Landscape and emotion in modern First World War cinema: Representations of the British soldier in nature

Abstract

This article examines landscape representations in twenty first century First World War cinema. Spanning 2011’s War Horse and ten subsequent British and American productions, it demonstrates the appeal to filmmakers of not only dramatizing the First World War generally, but dramatizing the Western Front landscape in varied ways. While intentions no doubt vary, these choices reflect discussions in British soldiers’ written accounts of the emotional connections these men felt with particular spaces. The article is structured under three themes, ‘Nostalgia’, ‘Endurance’, and ‘Memory’, and concludes that such cinematic scenes powerfully visualise the role war landscapes played as a coping mechanism for soldiers.