IDFA 2005
Why We Fight 1: Prelude to War
Frank Capra
United States
1943
53 min
The first documentary by Capra, (1943) presents the Hollywood answer to the European propaganda. This Oscar-winning documentary describes the past history of "us," the civilised lot, as opposed to "them" - Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito. This extremely successful production was screened both commercially and in the army barracks, and ends with the words: "No compromise is possible and the victory of the democracies can only be completed with the utter defeat of the war machines of Germany and Japan."
Credits
Director
Screenplay
Screening copy
Imperial War Museum London
Imperial War Museum London