Video Soldiers in Paths of Glory jeer at a singing German prisoner. Soldiers face camera as to address audience directly.

Retreating from a chaotic battlefield at night in Blessed by Fire with handheld camera style Cut to static shot of singing German girl, with tears streaming down her face. Cut to the protagonist of Land and Freedom, David, being held at gunpoint, also in tears Protagonist, Werner, of Das Boot stares upon the dead crew of the submarine A crying youth from Die Brcke limps away from the battlefield in tears. A soldier wipes away tears in his eyes in Paths of Glory Title fades in, Anti-War films Still, wide shot from Birth of a Nation with troops firing from horseback. (Observational documentary conventions) All Quiet on the Western Front trench sequence. Camera is confined the narrow trench. Saving Private Ryan s opening sequence exhibits use of much CG and historical props. Troops storm the beach aside injured soldiers clutching their wounds also demonstrating skilful use of makeup.

Audio Soldiers cheering and whistling loudly. The cheering slowly subsides to change emotional tone to one of pity and sympathy. The faithful Hussar sung by German girl in Paths of Glory Sound from clip is lowereded, to resemble a reminiscence instead of an actual scene. The Faithful Hussar song continued silently. No diegetic sound from clips. Diegetic sound is cut out in an eerie silence while Hussar continues Hussar continues. (Soundtrack silenced) Hussar continues, soldiers start humming Hussar continues, soldiers humming grows louder and drown Hussar fades into title sequence into silence Narrator: War Sound from following clips are lowered to enhance narration N: Since film was created, war has been mimicked on screen N: Though Saving Private Ryan has been praised for its gritty realism... N: ...it has a strong reliance on visual effects and makeup, clearly contradicting realist conventions.

Video A young soldier cries over one of his comrades in Die Brcke, who lost their lives in a pointless battle. Examples of the war in a documentary form within Land and Liberty, juxtaposed by the the protagonists reaction towards it. Protagonist, Estebn, of Blessed by Fire looks upon the battlefield in a night skirmish Protagonists of Die Brucke duck in cover of an enemys aircraft as it bombs a nearby building. Visual Effects montage of Black Hawk Down. 1) A helicopter hovers above a square while taking gunfire. 2)Soldier spots troops circling his building. Return to 1), where the helicopter is shot down by an explosive Combat scene of Die Brucke clearly demonstrates the use of props, makeup and pyrotechnics and its similarity of usage in to contemporary texts. Fade out to black to next shot Stock footage of military operations in an observational documentary form. Protagonist as old, dying man from Land and Freedom in modern day UK. Protagonist of Blessed by Fire in the present day as a middle aged man.

Audio N: It is evident that emotional realism takes precedence over true realism... N:with the absence of editing, little camera movement, natural lighting and conventional lack of a structured narrative. N: Evidently, one can see that both contemporary films, albeit less,... N: ...share nearly identical usage of pyrotechnics and makeup and even special effects with that of previous years. N: It is true that contemporary films have the aid of Computer Generated Imagery in portraying the heat of battle. N: However, this investigation examines Anti-war themes its influence N: from the verisimilitude from films before and after 1991 to determine the evolution of war realism. Fade to silence. N: The main challenge for the films is the need to bring history to life. N: Ken Loachs Land And Freedom and Bauers Blessed by Fire... N: draw the audience into the text by illustrating past and present versions of the characters...

Video Cut to young protagonists of both films as a young men through quick fade transitions. A paramedic team enter David Carrs modern day house, trying to revive him. Cut to granddaughter character, going through her grandfathers newspaper cuttings of the war. Closeup of Lt Werner as a war correspondent taking shots of activity in the U-Boat. This is also a self-reflexive choice by the documentary to acknowledge the subject of the discussion. Quick cut between each protagonist at home and on the front line, suggesting a notion of parallelism between civilians and soldiers. Fade to black. Long shot of seaside during Narrators speech. Cut to the three protagonists of Blessed By Fire sharing jokes beside a sheep they have just eaten. Multiple closeups of crew as a ship passes by. Captain issues orders silently as he smiles to his crew. Sound cut out for narration. Cut to talking head shot of Wolfgang Petersen with posters of his films placed behind him, framed with rule of thirds. Directors name fades in.

