Americas 250th Birthday Cinemathon #35: Sergeant York (1941)

 

There’s a rich wealth of movies about World War I, but not many high-profiles ones that are actually American-centric. The majority of US citizens had no desire to get entangled in a large war between imperial European powers. Opinion slowly shifted over the course of the Great War, partly because of effective British propaganda (Anglo-American sentiment was growing strong thanks to shared language) and also because of German U-boat attacks on American shipping (they targeted ships carrying war material). The United States declared war in 1917, but it wasn’t until 1918 that it had an army ready to fight in Europe. The army suffered over 116,000 deaths, which seems light compared to the American Civil War and World War II, but was actually appalling when you consider how little time the Yanks actually spent on the front lines.

America’s reluctance to enter a global conflict and then it’s decision to join later, made the first war ripe material for interventionist propaganda come World War II. Sergeant York, based on the life of Medal of Honor winner Alvin York, plays into this, released in the middle of 1941 when America had not yet been attacked at Pearl Harbor. Thus this is actually a bit of interventionist propaganda, but regardless it’s a pretty good movie.

Actually, Sergeant York is not primarily a war movie thought the titular character’s military performance is the culmination of his character’s growth. Alvin York’s story resonated deeply with Americans because his background was linked to the earlier frontier figures of United States history. He grew up in the Appalachian hills of East Tennessee with little formal education and was an incredible shot with a rifle. Thus Americans had a mountain man, a tough yet humble hero, making his name in what was at the time a shocking revelation of modern war.

Movie Review: All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

 

All Quiet on the Western Front is the third adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's famous World War I novel, and surprisingly the first German one considering it is from the perspective of that nation's soldiers. Paul Baumer and his school chums enthusiastically sign up for the German Army and are sent to the Western Front in France. They soon lose their glorious and patriotic notions of war as they encounter filthy trench conditions and a string of murderous battles. Veteran soldiers try to help them adjust and survive, with Stanislaus Katczinsky taking personal responsibility for Paul. It's one of the most famous anti-war stories (though Remarque famously never explicitly stated it as such).

I've never read the novel and only watched the famous 1930 version, so I'll have to compare this latest offering to that one. I did read that Director Edward Berger cut out a few supporting characters and scenes and changed or added new ones to differentiate his interpretation. This leads to my main criticism. There's a subplot that follows real life figure Matthias Erzberger and his attempts to form an armistice and end the war. It and relevant scenes showing German generals do add more historical context, but personally the movie should have focused only on the frontline soldiers. Removing this scenes would have also trimmed it closer to a two hour film (then again, these scenes might be necessary considering many younger folks don't have the best grasp of history). As for other changes and additions, they manage to keep the spirit of themes from the novel and previous adaptations. Another criticism is the musical score. The composer went for more of a sound design style to create a sense of dread, but it can be obnoxious and ill-fitted to early scenes of new recruits smiling on their way to war.