This thread was inspired by some of the comments in the Letters From Iwo Jima thread.
My two personal favorite war movies are "Paths of Glory" (Kirk Douglas) and "Red Badge of Courage" (Audie Murphy version). The "Red Badge of Courage" is faithful to the novella. The author had never been a soldier, much less in battle, yet the book was described by Civil War veterans as a flawlessly accurate depiction of what they went through. But the important theme is "what would I do if I were a front line soldier?" "Paths of Glory" is ironically titled because it is about nothing but the ugliness of the motivations behind war. I is set in World War I. The French General Staff, having just called for a suicidal and pointless attack, randomly chooses three ordinary soldiers to be tried and executed for cowardice which the General Staff has decided should be given as the reason for the failure of the offensive. Rent these movies.
My two personal favorite war movies are "Paths of Glory" (Kirk Douglas) and "Red Badge of Courage" (Audie Murphy version). The "Red Badge of Courage" is faithful to the novella. The author had never been a soldier, much less in battle, yet the book was described by Civil War veterans as a flawlessly accurate depiction of what they went through. But the important theme is "what would I do if I were a front line soldier?" "Paths of Glory" is ironically titled because it is about nothing but the ugliness of the motivations behind war. I is set in World War I. The French General Staff, having just called for a suicidal and pointless attack, randomly chooses three ordinary soldiers to be tried and executed for cowardice which the General Staff has decided should be given as the reason for the failure of the offensive. Rent these movies.