Audio N:which highlight the characters story as well as their present social, historical and economic status. N: In Land And Liberty this is taken further by equating the audiences experience... N: ...to the experience of a granddaughter, a modern youth. N: Das Boot does not utilise a transition through time, Lt. Werner is placed into the microcosm that is the submarine as the guiding character for the audience. N: With many of these films, it blurs the line between soldier and civilian, insinuating the proximity of war to anyone, including the audience. Fade to silence N: Many anti-war films employ a band of friends or comrades. (In Spanish)Do pigs really squeal a lot when theyre killed? Yes, like pigs chucklingN: The characterisation in Das boot centres around a tightly knit group of individuals. Soundtrack: Das Boot Soundtrack played softly in background Wolfgang Petersen: Our captain on this boat is 30 years old. He was like a father to his crew because... the way he decided was death or life.

Video Departure sequence. Crew are jovially waving to port while sailing away. The colourful fanfare accompanying their departure is gradually muted through the rest of the film. Still shot of the submarine returning to port while the submarine crew pan from left to right with battle-hardened, thousand yard stares, while being strongly juxtaposed with celebratory music at the port. The youths are shown with boyish excitement at being recruited, while their school teacher looks away distraught. Scene continued, sound softened. CUT to Ullman, a young sailor with a boyish face writing letters to his girlfriend. Shot used for juxtaposition. Protagonists of Blessed By Fire chase sheep in their spare time with giddy excitement. As opposed to the expected archetype of war preparation. Pan around the protagonists of Die Brcke, who are teens dressed in iconographically significant military wear. Klaus from Die Brcke, asks for his watch back, symbolic of their relationship. His girlfriend looks away with a look of complete shock seeing Klaus has chosen to be indoctrinated into warfare over sustaining their relationship. -Pause-

Audio

Petersen: The others are more between 17 and 25, kids. And to watch them leave enthusiastic, full of energy Petersen: ... and to come back as old men. N: Therefore, anti-war films can be seen as having comingof-age themes, implemented by father and child character archetypes. Youth: Look! Heres my draft! We have to be at the barracks tomorrow morning at 7! N: Here, we can see a major criticisms of warfare: its reliance on an archetypal view of a man, through gender representation and masculinisation of war. N: Which, paradoxically, sustains the prevalence of the theme of innocence, naivety and maturation into adulthood in multiple films. N: An interesting consequence of this is the surprising lack of female characters. N: Some film analysis have even claimed that war is surely the most masculine of genres. Girlfriend: I want to ask you something You can ask me anything, Klaus. This is our last evening together. Can I have my watch back?

Video Two brothers, Hans and Albert, are packing to leave their caretake Mrs Mutz, a symbolic mother, as Albert packs his things boyishly and innocently as if he was going on holiday. Themes of adulthood and childhood are present here. Protagonist of Blessed by Fire abandons his superior officer to search for his friend. Fade to black. The three protagonists from Blessed By Fire appear out of their cramped dugout. Pvt Joker walks through a burning building in Vietnam in Full Metal Jacket Estebn from Blessed By Fire steps into the frame, looking out into the foreboding mist, symbolic of his uncertain future as a soldier, as well as the literal battle ahead. The U-Boat from Das Boot appears from murky green sea. The shot is suffocatingly twodimensional, with no other points of attention. The U-Boat is thrust into chaos with water spraying into the cabin & gas pipes bursting open while crew rush to repair it. Stock footage of Vocano filming Das Boot in very close proximity to the characters, portraying the intensity of facial expressions, thereby eliciting emotional sympathy from audience.

Audio N: Feminist critics of the war film, most notably Susan Jeffords, have argued that the genre plays a role in the masculinising process necessary to the creation of warriors. Mrs Mutz: I beg you, Hans, take care of him. N: Ultimately, these narrative themes lend themselves to a criticism of coming-of-age elements in war films. Fade to silence. N: In forming the emotional context of characters on the battlefield, setting N:plays a major role. For example, it can be depicted as their personal hell. N: The director of Blessed by Fire makes great use of pathetic fallacy to project themes of uncertainty and foreboding felt by soldiers, emotionally engaging the audience on a non-verbal level. N: Similarly, Das boot draws attention to the claustrophobia of the submarine; a physical representation of entrapment experienced by the soldiers. Sound from clip. Narrator cuts out. Wolfgang Petersen: There was no way out. Petersen: Jost Vacano (cinematographer) developed his own camera system. He could walk around in the smallest spaces. It gave you the feeling of being inside the submarine all the time.

