The Fatal Alliance : A Century of War on Film by David Thomson

From one of the greatest living writers on film, a magisterial look at a century of battle depicted on screen, and a meditation on the twisted relationship between war and the movies. �_oThomson�_Ts own genius is his ability to remain one of the leading authorities on cinematic history, without shying away from the controversial. Cinephiles seeking provocative arguments will appreciate his work.�__�_"Library JournalInA�The Fatal Alliance the acclaimed film critic David Thomson offers us one of his most provocative books yet�_"a rich,A�arresting, and troubling study of that most beloved genre: the war movie. It is not a standard history or survey of war films, although Thomson turns his typically piercing eye to many favorites�_"fromA�All Quiet on the Western FrontA�toA�The Bridge on the River KwaiA�toA�Saving Private Ryan.A�ButA�The Fatal AllianceA�does much more, exploringA�how war and cinema in the twentiethA�century became inextricably linked. Movies had only begun to exist by the beginning of World War I, yet in less than a century, had transformed civilian experience of war�_"and history itself�_"for millions around the globe. This reality is the moral conundrum at the heart of Thomson�_Ts book. War movies bring both prestige and are so often box office blockbusters; but is there something problematic at how much moviegoers enjoy depictions of violence on a grand scale, such asA�Apocalypse Now, Black Hawk Down, or evenA�Star Wars? And what does this truth say about us, our culture, and our changing sense of warfare and the past?A�
Binding: Hardback