FROM COMBAT! DISCUSSION LIST ARCHIVES
Producer Steve Rubin discusses the COMBAT! Movie

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Date: Friday, 14 June 1996
Subject: War Movies

Dear Rear Echelon,

I agree that, once you get past the enjoyment of watching John Wayne take Iwo Jima and Newton Station, actual war experiences are horrific. And the Civil War was one of the worst. I thought the first few minutes of "Dances With Wolves" were pretty amazing. You really got into the hopelessness of Costner's character. "Glory" and "Gettysburg" were also superior efforts, with no flinching. No Errol Flynn leading his men into battle without hesitation. They didn't hesitate to show the cost of war - the body parts piled up in the yard of the medical station.

I want to see more war movies for a couple of reasons. First, I believe that the drama inherent in that genre cannot be beat - Putting human beings into the ultimate jeopardy breeds incredible deeds and I think that's why I always enjoyed the war films. People were put into the scariest situations, facing the most difficult odds, and yet somehow survived. I often tried to put myself into those situations and wondered what I would do. Would I be the one who stayed beyond to man the heavy machine gun against a horde of enemies, or would I mess my pants and run like hell. Whenever a subject gets into your head and you begin to wonder aloud, 'What would I do in that situation?" that's a clue that leads to creative thought and passion (the elements that fuel art). I interviewed Carl Foreman years ago, and we talked about "The Guns of Navarone." He really cared about that project because he felt it was a story about how people behave in wartime - how the moment breeds a unique kind of action, totally unfamiliar to normal rational human beings, but common for people caught in war. I think there's a speech -maybe James Robertson Justice's where he talks about this very thing. That was Foreman's key moment in that film.

I admire, respect and honor anyone who has been in combat and lived to tell about it. How these men and women were able to get past the fact that somebody wanted to blow their head off, is nothing short of amazing. And then of course, you hear about the civilians who spit on our returning Vietnam veterans, or who ignored the stories of the World War II soldiers, or simply forgot the ones from World War I. I think these stories need repeating. So, secondly, I want to produce war films because I want to show them to a new generation - young people who didn't grow up on "Combat!" and "Sergeant Rock" comics. And hopefully can learn from the experience.

Thanks for listening.

Best,
Steve Rubin

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