[Tom J]

Okay, I am not particularly sure what I'm going to do for my internal assesment, althouugh I am thinking of doing how a war film is important to the historian. However this is just broad, can you think of some war films I should look at?

[Mr Jones-Nerzic]

Tom J, on May 22 2006, 08:17 AM, said:

Okay, I am not particularly sure what I'm going to do for my internal assesment, althouugh I am thinking of doing how a war film is important to the historian. However this is just broad, can you think of some war films I should look at?

I wonder where you got this idea from!!

How about taking on the question from the IB past paper May 2001? Using specific examples explain the popularity of war themes in films

[Tom J]

I think i have my question for my I.A: To what extent did war films influence people's views on war?

[Mr Jones-Nerzic]

Tom J, on Jul 26 2006, 01:49 PM, said:

I think i have my question for my I.A: To what extent did war films influence people's views on war?

How do you intend answering this question? Are you aware of surveys that have been conducted on people's views of war in the light of the influence of particular films. I can only repeat my earlier suggestion that you consider the IB exam past paper.

[Mr Jones-Nerzic]

First thing you need to do is name your sections A, B, C etc. and put each section on a new page.

Section A - Your first aim is to measure how popular war themes are. How do you plan to do this? There is not one piece of numerical evidence cited in your whole ia. Have they become more popular/ less popular? etc. I suppose box office success would be an obvious measure, as would critical success (awards won, Oscars, Cannes etc.) Do you know of any evidence? eg How many of the following are war films? What consitutes a war film anyway? Is Schindler's List a war film? What about Star Wars?

FILMS RECEIVING 5 OR MORE COMPETITIVE AWARDS

11 AWARDS
Ben-Hur, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1959 (12 nominations)
Titanic, 20th Century Fox and Paramount, 1997 (14 nominations)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, New Line, 2003 (11 nominations)

10 AWARDS
West Side Story, United Artists, 1961 (11 nominations)

9 AWARDS
Gigi, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1958 (9 nominations)
The Last Emperor, Columbia, 1987 (9 nominations)
The English Patient, Miramax, 1996 (12 nominations)

8 AWARDS
Gone with the Wind, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1939 (13 nominations) (plus 1 special Oscar and 1 Sci/Tech Award)
From Here to Eternity, Columbia, 1953 (13 nominations)
On the Waterfront, Columbia, 1954 (12 nominations)
My Fair Lady, Warner Bros., 1964 (12 nominations)
Cabaret, Allied Artists, 1972 (10 nominations)
Gandhi, Columbia, 1982 (11 nominations)
Amadeus, Orion, 1984 (11 nominations)

7 AWARDS
Going My Way, Paramount, 1944 (10 nominations)
The Best Years of Our Lives, RKO Radio, 1946 (8 nominations) (plus 1 special Oscar to Harold Russell)
The Bridge on the River Kwai, Columbia, 1957 (8 nominations)
Lawrence of Arabia, Columbia, 1962 (10 nominations)
Patton, 20th Century-Fox, 1970 (10 nominations)
The Sting, Universal, 1973 (10 nominations)
Out of Africa, Universal, 1985 (11 nominations)
Dances With Wolves, Orion, 1990 (12 nominations)
Schindler's List, Universal, 1993 (12 nominations)
Shakespeare in Love, Miramax, 1998 (13 nominations)

6 AWARDS
Mrs. Miniver, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1942 (12 nominations)
All about Eve, 20th Century-Fox, 1950 (14 nominations)
An American in Paris, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1951 (8 nominations)
A Place in the Sun, Paramount, 1951 (9 nominations)
A Man for All Seasons, Columbia, 1966 (8 nominations)
The Godfather Part II, Paramount, 1974 (11 nominations)
Star Wars, 20th Century-Fox, 1977 (10 nominations) (plus 1 Special Achievement Oscar)
Forrest Gump, Paramount, 1994 (13 nominations)
Chicago, Miramax, 2002 (13 nominations)

5 AWARDS
It Happened One Night, Columbia, 1934 (5 nominations)
How Green Was My Valley, 20th Century-Fox, 1941 (10 nominations)
Wilson, 20th Century-Fox, 1944 (10 nominations)
The Bad and the Beautiful, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1952 (6 nominations)
Around the World in 80 Days, United Artists, 1956 (8 nominations)
The King and I, 20th Century-Fox, 1956 (9 nominations)
The Apartment, United Artists, 1960 (10 nominations)
Mary Poppins, Buena Vista Distribution Company, 1964 (13 nominations)
Doctor Zhivago, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1965 (10 nominations)
The Sound of Music, 20th Century-Fox, 1965 (10 nominations)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Warner Bros., 1966 (13 nominations)
In the Heat of the Night, United Artists, 1967 (7 nominations)
Oliver!, Columbia, 1968 (11 nominations) (plus 1 Honorary Award)
The French Connection, 20th Century-Fox, 1971 (8 nominations)
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, United Artists, 1975 (9 nominations)
The Deer Hunter, Universal, 1978 (9 nominations)
Kramer vs. Kramer, Columbia, 1979 (9 nominations)
Raiders of the Lost Ark, Paramount, 1981 (9 nominations)
Terms of Endearment, Paramount, 1983 (11 nominations)
The Silence of the Lambs, Orion, 1991 (7 nominations)
Braveheart, Paramount, 1995 (10 nominations)
Saving Private Ryan, DreamWorks/Paramount, 1998 (11 nominations)
American Beauty, DreamWorks, 1999 (8 nominations)
Gladiator, DreamWorks and Universal, 2000 (12 nominations)
The Aviator, Miramax, Initial Entertainment and Warner Bros., 2004 (11 nominations)

