Since it's November, and since I'm an avowed cinephile, it seemed apropos for me to recommend a war movie a day to my fellow Volquest faithful. Like the Halloween horror “series” that I wrote last year [and I’m still humbled by everyone’s response to that; thank you all!], I'm hopeful that I manage to suggest at least a few hidden gems here and there, but I'm also going to toss out a fair few of the standards along the way.
Before I start, tho', I feel obliged to acknowledge that there are literally hundreds of war films that are worth a watch. As military history folks can be rather keen on one specific field of study, or war, or even a specific battle, I’m sure that some are going to be disappointed in the choices made as well as the “survey” type approach to which films made the cut. But, there are only thirty days in November, and, for obvious reasons, I had to make it to a film about The Great War by 11 November, so… maybe you guys who are particularly well-versed in what could be described as the world’s second oldest profession will be sated by the honorable mentions per category.
Anyway, with that [probably unnecessary] qualification out of the way, let's get to it. The first category of war films will be “Swords and Sandals,” followed by “Napoleonic Tactics/Civil War,” “World War I,” “World War II,” “The Korean War” [hey, it’s not totally forgotten!], “The Vietnam War,” “The Cold War,” and “Contemporary War.”
For today, my recommendation is KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. The [theatrical version] trailer is below:
Many times, I find the director’s cut of a film to be a little bit disappointing compared to the theatrical release. They often tend to have just a bit too much self-indulgent cinematic “fat” that would have been better left on the cutting room floor. This one is different, tho’. I guess that, in an effort to trim the film down to a run-time that audiences would find palatable, Ridley Scott and company created a jumbled mess… and when your film is essentially trying to cover the many different angles of the many different Crusades, well, it’s easy to do so.
In a sense, this film takes the approach that Spielberg did in his iteration of THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, focusing on the main character and portraying the events of the film through his eyes. That’s not to say that the film doesn’t also show the fuller scope of what’s happening; it has to – the story is just too big to focus solely on Balian of Ibelin. Honestly, that’s just as well, because while Orlando Bloom does his best here to pull off the “leading man” shtick, he doesn’t have the sort of gravitas that the rest of the cast does. He is, however, serviceable in the role, and doesn’t just phone in a “Legolas 2.0” kind of performance. Regardless, it’s the co-stars that do a good deal to drive the plot, which is a fascinating one. There’s a pretty good interactive history feature on the Blu-Ray entitled “The Pilgrim’s Guide,” in case you’re interested in diving further into the real history of what’s dramatized onscreen.
While it has its flaws, this one is an epic, and tells the tale without too much of Scott’s signature shaky-cam style. The political intrigue between Balian and Guy de Lusignan seems perhaps especially relevant now, and the subject matter in general is presented in a balanced way. If you’ve seen WE WERE SOLDIERS, you have an idea about what I mean. If you haven’t seen it and don’t want to invest more than three hours, then watch the theatrical cut, instead, which clocks in at a little under two and a half hours; but, be ready for a less impressive film. Whichever version of the film you watch, enjoy!
Before I start, tho', I feel obliged to acknowledge that there are literally hundreds of war films that are worth a watch. As military history folks can be rather keen on one specific field of study, or war, or even a specific battle, I’m sure that some are going to be disappointed in the choices made as well as the “survey” type approach to which films made the cut. But, there are only thirty days in November, and, for obvious reasons, I had to make it to a film about The Great War by 11 November, so… maybe you guys who are particularly well-versed in what could be described as the world’s second oldest profession will be sated by the honorable mentions per category.
Anyway, with that [probably unnecessary] qualification out of the way, let's get to it. The first category of war films will be “Swords and Sandals,” followed by “Napoleonic Tactics/Civil War,” “World War I,” “World War II,” “The Korean War” [hey, it’s not totally forgotten!], “The Vietnam War,” “The Cold War,” and “Contemporary War.”
For today, my recommendation is KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. The [theatrical version] trailer is below:
Many times, I find the director’s cut of a film to be a little bit disappointing compared to the theatrical release. They often tend to have just a bit too much self-indulgent cinematic “fat” that would have been better left on the cutting room floor. This one is different, tho’. I guess that, in an effort to trim the film down to a run-time that audiences would find palatable, Ridley Scott and company created a jumbled mess… and when your film is essentially trying to cover the many different angles of the many different Crusades, well, it’s easy to do so.
In a sense, this film takes the approach that Spielberg did in his iteration of THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, focusing on the main character and portraying the events of the film through his eyes. That’s not to say that the film doesn’t also show the fuller scope of what’s happening; it has to – the story is just too big to focus solely on Balian of Ibelin. Honestly, that’s just as well, because while Orlando Bloom does his best here to pull off the “leading man” shtick, he doesn’t have the sort of gravitas that the rest of the cast does. He is, however, serviceable in the role, and doesn’t just phone in a “Legolas 2.0” kind of performance. Regardless, it’s the co-stars that do a good deal to drive the plot, which is a fascinating one. There’s a pretty good interactive history feature on the Blu-Ray entitled “The Pilgrim’s Guide,” in case you’re interested in diving further into the real history of what’s dramatized onscreen.
While it has its flaws, this one is an epic, and tells the tale without too much of Scott’s signature shaky-cam style. The political intrigue between Balian and Guy de Lusignan seems perhaps especially relevant now, and the subject matter in general is presented in a balanced way. If you’ve seen WE WERE SOLDIERS, you have an idea about what I mean. If you haven’t seen it and don’t want to invest more than three hours, then watch the theatrical cut, instead, which clocks in at a little under two and a half hours; but, be ready for a less impressive film. Whichever version of the film you watch, enjoy!
