DOUBLE FEATURE 09.11.20
War Movies: Glory + Dunkirk
The war epic is one of the oldest genres in film history. Directors are drawn to grandeur and the challenge of adapting the experience of being in the trenches. As warfare and weaponry have grown more sophisticated over time, so too have filmmaking techniques, effects, and narrative structure in bringing the visceral battlefield realism. This week’s double feature looks at films considered essential milestones in the genre’s canon.
Considered one of the greatest war films ever made and a modern masterpiece of filmmaking, Christopher Nolan’s World War II saga, Dunkirk, is an extraordinary achievement in the medium’s history. Few films immerse the viewer in the chaos and sheer terror of battle. Aside from shooting the movie with an Imax camera and insisting it play on the most expansive screens possible, Nolan steered away from computer-generated effects and green screens, telling Variety, “The older techniques are working better. With visual effects, after a while the contemporary tricks look cheaper. The audience’s eye is ruthless.” Despite the visual and aural spectacle that is Dunkirk, the film’s emotional impact owes much to its unique narrative construction. With sparse dialogue, the script presents the film’s central action — the evacuation of British and French soldiers from a city under heavy German fire — from three arenas of battle: on land, at sea, and in the air. While it is impossible to imagine or experience the horror of being in a war, Dunkirk puts the viewer in a soldier’s shoes as much as a work of art can. The emotional impact of this film will linger long after it ends.
A very different sort of film about a very different kind of war, Glory stands as one of the most nuanced cinematic accounts of the Civil War. Based on the first African-American regiment’s true story, Glory is about much more than the deadliest war in American history. Its central theme of race resonates as much now as it did in 1989. Though it has been criticized for containing historical inaccuracies, the film’s power and its message aren’t diminished. It is a visually stunning epic, and Glory boasts terrific performances from Matthew Broderick and Denzel Washington. Washington earned his first Academy Award for his searing portrayal of a former slave-turned-soldier who sacrifices himself for the Union despite the racism and prejudice rampant even within his ranks.
