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| Images Courtesy of MGM, 20th Century Fox, & Paramount Pictures |
Cold war paranoia, extreme American patriotism, and a machismo-laced dogma defined war films in the 1980s. Entries often featured a rugged leading man, impossible to kill, musclebound, and absurdly violent. However, other offerings explored the gritty realism of conflicts such as The Vietnam War, while others went further into darkness, veering almost into horror territory. This series will explore various American war films from the decade.
Red Dawn
Communist
forces invade America and the battle plays out at the street (wilderness) level
with high school kids forming a guerilla resistance and embracing their mascot,
The Wolverine, as their calling card.
Milius uses The
Battle of Algiers as a steppingstone to craft this 80's patriotic touchstone,
and it works on every level. One of the film's grimmer characteristics is that
unlike Algiers, the rebel forces are not gaining numbers, they’re cut
off and dying one at a time. The film has a certain charm when it comes to
death, with almost every major character's expiration having meaning or
symbolism.
This could
not have been accomplished without Basil Poledouris' amazing score. Every time
the legendary rift hits, you instantly want to grab your guns and sign up with
Patrick Swayze's ragtag crew and take on the masses.
Ric Waite's
barebones cinematography is wonderful, highlighting the blood and bullets, but
also bringing a familiar human vibe that ultimately becomes a horror film in
which war itself is the slasher, picking off the teens one at a time.
One of the
best parts of the film is how its nihilistic conclusion transforms into a
message of hope and typical America overcomes all feelings. It's a playfully
dark offering that harnesses a Lord of the Flies tableau to show the end
of innocence in a hemorrhaging ocean of trees and snow.
Uncommon Valor
On a grittier
level, this picture sees Gene Hackman leading a rogue operation of Vietnam
veterans to rescue POW's, a theme that would become extremely prevalent during
the era. Featuring an absolutely stacked cast that includes Patrick
Swayze, Fred Ward, Randall "Tex Cobb, Tim Thomerson, Reb Brown, Robert
Stack, and Harold Sylvester, Valor is a film about sacrifice and honor.
Along with First Blood, this is one of the few films to explore PTSD
with respect to our soldiers and Fred Ward's soulful and understated
performance as a haunted tunnel rat is the centerpiece. While each
character gets their moment to shine, it is Ward who serves as the connective
tissue. Both Swayze and Cobb also have moments of vulnerability that
congeal into an emotional undercurrent which elevates the narrative above yet
another war film.
The final touch that allows this film to resonate is not the gripping, action
pack climax or the intensity of the script, but in fact Cobb, dancing in the
early morning light to a tune that only he can hear, a heartwarming, and smile
inducing moment that is both out of place in a film such as this and yet right
at home.
Commando
The third
film in this article is part of the absurdity within the genre. Arnold Schwarzenegger's
action classic is both an absolute blast of a film and a borderline insane
action comedy that is emblematic of the 80's.
Members of an elite commando team are being eliminated and their leader, John
Matrix's daughter is kidnapped to ensure Matrix will assassinate a diplomat to
allow the dictator of a small country to assume absolute power. Matrix,
however, has other plans. Featuring yet another stacked supporting cast
including David Patrick Kelly, Bill Duke, Rae Dawn Chong, and Alyssa Milano,
Commando is a macho fever dream that never lets off the gas.
Schwarzenegger is the entire film, an unstoppable juggernaut who not only kills
virtually everyone who opposes him but barely takes a scratch. Featuring
rocket launchers, machine guns, and an infamous scene involving a shed and
garden tools, Commando also boasts Arnold killing over 100 people,
perhaps the most telling aspect of the film's legacy.
Unapologetically
violent, but also surprisingly quiet with respect to American patriotism, this
is a war film that is solely concerned with a father trying to reunite with
daughter and God help anyone or anything that gets in his way.
--Kyle
Jonathan