War and Peace

Movies, we like to say, are the great art form of our time. But that ignores the claims of weaponry. In the age of mass destruction, war has inevitably been one of the movies' central preoccupations. And no medium has more powerfully, more vividly presented its horrors — and, yes, its occasional glories. Films include: THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, PATTON, APOCALYPSE NOW, THE DEER HUNTER, PLATOON.