TT: The war that never ends

Quentin Tarantino has gone and made himself a war movie–and it looks like Inglourious Basterds is going to be a hit, judging by the first two weeks’ worth of box-office receipts. So why did the creator of Pulp Fiction choose World War II as his subject? For that matter, why is anybody still making World War II movies sixty-four years after V-J Day? What is it about the Good War that continues to set it apart from all other wars in the eyes of Hollywood? I’ve taken a shot at answering that question in my latest “Sightings” column for tomorrow’s Wall Street Journal.
To be sure, Tarantino swears that Inglourious Basterds is really “a spaghetti western, but using World War II iconography as opposed to cowboy iconography.” Maybe that’s true–and maybe there’s more to that distinctive iconography than meets the eye. To find out what makes World War II so cinematically special, pick up a copy of Saturday’s Journal and see what I have to say.
UPDATE: Read the whole thing here.