This October, David Ayer followed up his indie “End of Watch” with the war epic “Fury,” starring big names such as Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf and Logan Lerman. This month, Angelina Jolie makes her second directorial effort with the WWII drama “Unbroken,” with newcomers Jack O’Connell, Domhnall Gleeson and Jai Courtney.
In a Hollywood tradition that stretches back to the 1940s, every other year there is a film or two set during wartime with as many A-list actors as possible. Though World War II has ended up being the most used time period, every war has been used as a backdrop for action, drama, art or romance.
Going back to the early days of talkies and old Hollywood, Lewis Milestone’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” is the closest thing to a documentary on the horror and depression of WWI through the eyes of a disillusioned Lew Ayres. Howard Hawks directed Gary Cooper to an Oscar-winning performance as the title character in “Sergeant York” in 1941, while Clara Bow made her mark in cinema history official with William A. Wellman’s “Wings.” A century later in 2004, Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel and Jodie Foster find love during the battle of Somme in “A Very Long Engagement.”
Of all the WWII period pieces, Steven Spielberg is credited with two of the most acclaimed and popular with 1993’s “Schindler’s List” and 1998’s “Saving Private Ryan.” With these films, Spielberg became one of the few filmmakers to win an Oscar for Best Director twice. Both star-studded films show how war is hell and greed makes madness. In the same year as “Ryan,” Terrence Malick’s then-overlooked but now-praised “The Thin Red Line” took a more spiritual and introspective route of WWII’s consequences with just as many movie stars.
Since the time of its release in 1979, Francis Ford Coppola’s chaotic masterpiece “Apocalypse Now” has been called not only the best film centered on Vietnam but also the best anti-war feature. From the late 1970s to late 1980s, a string of essential Vietnam pieces followed with Michael Cimino’s “The Deer Hunter,” Oliver Stone’s “Platoon” and Stanley Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket.”
Romantic comedy queen Meg Ryan took a shot at a dramatic role alongside Denzel Washington in the 1996 film “Courage Under Fire,” while former heartthrob Josh Hartnett starred in two popular war dramas a decade ago in “Pearl Harbor” and “Black Hawk Down.” Jake Gyllenhaal, meanwhile, led the Saudi Arabia and Kuwait journey of Sam Mendes’ “Jarhead.”
If fictionalized recounts of real-life terror are your thing for entertainment, the film industry has a heavy selection for you.
mbianco@durangoherald.com. Megan Bianco is a movie reviewer and also contributes to other entertainment-related articles and features.
