"The Siege of Firebase Gloria" is not a star vehicle but very good.
Visual Clichés of War Movies
Since 1941, Hollywood has produced hundreds, thousands of war films. In the process, a cinematic
shorthand has developed. Certain images appear, and audiences respond so strongly-- whether
they realize it or not--that those images are refined and repeated, and soon they are accepted as
truth. Viewers understand what they mean, and so filmmakers can use them to move the story
along more quickly. In watching and re-watching the films for this book, I came to realize how
often I was seeing variations on the same shot, and how much extra information was packed into
these moments.
The most recognizable and universal example is the Nazi officer in the long black convertible. He is
driven by a chauffeur. The top is down. The shot is often used to introduce and define the
character. You've seen it dozens of times, and it applies only to Nazis. His American counterpart
rides in a Jeep. As often as not, he takes the wheel himself. If he does have a driver, the
American officer sits in the front seat beside him.
Now, consider what those two images are telling us. In less time than it takes to read, we know
that the Nazi is arrogant and haughty. He assumes that he is superior to everyone else, and he
flaunts the special privileges of his rank. The chauffeur is his servant. The long car gleams. The
dominant color of its finish and the uniforms is black. The American officer is a common man in a
common vehicle. His dominant colors (even in black and white) are olive drab and muddy brown.
He 's one of us.
(By the way, the one time that any character comments on this cliché is in Schindler 's List, when
Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes) is riding in the back of the open convertible on a snowy night. Why is
the top down?" he asks. "I 'm fucking freezing."
Here are some more of these "visual clichés." I 'm sure that any true fan can name many more
that I've overlooked.
Japanese officers do not ride in cars. (The only exception occurs in Paradise Road.)
Italian officers are vain and love opera. They'll switch sides without hesitation.
An upright rifle, its bayonet stuck into the ground, with a helmet on top serves as a grave
marker.
French Resistance fighters wear black leather jackets and berets.
Female French Resistance fighters wear tight black sweaters.
German SS officers wear black leather trenchcoats.
Nazi officers enjoying a glass of Pernod at a Paris sidewalk cafe will be victims of a
Resistance drive-by shooting.
A band leader interrupts a dance for a historic announcement: the Japanese have attacked
Pearl Harbor; Germany has surrendered, etc.
The hand painted signpost giving mileage to New York, Los Angeles, London, etc.
Soldiers, sailors, airmen sharing cigarettes never light three on a match, or if they do….
The sexually voracious wife of a German officer seduces one of his subordinates. (She
almost always wears a tight black dress.)
The big board upon which models of the tanks/ships are moved around to illustrate the
progress of the battle.
The unit 's pet dog.
The parachuting Allied pilot who is killed by an enemy fighter while he 's hanging helpless in
his 'chute.
The letter home that 's given to a comrade by a guy who 's going into battle.
The unctuous Japanese with Coke-bottle-bottom glasses.
People having a wonderful time on December 6, 1941.
Tearful farewells on train platforms (usually British train platforms).
Grease pencil writing on the foreheads of wounded men in hospitals.
In naval films, someone always says, "Good hunting."
A dying soldier/sailor asks for "Mother."
Resistance fighters and escaped POWs hide in hay wagons.
Coded radio messages are read before the news by BBC radio broadcast to Occupied |
