"Wars in films are […] always more than just the staging or presentation of a historical event; they offer an interpretation of these events that usually corresponds with other aspects, e. g. society's evaluation of war per se, or wishes about how specific events related to war should be commemorated within the public conscience. Of course, films can also act as a medium to criticize war, but the functionality of the filmic stagings of collective violence is usually determined by the interaction between producers and the audience of the film.<NZ>The following chapters try to provide a variety of insights into these relationships, and although they focus on different time periods and aspects related to the semiotics, narratives, and perceptions of war in film, they all circle around certain questions related to war films in general. These are:<NZ>1. To what extent do war films present historical events that are already socio-culturally embedded within national narratives, and to what extent do their semiotics support or challenge common views about wars and collective violence?<NZ>2. Which conscious or subconscious images or visual semiotics are used within war films to connect the audience to the film and its narrative?<NZ>3. How do films create, transport, or intensify the perception and interpretation of wars within societies?<NZ>To answer these, each of the contributions of the present volume engages with specific war films and connects their respective war-related motifs and narratives with these questions." (Introduction, 7-11)