Today I have realized that three of my favorite movies are war movies. Stalag 17 [imdb | amazon] , Three Kings [imdb | amazon] , and Lawrence of Arabia [imdb | amazon] .
It may be a stretch, but they all share a common thread. They feature profound cynicism about the military, and about the politics behind them. They also are unflinching in their portrayal of the brutality of war. Stalag 17 and Three Kings in particular put heroism, idealism, and unparalleled cynicism into their protagonists — Sefton and Archie Gates. Those two characters share cold and honest assessments of how the world works.
