The World War II Combat Film: Anatomy of a Genre
In singling out World War II combat films from war films in general, Basinger argues that these films about heroes who lead mixed ethnic groups toward combat objectives constitute a separate genre with clear origins and a discernable evolution. From beginnings in such films as Wake Island and Bataan, which established their conventions, Basinger identifies four additional stages through which the films moved as their generic conventions were inflected in response to Korea, the Cold War, and Vietnam. While Basinger's detailed analyses of individual films gives her argument great specificity, she dodges tougher questions about the forces behind generic change. Primarily for specialists. Marshall Deutelbaum, English Dept., Purdue Univ., W. Lafayette, Ind.Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.