Poster of "A Few Good Men"
courtesy of Paramount Pictures
“The War Movies”

With the Fourth of July headed our way it is a time to think of patriotism. To my mind that means patriotic movies – or war movies as I call them. Hollywood has sometimes reflected that which is best in the human psyche and created stories of valor and heroism. Of course the tenor of the films reflects the mood of the country.

Recently there have been a few movies about the war in Iraq and most of them have been anti-war. None of them has made much of a dent at the box office. “Stop Loss,” “Rendition” and “Jarhead” all tanked. It seems the country hasn’t made up its mind about this conflict yet and until they do they don’t want to be involved in movies about it.

You really have to go back to World War II to get the classics about war and its troops. That is when John Wayne was saving the world and he was doing it in movies like “Sands of Iwo Jima,” “Back To Bataan” and “Fighting Leathernecks.” Later in his career he returned to World War II in Otto Preminger’s “In Harm’s Way.” He was a little older but still a hero.

Wayne was the epitome of the military hero during this time but he had some major competition. Clint Eastwood got his turn in “Where Eagles Dare” and Kelly’s Heroes.” Gregory Peck jumped in with “The Guns of Navarone,” “On the Beach,” and “Pork Chop Hill.”

Then there were the POW movies such as “The Great Escape,” “Stalag 17,” and “The Bridge Over the River Kwai.” Who can forget Steve McQueen on his motorcycle; Alec Guiness becoming maniacal about his bridge; or William Holden searching out a traitor among the ranks?

All of these movies were patriotic and thrilling but it took director Steven Spielberg to bring it all together in one film. He created the classic “Saving Private Ryan” which will go down in the record books as the most dramatic of all military movies. Tom Hanks and Matt Damon along with some of Hollywood’s most talented young actors threw their hearts and souls into telling this story of brotherhood and valor.

But as good as “Saving Private Ryan” is, it is not my favorite military movie. That honor goes to the military courtroom drama “A Few Good Men.” Tom Cruise soared to stardom with “Top Gun,” another favorite of mine, but he solidified his stardom with this story about military lawyers. Since I served in the Air Force and was part of the JAG office at Robins Air Force Base I was more inclined to enjoy and identify with Cruise’s role as an attorney than his turn as a pilot.

In “A Few Good Men” I understood both Cruise’s role as a defense attorney and Jack Nicholson’s role as a stern commander. In the key scene Cruise’s character shouts, “I deserve the truth” and Nicholson’s character replies “You can’t handle the truth!” Both statements were true and that was the glory of the film and the brilliance of Aaron Sorkin’s script.

Most of these war movies are out on DVD now. On the fourth of July it might be a good idea to look at one or two of these I have mentioned. If you want to go further back in time for your history you might add in “Drums Along the Mohawk” and “The Patriot.” These movies show that heroism in Americans has always existed.

But as you watch make sure you say a silent prayer of thanks for all of those who fought for our freedom. The movies only represent those who sacrificed. The real heroes were actual soldiers and not movie stars.
 

 

 

 

 

©2008 Jackie K. Cooper

Click above to find out more about Jackie's books!