Director David Ayer went to great pains to make sure his upcoming war film “Fury,” which opens in theaters on Oct. 17, gives audiences an authentic look at life and death in combat.
The movie, which stars Brad Pitt, tells the story of a Sherman tank crew that becomes outnumbered by German forces in the closing days of World War II.
The actors went to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, where they learned about the cramped nature of life in an armored vehicle and the pride that armored crews take in their tanks, Ayer told Military Times.
The movie also strives to get the military minutiae right.
“I think it’s things as simple as putting the inspection slip inside a can of ammunition — the paper inspection slip; having the correct lead seals on a crate of ammunition; having the right paraffin cardboard for rations boxes,” Ayer said.
Ayer, who served as a sonar operator aboard a submarine in the 1980s, talked to Military Times about what makes “Fury” different from other World War II movies.
Q: The movie is set toward the end of the war; was there any talk about doing it a little earlier, such as Normandy?
A. For me, that time period [the end of the war] is fascinating because the U.S. Army was really tired. The equipment was tired. The people were tired. The logistics were extended. You had people in continuous combat. ... Normally in these movies, the U.S. military is the liberator. In this case, they’re the invader and occupier. I saw a lot of parallels to the moral hazards and difficulties and complexities of fighting in a commingled urban environment that we see ... today. It’s interesting to realize that there’s nothing new under the sun.
Q: Was the Sherman an inferior tank that the U.S. managed to produce in overwhelming numbers or could it match German tanks with the right tactics?
A. The Sherman that started the war was absolutely inferior. The up-armored, up-gunned version with the more robust engine that ended the war was at parity with most of the German tanks. But the big issue was exactly our tactics. The idea of using fixed anti-tank guns in the anti-tank role and only simply using armor in an infantry-supporting capacity was the big error of the war. Then, obviously, we learned how to fight like the Germans did and really turned the tables on them.
Q: How did your time in the military affect you?
A. How didn’t it? More than anything, I learned what they call “a submarine work ethic” ... you learn your job; you learn your watch stations; you learn your maintenance; you do your study in advancement training; you apply yourself; and then, if you have any time, you can think about yourself. It really taught me how to focus and study and taught me that there can be a longer goal that can be difficult to achieve — but ultimately very rewarding once you achieve it.
Q:
Is that what this movie is?
A. This movie is really about the brotherhood and family. If anything, I think it’s a study in small-unit leadership. Brad Pitt really, in a lot of ways, plays the ultimate NCO, where you have to be everything — and sometimes different things at the same time — to your men. You love these guys, but at the same time, the mission and the military requirements dictate that he’s going to have to ask them to put their lives at risk and all he can do is mitigate those risks; make them as safe as possible and get them through it.
Q: Having served in the military, is there anything you feel current service members and veterans are going to take away from this movie that they would not get from another movie?
A. What I’m hoping is that somebody who has served or someone currently in uniform can take their spouse, brother or parent to this movie, point at it and say, “That’s what it’s like for me; that’s like my experiences.” That’s what I’m hoping ... that it becomes something they can share with others to provide people an insight into their lives.
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