Why We Fight World War II - The Complete SeriesRating:
Release Date: 01 March, 2001 Retail Price: $15.98 OUR Price: $13.99 You SAVE: $1.99! Cast: |
Why We Fight World War II - The Complete Series Reviews
Capra's well done (but mislabeled) propaganda series
Capra's Why We fight series has been highly acclaimed and rightly so as his skill as producer-director shows through in every part of the series. That said there are two things wrong with the series:
1) the packaging describes the films as documentaries which they were and are not. These films are propaganda and like all propaganda there are distortions, half-truths, and outright lies.
"Battle of Russia" for example says nothing about the overthrow and murder of the Czar's family or the oppressive nature of Stalin's Russia (in fact it decribes them a 'free people').
2) The source material sadly was not in the best of shape. There are a few soundtrack skips due to improper spicing of the original films and because much of the the material was taken from the Axis' own newreal footage or old movies there are times when the picture quality varies.
That said there is still much that can be learned from the series. The seeds for Korea and Vietnam can be seen in 'Prelude to War' and in 'Divide and Conquer' when they repeatedly say that if somebody had stood up to Japan and Italy back in the early 30's this war might not be happening as Hitler would not have been so bold. The warning against isolation stated in 'Prelude to War' and again in "War comes to America' is as true now as it was in WWII.
Despite its flaws, problems, and age this series is still as entertaining as it was back then.
TAKE IT FOR WHAT IT IS, PLEASE
Please, this is nothing but 5 star material, it one of the most highly regarded films (set of films) made of this genre (motivational, propaganda); it was a brilliant move by the US government and Army Signal Corps to utilize the incredible Oscar winning talents of Frank Capra . It REALLY puts you in the place of the free world being threatened by three dictatorships and why the US needed to stay motivated to the bitter end of the war. Don't listen to the other reviews that are less than 5 stars, Capra was surprisingly accurate in the facts and timelines (his emphasis) he put in the movies; do what I tell you in the following paragraph and you will see. It is fascinating to see what the US did to motivate the public and fighting men during that era.
OK, let me say something that I have not heard and you might find even more useful. I recommend the "Why We Fight" and then compare notes to the BBC/Thames TV "World At War" series. VERY interesting and you see why Capra was so highly regarded as a filmmaker, he had it NAILED down and my parents VERY much remember those films as teens during the war (they felt motivated to defend the US when seeing these). Ah, now take "Triumph of the Will" and see how Leni Reifenstall used her skills to motivate the German people, amazingly skillful and eerie. Folks, there is some education going on there and if you have kids get them to watch the three together and talk to them about people, war, and why we all need to get along in the world.
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