Combat Films

A type of war film that centers on the combat itself. Popularized (and slightly propagandized) during the early 1940s to show audiences the dirty work our boys were doing overseas to keep our country free and safe, films like Air Force, Destination Tokyo, and Objective Burma focused on the troops fighting on land, on the sea, and in the air. Often these films concentrate on one squadron or platoon of men, letting the viewer get to know these soldiers (archetypes usually abound: the hard-as-nails sergeant, the bookworm who proves himself in battle, the scared youngster, the guy from Brooklyn who has a girl back home) and showcasing re-creations of famous battles such as D-Day and the Battle of Dunkirk. Though World War II tends to lead the combat films in sheer numbers, it has also extended to the Civil War (Glory), the Korean War (Pork Chop Hill, The Steel Helmet), the Vietnam War (Hamburger Hill, Platoon) and other skirmishes (Heartbreak Ridge).

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