war films
The Bridge on the River Kwai
RELEASEDATE 1957
RegardedasoneofthefinestWorldWarII moviesevermade.BridgeontheRiverKwaiis a fictionalstorysurroundingtheconstruction
oftheBurmarailway.AlecGuinnessstarsasa BritishColonelwho,alongwithhisplatoonofmen,is forcedbytheJapanesetoconstruct
thebridge.ButtheColonel’salliancesbecomeunclearashecollaborateswithhisenforcers,believingtheBritishArmyshouldbe
rememberedforitssterlingconstructionwork.A strangeturnofevents,certainly,andone that’s brought to a head by William Holden’s
American officer who swoops in to try and blow up the bridge. Heart-wrenching stuff.
10 9 8
Platoon
RELEASEDATE 1986
Platooncomeswithanaddedboostof
authenticityaswriter-directorOliverStone
livedthroughthehorrorsoftheVietnam
War.StonewaspartoftheUSinfantry
for 14 months,channelinghisexperiences
intohisensembleflickthatfollowsCharlie
Sheen’scharacterashejacksin his
studiestoservehiscountry.It’sbelieved
thatthisis thefirstVietnamfilmtohail
directlyfromsomeonewhosawaction.
Stoneknewhimselfhowconflictrocks
thepsyche.Likewise,thesqualorofjungle
warfarehasrarelybeenmorepalpable,
butStoneputsthingsin perspective
in a gruellingscorchedearth raid on a
Vietnamese village.Darkest Hour
RELEASEDATE 2017
Therehavebeenmanyon-screen
depictionsonChurchill,butGary
Oldman’sacesthelotwiththis 2018
Oscars-contender.Playedwitha mixture
ofpompousness,stubbornness,anda
necessarysprinklingofhumanity(which
admittedlyrunsverysaccharinein a
coupleofscenes),Oldman’sChurchill
perfectlyencapsulatesthetypeofleader
thatwasneededtodefyHitlerin WW2.
Hispoliticallyawkwardpositionalsogives
greatbackgroundastowhyhewasn’t
retainedasPrimeMinisterafterthewar–
somethingfewmovieshavemanagedto
explainadequately.Thisfilmfeaturesno
realaction,andonlyfocusesona narrow
partofWW2,butit standsfirmlyasoneof
thebestwarmoviesevermade,thanksto
someexcellentpacing,heapsoftension,
andoneofthegreatestperformances
you’ll see of a major historical figure.The Pianist
RELEASEDATE 2002
Tofullyimmersehimselfin thecharacter
ofpianistWladyslawSzpilman,Adrien
BrodyembracedTheMethod.Hedumped
hisgirlfriend,soldhisbelongings,gaveup
hishomeandlivedastheJewishpianist
didduringhistimein theWarsawghetto.
Thatcommitmentshowsonscreen,andis
likelywhatearnedBrodyhisOscarasthe
innertormentsufferedbyhischaracter
is matchedperfectlybyhisphysical
transformation.Thefilmis basedona true
story,andservesasa starkreminderof
thelengthsJewishEuropeans had to go to
in order to survive.