William A. Wellman's Battleground is a gritty, uncompromising portrayal of American troops in WWII, particularly centered around the Battle of the Bulge. The film centers around a single platoon of roughnecks experiences, as they navigate this dangerous terrain. The way the film examines these soldiers and the toll it has on them both physically and mentally is the strength of the film. We see their personalities and attitudes are much more lively in the beginning, when they are in the safety of their own tents at base camp, yet as we follow the group of men, they become much more rough, as they become low on supplies, ammo, and mental sanity. The beautiful cinematography and atmosphere also stood out, with almost every scene consisting of this dense, brooding fog which creates this abyss like feeling, making the platoon and its individuals feel more cut-off and alienated from the world. Wellman picks his moments but there are some haunting images of the death and destruction in this film, like a shot of a soldier's lone boot, laying above the grave-like foxhole where the soldier's body lies. or how Wellman routinely focuses on a soldier's limp or lack of appropriate boots for the dense cold. The mastery of Battleground is in these small details, with Wellman painting a portrait of the masculinity and toughness required of these men as a necessity for survival. Without going into details, this message is perfectly encapsulated in the final scene, a sequence that seems to have influenced many war films that followed it.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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