Moonraven,

You’re right, of course. I should have referred to the film by its usual English name. My only excuse is that most critics agree ‘The Human Condition’ is vague and doesn’t adequately express the meaning of the film’s Japanese name. Now that the film is becoming more widely known, thanks to Criterion’s excellent dvd, I assumed it would get a better English name.

ikallicrates:

It never hurts, on an English language site, to put the English title of a film.

In this case, it’s a three-part masterpiece called, in English, The Human Condition.

Good choice. 

I still prefer the rougher films, The Burmese Harp and Fire on the Plain—both by Kon Ichikawa.

The best antwar film ever made is generally considered to be Ningen no j?ken by Masaki Kobayashi. Some critics call it the best Japanese film ever made, while British film critic David Shipman called it the best film ever made.

bogi:

I would choose Grand Illusion, Fires on the Plain, The Burmese Harp and King and Country.

A Christmas Krieg   empirePie    

It’s the season of Yuletide joy again
Time to sing of Blitzen and Birth;

but ......:

“Hark the austerity cherubs sing:
a hoy and a haw, a hoy and a haw, for the hoi polloi” ;

Wring every predator wing of worth
from the ‘born again bombers’ berth

The limp listless followers of Brand O
changeless and choice less
president Brand O ...voice less
framing bangs for every buck
lip lipless nothings of good tidings to all
and sing the sing song of frosty jack
and levered levered assets
the pile of steaming lucre
longing for another blitz

A Christmas Krieg
A time to sing of Blitzen and Birth
a time to wring every predator wing of worth
from the ‘born again bombers’ berth

as austerity cherubs chant:
“be joyful and know that “peace is war’,
be joyful and know that “peace is war’,

Try Dennis Quaid in “Savior” where he plays a Foreign Legion sniper in Bosnia.  Unlike most war films, I he only fires a few shots in the whole movie.  Not a bang-bang movie.  And not a typical Hollywood ending.

Here’s a couple of “anti-war” films:

“The Tillman Story” exposes how a patriotic American family is betrayed by the highest levels of the media, government and military.  More laughs than you would expect,along with a few well-placed F-bombs.

(I’ve posted on the subject at http://www.feralfirefighter.blogspot.com)

“Generation Kill” is a bit more ambiguous. It does a great job of portraying the start of the Iraq War from a grunt’s perspective.  A lot of stupid orders coming down from above.

Hollywood gives the public what the public will
watch.  Again, follow the money.

Returning from living over seas years ago (no radio
or television available) I was literally shocked, and
appalled, at the violence depicted on American
television.  Especially alarming was the cavalier
attitude toward deaths suffered at the hands of
others, often a well-they-deserved-it-attitude.

And how about CNN’s coverage of the Gulf War - a
veritable light show ala Disneyland filled our living
rooms almost non-stop.  War depicted as nothing more
than a spectacular light show.

Many so—called ” antiwar” films like Platoon backfire and actually excite young minds into believing that war is about heroism and honor. However, there have been great antiwar films that rally do tell it straight. Certainly Born on the Fourth of July and Paths of Glory and the fairly recent Battle for Haditha and a must see foreign antiwar film A Long Term Engagement. Two films that come to mind as being totally prowar though: We Were Soldiers and Black Hawk Down- they must have been produced by the Pentagon.