Real to Reel - Paul Webster
Do modern war films fall short compared to classics like Apocalypse Now?
Paul Webster: “So I think the wars that we're dealing with now are much more fractured situations. A movie like Zero Dark Thirty, which operates as a kind of gung-ho, a celebration of American armed expertise and is proven to be false in its narrative is probably a movie that has that kind of equivalent stature at the time, but I think it talks so much more about how where we are now that a film like Zero Dark Thirty is discredited within months of its release, whereas Apocalypse Now stands out as a as a statement that transcends it's actual time and place.”
What makes a war film a success?
Paul Webster: “I think it depends very much what audience a filmmaker has in mind if, if it's, if it's going to work. A movie like American Sniper was undeniably successful. It was Clint Eastwood's intention to make a film like that and the audience worldwide responded to it so, irrespective of what I think about it, it was a successful film, and its statement came over loud and clear.”
Would you have been proud to make American Sniper?
Paul Webster: “Personally, I don't think I would have been pleased to have been associated with American Sniper. For me I felt it was pro-American propaganda and, and made a very, very complex situation, realised it very simplistically. I think there's a great responsibility on storytellers to accurately portray the world in terms other than good versus evil, baddie versus goodie, which of course, war films tend to be very reductive and very seductive in that way, because there's always one side against another. But as we know from our reading of history, no war, is, stands on its own, it reflects the complexities of its time.”
Should war films touch on controversial conflicts?
Paul Webster “Yeah, I think all war films are controversial by their very nature because the idea of pitting young people against each other and losing innocent lives and destroying them in this way is very, very powerful stuff and very dangerous stuff in the hands of storytellers and, and image makers.
I think it's a vital responsibility we, we carry but too often, I think the powers that be require simple narratives which support their own one-sided views.”
Will war films always be relevant?
“I think the future of war films is, is very complex because that kind of feeding the desire of young men to watch conflicts and combat is being done on a weekly basis by the latest Hollywood blockbusters that are all fantasy movies, but basically are all about conflict. They're action movies which have huge action, action sequences from beginning to end and as film makers wanting to make a film about the realities of war, I think we're driven to, to at least encompass and embody the real experience of the combatants and the real impact of combat and war.”
Producer Paul Webster, who worked on Buffalo Soldiers, Charlotte Greyand Atonement, explains how the makers of modern war films keep on getting caught out and why he wouldn't have signed up for one of the most successful war films of all time.
American Sniper may have made $350,126372 (£276,670391) at the box office and received six Academy Award nominations, but Paul Webster is pleased that the film does not feature on his list of cinematic achievements.
'American Sniper was undeniably successful, it was Clint Eastwood’s intention to make a film like that and audiences around the world responded very favourably to it and its statements came over load and clear,' he said.
'Personally, I don’t think I would have been pleased to have been involved in American Sniper. I think it was pro-American propaganda and it presented a very complex subject in too simple a way.
'There’s a great responsibility on storytellers to portray the world in terms other than good versus evil or baddie versus goodie and war films tend to be very reductive and seductive in that way because there is always one side against another. But as we know, no war stands on its own; it reflects the complexities of its time.'
Creating art that engages with conflict comes with a unique set of moral challenges, according to Webster, who was speaking at Conflict and Creative License, a discussion on the appeal of war to cinema audiences held at IWM as part of the Real to Reel exhibition.
'Filmmakers have to be aware of feeding the desire of young men to watch combat and conflict, This is being done on a weekly basis by the latest Hollywood blockbusters that are all fantasy movies but are all about conflict and have huge action sequences from beginning to end,” he said. 'Filmmakers have a duty to at least try to engage with the impact and horrific effects of combat and war.'
