For the Reel Heroes

Sometimes nothing can make a country feel better about their veterans than hearing their stories; and other than hearing the tales right from the men and woman themselves, nothing can do that better than film. The stories, whether they be true, fiction, or super-embellished, are the root of the persons that went to war to do impossible things and live to tell about it. So what film does it the best? And why?

For this blogger, an engaging story of course is the soul of a great war film. But there is also an important element: the camaraderie between the troops. In every platoon, unit, or squad, there is a milkshake of Americans from every walk of life. In every platoon, unit, or squad, there is a Yankee fan and a Red Sox fan; there is a city man and a country boy; there is a boxer and a poet; there is a catholic and a Jew. It is the way these characters mesh and put aside their differences to complete a mission and survive that is the heart and soul of every great war film.

For this blogger, Steven Spielberg’s SAVING PRIVATE RYAN has done this the best. With the backdrop of the greatest (as in huge) war in history, a said-milkshake platoon is sent out on an impossible mission that not all of them believe in. Strong characterizations, with difficult situations one after another, along with some of the finest and realistic filmmaking ever done by Spielberg, make RYAN a worthy tale that all veterans can relate to.

Other films that click along these same lines are PLATOON, BLACK HAWK DOWN, APOCALYPSE NOW, FULL METAL JACKET, and KELLY’S HEROES.

These are the films that tell the stories. The stories that made a nation.