http://www.oscars.org/awardsdatabase/

What about most successful at the box office? (the following list is ajdusted for inflation)

1. · Gone With the Wind (1939)
2. · Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
3. · The Sound of Music (1965)
4. · E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
5. · The Ten Commandments (1956)
6. · Titanic (1997)
7. · Jaws (1975)
8. · Doctor Zhivago (1965)
9. · The Exorcist (1973)
10. · Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
11. · 101 Dalmatians (1961)
12. · Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
13. · Ben-Hur (1959)
14. · Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
15. · The Sting (1973)
16. · Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
17. · Jurassic Park (1993)
18. · The Graduate (1967)
19. · Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
20. · Fantasia (1940)
21. · The Godfather (1972)
22. · Forrest Gump (1994)
23. · Mary Poppins (1964)
24. · The Lion King (1994)
25. · Grease (1978)
26. · Thunderball (1965)
27. · The Jungle Book (1967)
28. · Sleeping Beauty (1959)
29. · Shrek 2 (2004)
30. · Ghostbusters (1984)
31. · Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
32. · Love Story (1970)
33. · Spider-Man (2002)
34. · Independence Day (1996)
35. · Home Alone (1990)
36. · Pinocchio (1940)
37. · Cleopatra (1963)
38. · Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
39. · Goldfinger (1964)
40. · Airport (1970)
41. · American Graffiti (1973)
42. · The Robe (1953)
43. · Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
44. · Bambi (1942)
45. · Blazing Saddles (1974)
46. · Batman (1989)
47. · The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)
48. · The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
49. · The Towering Inferno (1974)
50. · Spider-Man 2 (2004)
51. · My Fair Lady (1964)
52. · The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
53. · National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
54. · The Passion of the Christ (2004)
55. · Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
56. · Back to the Future (1985)
57. · The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
58. · The Sixth Sense (1999)
59. · Superman (1978)
60. · Tootsie (1982)
61. · Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
62. · Finding Nemo (2003)
63. · West Side Story (1961)
64. · Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
65. · Lady and the Tramp (1955)
66. · Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977/1980)
67. · Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
68. · The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
69. · Rocky (1976)
70. · The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
71. · The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
72. · The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
73. · Twister (1996)
74. · Men in Black (1997)
75. · The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
76. · It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
77. · Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
78. · One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
79. · M*A*S*H (1970)
80. · Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
81. · Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
82. · Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
83. · Aladdin (1992)
84. · Ghost (1990)
85. · Duel in the Sun (1946)
86. · Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
87. · House of Wax (1953)
88. · Rear Window (1954)
89. · The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
90. · Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
91. · Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
92. · Sergeant York (1941)
93. · Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
94. · Toy Story 2 (1999)
95. · Top Gun (1986)
96. · Shrek (2001)
97. · The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
98. · "Crocodile" Dundee (1986)
99. · The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)
100. · Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Without this basic info you cannot even begin to achieve what you plan.

[Mr Jones-Nerzic]

Section B - Summary

There is virtually no coherence to this section. It is very unclear what you are trying to achieve. Why do you begin with TV coverage and then move on to the Cold War for no apparent reason? There is virtually no evidence to support the claims you make in this section. This is supposed to show how much research and reading you have done. For example, you say 'war films were particularly successful in the 1970s'. What evidence do you have for this? The section is also full of contradictions. Are war films popular because they show the horror of war or do they help states recruit new soldiers? What people use war films to make 'a nation more powerful than other nations'? The biggest confusion is your reference to The Crucible. Is this the film I asked you to see last year? If it is, you clearly haven't seen it.

Section C - Evaluation

Surely one of these two sources ought to be a film? There is little point looking at two Internet articles. You have to do basic things. It ios not just about reliability it is strengths/weaknesses origin/purpose. Unless you do this you will not pick up the marks

Section D - Analysis

Is not really analysis. This is where you answer the question you have set yourself: 'how and why films are popular'.

Section E - Conclusion

Actually begins to answer the question and makes some useful (albeit limited) observations.

Bibiography - 4 internet articles? You are joking right?

Overall probably 5-6 out of 20 at best. Level 2? The question I suggested you might try assumed you would do some serious work on the question. You haven't, therefore I strongly advice you to start again.

[Mr Jones-Nerzic]

http://www.channel4....ilms/index.html Greatest war films. Includes collection of short articles some of which are appropriate.