Being a combat vet myself ( Desert Storm ), I have found that the recent trend in war flix is to make them "visually accurate", in other words, the story and visual effects are used to accurately portray the carnage that happens during war. And although this may be disturbing to some, it is good to see that there is some heed being payed to the fact that war is such a terrible thing and that people truly do die in ghastly ways in wartime. I'm glad to see the days of the "clean" war film are gone. Rule#1 in war time is that people die, rule #2 is that there is nothing anyone can do about rule #1. My point here is that if we portray that war is not a supremely awful thing in our art, then our society will not see it for what it is. Robert E. Lee once said " It is a good thing that war is so terrible, so as we don't grow to love it too much". Art must have a social conscience, or the people have no voice that is lasting. The truly great directors have shown this in their work, war films MUST shock us, they MUST show man's inhumanity toward other men, or they are mere propaganda.
1. Saving Private Ryan
2. Full Metal Jacket
3. Braveheart
4. Apocalypse Now
5. Gettysburg
6. Ken Burn's The Civil War
7. Platoon
8. Band Of Brothers
9. Gallypoly
10. The Patriot
I haven't seen Tigerland yet, I will make a point to now.