Video Claustrophobic closeups of troops in the sandy trenches of Gallipoli Cut to a soldier running desperately to send a message to the front line. Talking head shot of Peter Weir aligned on power points of the screen. Name & role appear below. Shot of protagonists standing in trenches in Gallipoli, as a parallel to the modern day. Back to talking head shot. One of the young soldiers patrols the bridge surrounded by total darkness of the night. Shot continued. The sides and end of the bridge are dark, alluding that there is no true way forward for the soldier. Cut from talking head shot to continuation of scene above, Crew of submarine looking around in fear straining to hear the sound of the enemys destroyer near them. Captain orders the descent of U-Boat, away from enemy vessels signified by the ever-frequent sonar ping. Scene continued, everyone goes silent to hear the strains on the submarines hull. Crew aboard submarine exchange nervous whispers in an internally framed shot.

Audio N: Even in other films, the location itself, such as the harsh desert trenches... N: ...of Turkey, can be a technique utilised to elicit emotion. Weir: You can wander in the trenches [in Gallipoli] and you can pick stuff up... Weir: and theres no one around. You have one of those odd moments where you know that... Weir: ...the history that was in the books did happen. N: The visual look of Die Brcke has a strong influence from German Expressionism... N: ...as the director utilises chiaroscuro lighting to, again, psychological isolation experienced by the soldier. N: With specificity to Das Boot, sound plays a large role in creating the feeling of tension and anticipation as well as fear. Petersen: The sound in a submarine movie is... everything. Sound from clip lowered. Submarine crew: We cant hold the boat Diegetic sound: Creaking and grinding of the hull under pressure. CrewWhat about the torpedoes? Crew 2: Any minute now... [distant boom of a torpedo]

Video Crew of the submarine whoop and cheer hearing news of a successful torpedo strike, but are hushed by a senior officer. Only the faint ping of sonar can be heard. British sailors jump from the burning wreckage of their destroyers. Their faces masked by the darkness of the night, but screaming in helplessness. Previous scene fades into talking head shot, then into crew of U-Boat, showing a variety of individuals on board. Talking head shot of Andrew Kelly (film analyst). Name and title appear below. Re-used clip from Paths of Glorys final scene in which French soldiers arrive at their epiphany, realising the German peoples are just like them. Protagonist, Pvt Joker, encounters the female sniper in the final sequence of the film. Joker encounters the female sniper in the final sequence of the film who has been wounded, gasping for her last breaths. Joker executes the sniper. The viewer is left to interpret his blank expression whether it was out of mercy or disgust. Fade to black Fade in to Paths of Glorys trial scene, which utilises tilted two-shots establishing the hierarchy between the soldiers and the generals.

Audio Petersen: The finest, tiniest faintest things they hear. Anything could be very frightening. Sound from clip heightened after cheering subsides. N: The sound in itself, represents the enemy, who are represented as an imposing whole, as opposed to distinct characters. Petersen: This is not about Germans or English or Americans, its just about people. Kelly: These films show the brutality of war but go further. Kelly: By saying that the ordinary soldier on one side was equal to those on the other it provided a new message of hope. N: Kubrick takes this to another level in his next war film Full Metal Jacket... N: ...where the protagonist is so horrified at the innocence and helplessness personified by the female enemy... N: who he kills in cold blood Loud clap of gunshot. Fade to silence. Kelly: Paths of Glory is Kubricks quintessential film about military incompetence and the brutality and slaughter it engenders.

Video Closeup of General Mireau and General Broulard with oppressive snaring eyes. A General panics and gives the order for artillery to fire upon his own men, while others around him look dumbstruck, highlighting the absurdity of warfare and the generals lack of reason. The captain and his crew view the luxuries afforded by their position. This is reflected through the warm yellow lighting on the ship. The crew are welcomed on board with a Nazi salute, but they exchange a knowing glance of the futility of command. Scene continued. Foolishly, the commander mistakes another crew member for the captain, revealing a lack of knowledge. The lieutenant of the squadron barks orders to the conscripts, shot by a handheld camera promoting a sense of realism. An army regiment assembles in formation. As narrator dialogue ends, the senior officer attempts to drum up motivation from his troops. Scene continued. Themes of failure of command emerge from an idealistic rant. The setting is again a cold muddy hillside, as reflected by squelching mud.

