War film in the context of "Extra (acting)"


War films and epic films frequently utilize a significant number of background actors, sometimes reaching into the hundreds or even thousands, to create visually expansive scenes depicting large-scale events or environments. This practice is due to the need to realistically portray crowds, battles, or grand settings common in these genres.

⭐ In the context of extra (acting), war films are considered notable for…


⭐ Core Definition: War film

War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war films often end with them. Themes explored include combat, survival and escape, camaraderie between soldiers, sacrifice, the futility and inhumanity of battle, the effects of war on society, and the moral and human issues raised by war. War films are often categorized by their milieu, such as the Korean War; the most popular subjects are the Second World War and the American Civil War. The stories told may be fiction, historical drama, or biographical. Critics have noted similarities between the Western and the war film.

Nations such as China, Indonesia, Japan, and Russia have their own traditions of war film, centred on their own revolutionary wars but taking varied forms, from action and historical drama to wartime romance.

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HINT: War films often require large-scale scenes, such as battles or crowded cities, and utilize numerous background actors to create a sense of realism and visual impact.

👉 War film in the context of Extra (acting)

A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera, or ballet production who appears in a nonspeaking or nonsinging (silent) capacity, usually in the background (for example, in an audience or busy street scene). War films and epic films often employ background actors in large numbers: some films have featured hundreds or even thousands of paid background actors as cast members (hence the term "cast of thousands"). Likewise, grand opera can involve many background actors appearing in spectacular productions.

On a film or TV set, background actors are usually referred to as "supporting artists", "junior artists", "atmosphere", "background talent", "background performers", "background artists", "background cast members", "talent", "background friends", or simply "background", while the term "extra" is rarely used and is often considered derogatory. In a stage production, background actors are commonly referred to as "supernumeraries". A more archaic theatre term is "sword carriers". In opera and ballet, they are called either "extras" or "supers".

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