War film timeline

1. The Origin of War films

2. Definitions of War films
• There are many differences in the types and styles of what a war
film can be defined as. Due to the extensive historical data that is
known, films can take inspiration from any war in human history, or
even create a fictional war set in the future or in a different fictional
world.
• However most war films follow the same structure. Some of the
most common conventions are the following of one specific
character through the film and that characters experiences in the
setting, like in the case of Saving Private Ryan or Lawrence of
Arabia.
• Most war films also contain specific character personalities, some
include the newbie soldier, like in Full Metal Jacket, the Veteran
commander in Forrest Gump and the heavy usage of demonizing
the enemy forces of the side the film focuses on, such as the
demonizing of Nazi’s and the Vietcong soldiers.

3. The first War film
1910
• The first full length scripted film based on a war is
the 1910 film called The Fugitive by D.W Griffith’s,
however the first ever short film based on war was
created I 1898 bet was merely two minutes long,
called the Burial of the Maine victims about the civil
war in America.

4. Early History o f War films
• 1921: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
• 1923: A couple of Down and Outs
• 1924: America
• After examining these films I saw that even though thy are very outdated,
they still all have positive ratings varying from 6/10 to 8/10. I found this
surprising due to their age but after checking the reviews I saw that
people appreciated its “raw” feel referring to the seriousness of the plot
and the images and stories presented in each film.

6. World War 1 brought to colour
World War I in Color is a documentary
designed to make the Great War come alive
for a 21st-century audience.
The events of 1914-18 are authoritatively
narrated by Kenneth Branagh, who presents
the military and political overview, while
interviews with historians add different
perspectives.
The human cost is conveyed by moving
interviews with the now very elderly
survivors, and by extracts from letters and
memoirs. All aspects of the war, on land, sea
and air are covered in separate programs.
The crucial difference between this and the
WWII programs is that the Great War wasn't
filmed in color, and the footage has been
computer colorized.