Audio Andrew Kelly: Much of the film attacks the opportunism and greed of the French High Command General Mireau: Captain Nichols Order the 75s to commence firing on our own positions -silenceGeneral Mireau: Captain, do you fail to comprehend the meaning of my order? N: Disillusionment also occurs in Das Boot where the crew, knowing of the reality of war, board their seniors yacht. Senior Official: Gentlemen. Three cheers for our brave UBoat men. Sieg HEIL! Sieg HEIL! N: Even their clothing reflects the manner of criticism, that the commanders arent aware of true war. N: This is apparent in Blessed by Fire as well. Bauers work received a great influence from his previous work with the documentary form. N: This is strongly evident through his usage of hand-held cinematography and some use of natural lighting. Lieutenant: (Shouting) Cold does not exist. Hunger does not exist. Only GOD and the FATHERLAND. Long live the FATHERLAND!

Video In the final battle scene of the film, the protagonist packs his superiors belongings as he has been ordered to, but refuses to carry it. Scene continues. The protagonists refusal to take an order escalates to an argument. Mise-en-scne indicates a reversal of power and hierarchy through the use of a slightly upward tilted camera angle looking up at the protagonist. His rant is interrupted by an aerial attack. He regains his authority after diving to the ground first. A soldier from Blessed by Fire, kneels in a submissive position after he is spotted outside after curfew. David and other militia members walk up to a camp with a striking red flag, symbolic of left wing ideology. The conflict carries on until the evening, where both sides are exchanging insults towards each other, causing the audience to ask are they really that different? The militia engage in a small skirmish in a town amidst civilians, asserting their role as liberators of the town. Scene continued. One of Davids friends is shot, making the audience question how much his life was worth. Cut to previous talking head shot.

Audio N: Further on, the protagonist achieves a moment of emotional catharsis as the climax of the narrative, where we see they have fully rejected authority. Protagonist: I have to help a wounded comrade. Lieutenant: Get over here! Who the HELL do you think you are? Are you refusing to obey an order? Were losing because of people like YOU! Protagonist: No, its because youre all incompetent! N: Hence this highlights another evident theme of antiwar films: the failure of ideology. N: As proposed by Antonio Gramsci, ideology is an establishment of a power hierarchy. Loach: Our countries stood by and watched fascism win. But these men would today be trying to break the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza. Protagonist: Hey you! Stalins sidekick! What division are you in? Unknown rival: You dont even know whos your enemy. You idiots! Loach: It was a war in defence of a democratic government against fascism. Protagonist: (as his friend is shot) - Coogan! Coogan! No! Coogan! Petersen: There is something so interesting about...

Video Chief engineer of Das Boot cowers in a corner hearing grinding pressure on the hull. Talking head shot of Petersen. The shot is sustained, then cut to a closeup for emphasis on his words. An English crowd is galvanised by the prospect of fighting in Spain, chanting in support of a volunteer recruiter A funeral procession in Land And Freedom brings out elements of life/death in anti war films. Burial scene in Land And Freedom where a man delivers a eulogy. David casts a look of speculation and doubt when he mentions cause. Land allocation scene of Land and Freedom, where the militia argue over the course of land reform, but scales into an argument. Talking head shot of Dana Polan, film critic. Name and role appear below. Protagonists of Apocalypse Now traverse a base under attack, lit in a surreal manner with red lights and smoke. This emphasises the distorted, warped view of the battlefield that a soldier experiences from prolonged warfare.

Audio Petersen: ...what is of course, frightening and shocking. Petersen: They though that they were going to be the big heroes, and all of a sudden, they really found out what it meant to be on a submarine. N: Indeed, this epiphany of war is what spurs much of war criticism. (Chanting) No pasaran! No pasaran! N: To the soldier, it really gets them to question What cause are we fighting for? Eulogist: And we shall continue: Its what they would have wanted. Theyre here with us, fighting for the same cause N: Even for those fighting alongside each other, divisions can occur. (Soundtrack of argument increased to highlight conflicting ideology) Polan: Without a coherent ideology to shore it up, the war film becomes incoherent. Polan: For example, images that are overfilled and chaotically unreadable, narrative trajectories that fragment into monadic bits, an experimental fascination with a sheer temporality in which pure duration comes to substitute for the progress of narrative

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Video Old documentary film reel used in Land And Freedom - a selfreferential tool, shown to the characters as well as the audience indirectly. Attack sequence of Paths Of Glory. Talking head shot of Ken Loach. Cut to closeup as he pauses for emphasis. Final battle of Land And Freedom at murky dawn, again, an example of the setting becoming an imposing obstacle for characters. Scene continued, sound softened. End Title card from Die Brcke. This happened on April 27th 1945. It was so insignificant that it was not mentioned in any military report Fade to black. Blanca in Land And Freedom is is shot in the back. Cut to funeral procession shot used earlier. Death of submarine crew in Das Boot as the U-Boat itself sinks too. Juxtaposed with images of the crew singing happily as they set sail.

