Guts and Glory

An excellent contribution to the growing studies on American films and to the war film genre in particular. The author defines war movies as those in which combat or its influence are central, although "military movies" in which military men are portrayed in training or preserving peace are also considered. Within these definitions, Suid selects several dozen films from The Big Parade (1925) to Apocalypse Now and uses them to develop his main themes: the image of the military presented to mass audiences and the related question of the military's assistance to film makers. The relationship between Washington and Hollywood that emerges will be a disappointment for anyone seeking confirmation of conspiracy. The Pentagon is always looking for positive portrayals of the services, and the military's chief concern has been for accuracy in detail and procedure with increasing sensitivity to any costs to taxpayers. The author concludes that as long as movies can portray individual bravery, perseverance, or the excitement of challenging death in personal combat, "they will maintain their special place in American homes and theaters."

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.