and some extras in the back are borderline smiling. Also, before they even reach the beach the soldiers are calm and relaxed where as in Saving Private Ryan the soldiers are petrified throwing up and praying to god for their safe return to their families and country (Figure 2 and 3). 

Saving Private Ryan 

there is a scene in the landings after they push up the beach which is brilliant for 2 reasons first the scene shows 2 German surrendering when two American solders gun then down when they are unarmed and scared the reason this scene is praised is because it shows the fact the Americans committed atrocities the same as the Germans and  secondly the scene shows its realism with what the German says as the audience you don't know because you think there speaking German so you assume but the real translation was "please don't shoot me I am not German I am Czech I didn't kill anyone I am Czech" (Robert rodat 1998)this shows that he is scared and docent want to fight in a war that has nothing to do with him this scene shows another piece realism in war and the horrors that go with it.