The World War II Combat Film: Anatomy of a Genre / Edition 1

by Jeanine Basinger

Overview

Lively, comprehensive analysis of World War II movies.

One of America's most renowned film scholars, Jeanine Basinger, offers a revealing, perceptive and highly readable look at the combat film. Discussing over one thousand movies, Basinger covers in-depth the key examples of the genre and uses them to define the meaning of genre itself. From "Bataan" to "Battleground" to "The Dirty Dozen" to "Saving Private Ryan," the book traces the evolution of the combat genre, as its recurring characters, plots and events are used and reused over time. There is also a section outlining what happens when women replace men in combat and when the subject is treated as comedy. First published in 1986, this updated and expanded edition of the book contains a new introduction, a new chapter on "Saving Private Ryan" and an updated filmography. This is an essential text for anyone seriously interested in genre, movies, and with 38 photographs, as much a treat to look at as it is to read.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780819566232
Publisher:	Wesleyan University Press
Publication date:	05/15/2003
Edition description:	1st Wesleyan ed
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

JEANINE BASINGER is the Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies at Wesleyan University and Chair of the Film Department. She is the author of Silent Stars (Wesleyan, 2000), A Woman's View: How Hollywood Spoke To Women (Wesleyan, 1995) and numerous other books.

Table of Contents

Definition
Prior History
Evolution
Variations of Genre
Problems of Genre
Combat Redux
Annotated Chronological Filmography of World War II and Korean Combat Films
Annotated Chronological Filmography: 1981-2003 325
Appendix: Selected Titles Relevant to Prior History of World War II Combat Films
Notes
Bibliography
Index of Films
Subject Index

What People are Saying About This

Robert Sklar

“No other book offers comparable breadth or focus. It makes available a scholarly, historical context for students, readers and filmgoers to understand the continuities and changes in present-day representations of World War II.”

Robert Brent Toplin

"The book is a delight to read. Basinger communicates in a clear and engaging way, and her lively writing makes the study of movies as enjoyable as watching movies."
— Robert Brent Toplin, Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington

From the Publisher

"The book is a delight to read. Basinger communicates in a clear and engaging way, and her lively writing makes the study of movies as enjoyable as watching movies."—Robert Brent Toplin, Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington

"The book is a delight to read. Basinger communicates in a clear and engaging way, and her lively writing makes the study of movies as enjoyable as watching movies."—Robert Brent Toplin, Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington

"No other book offers comparable breadth or focus. It makes available a scholarly, historical context for students, readers and filmgoers to understand the continuities and changes in present-day representations of World War II."—Robert Sklar, author of Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies

Editorial Reviews

"A solid title for public and academic film collections."—Library Journal

"The book is a delight to read. Basinger communicates in a clear and engaging way, and her lively writing makes the study of movies as enjoyable as watching movies."—Robert Brent Toplin, Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington

"The book is a delight to read. Basinger communicates in a clear and engaging way, and her lively writing makes the study of movies as enjoyable as watching movies."—Robert Brent Toplin, Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington

"No other book offers comparable breadth or focus. It makes available a scholarly, historical context for students, readers and filmgoers to understand the continuities and changes in present-day representations of World War II."—Robert Sklar, author of Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies

From the Publisher