The Imagery of War Screening the Battlefield in the Twentieth Century

The twentieth century has witnessed episodes of unprecedented barbarism. At the same time cruelty, warfare, destruction and violence have never been portrayed so vividly, so stunningly and in such detail, as in the photographs, documentaries and feature films made since the First World War. Compared to many other genres, films on warfare – particularly about the battlefield itself − have hardly been systematically studied at all. At the same time these films have been − and still are – a key to self-understanding for various social groups, nations or even civilizations. These visual representations, like other narrative forms, play a crucial role in society, and have not only a ritual but also a mythical meaning. This chapter uncovers aspects of the complex relationship between history, memory and film, by tracing some major and even genealogical patterns in the narration and representation of war, from the British propaganda documentary Battle of the Somme (1916) and the seminal All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), to recent blockbusters like Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Dunkirk (2017).