Audio N: Returning to the subject of verisimilitude, historical accuracy is sometimes sacrificed to convey a films morality. N: For many filmmakers, historical fact isnt an end in itself. Loach: The final battle... which was modelled on the final battle... Loach: ...of the POUM which happened over a period of a day. -Soundtrack of gunfire and shouting as the militia presses an attackN: Where many of these films disregard historical fact to craft themes to criticise war. N: Bernhard Wicki uses this to illustrate the futility and insignificance of the lives these boys sacrificed. -Silence to read titlecardFade to silence. N: Finally, the true... inescapable... N: ...theme of war films is -pauseN: ...Death. -silence for emphasisSudden increase in sound as the crew sing Its a Long Way To Tipperary, ironically, a British song.

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Video Scene continued, the U boat sails peacefully in calm sea. Juxtaposition again with the death of protagonists in Die Brcke as a youth is shot off his perch on a tree and falls beside some of his friends. Protagonists of Die Brcke cheer over a stash of alcohol they discovered in a river, while they laugh happily. Juxtaposition AGAIN, Estebn as a grown man stands beside his ex-soldier friend who attempted suicide. Younger versions of the same people sit together, exchanging their distaste for the food. The boys of Die Brcke discover one of their friends was gunned down by a plane. Cut to them standing around their dead friend. Match cut to Pvt Joker from Full Metal Jacket looking down on two of his dead comrades. Shot revolves to his squadmates. A youth from Die Brcke cradles one of his friends. Scene continued. The line between life and death is blurred as well... Scene continued, as the youth wonders whether his friend is dead or not.

Audio Song continues, but sailors voices are made to seem distant, almost ghostlike. Boys: -screaming in desperation- Jrgen! Jrgen! -gunfire in background representing impending their deathsBoys: Oh boy! It must have been the Easter Bunny! Another Boy: Easter Bunnies dont bring booze! Estebn: (Melancholically) Crazy fool His words are silence compared to hospital machinery hissing and beeping around him. Young Estebn: You know what piss is? This (pours his tea on the floor) is piss. N:The one unifying thing, that ALL these directors have... N: ...implemented, is the death of major characters. Squadmate:Youve gone home now Semper Fi. Squadmate 2: Were mean marines, sir. Squadmate 3: Go easy, bros. N: This effectively associates the genre with tragedy Youth: (Softly) Karl, Karl -Gunfire skitters above his head- (Shouting) Karl? Karl! N: ...carrying its emotional load... such that it highlights the destructive nature of war.

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Video A wounded crew member is carried to a small bed, while he produces a guttural scream. Estebn carries a comrade into the infirmary. Scene continued. The camera swirls around Estban, with a montage of emergency surgery, the deceased and soldiers convulsing in pain. He limps out, clearly shaken onto the quiet street amongst other soldiers like him. Night combat scene of blessed by fire, closeup on feet running through muddy ground. Closeup of youthful U-boat crew-member of Das Boot, dead at the submarine base. Closeup of the female Vietnamese sniper in pain. The young boys of Die Brcke stand in formation as they are surveyed by a senior officer. The captain of the U-Boat sees his ship sink and dies with it. David sits helplessly on a donkey-pulled cart beside Blanca after she has been shot. The militia of Land and Freedom sing, once again reinforcing the characterisation of the group. Credits with backdrop from Dr. Strangelove. Music is highly ironic, suggesting Well meet again, is a lie. Fade to black.

Audio N: Any depiction of an atrocity cannot avoid being an atrocity... N: ...regardless of nationality and culture and context. N: Many of the soldiers in the infirmary are groaning, screaming and crying, stringbased music rises to depict Estbans shrill discomfort of the overriding theme of death. -pauseN: To conclude, The final message of war films is that N: ...in whatever era and in whatever language, common themes emerge. N: From the struggle of maturing into an adult... N: ...to the depiction of the enemy... N: ...to failing ideology, hierarchy and patriarchy... N: ...to the final morbid truth of death. N: ...all the films reject war equally regardless of whether it attempts to draw out verisimilitude through... N: ...the emotional engagement of settings, hierarchy and characterisation. (Soundtrack softened) End sequence from Dr. Strangelove with Vera Lynns Well meet again Fade to silence

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