The Fatal Alliance: A Century of War on Film

In this unfocused if erudite study, film historian Thomson (Disaster Mon Amour) explores “how the technology of film as a medium and its narrative constructs drove and directed our understanding of war.” He contends that popular war films often reflect the desires and perspectives of viewers, suggesting that the valiant portrayal of battle in the 1925 WWI film The Big Parade likely contributed to its success among audiences “eager to think well of [the] sacrifice and the investment” in the then-recent war. Taking note of cinema’s ability to flatten geopolitical conflict into entertainment, he recounts feeling uneasy about the thrill he gets watching the stylish shots of flying helicopters in Black Hawk Down while having little understanding of the real-life politics underlying the event. Unfortunately, the prose is awkward at times (“It is part of the medium’s being enthralled by the act of firing that it adores power itself”) and Thomson’s discussions can feel like a haphazard collection of reflections in search of an argument, as when a chapter on movies about the losing sides of various wars strings together musings about The Night Porter; Rome, Open City; and Germany Year Zero without delivering an overall takeaway. Thomson’s deep knowledge of film history is not enough to save this scattershot survey. (Nov.)