Prelude to War (1942)

Best movie of this year hands down!

That was an excellent one.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

I originally heard of this film from watching a (now) favorite documentary about the history of editing ("The Cutting Edge")- I decided to watch "Why we fight" just to see it for it's artistic importance as an influential part of US film history.It is- This film, even though from the 40's, is well made and is, without a doubt, NOT "boring" in any sense. This film moves forward and never lets up. I think what makes this film riveting moreso than other documentaries is that this one was made in the middle of the actual conflict. The outcome of world war II had not yet arrived at the time of this film...the Allies did not know if they would be able to win or not. The plan of attack of the Axis, as outlined in this film through well done animation from Disney, showed that if the U.S. didn't act quickly, soon it would be us versus the rest of the world, under the control of the Axis. Unlike other WWII documentaries, which tell the story from the perspective of history, this one is right in the middle of everything.Especially this chapter, prelude to war, shows the terrifying history of the Nazi's rise to power, and the Imperialist Japan's rise as well. I think for all the danger the U.S. faced at that time, the most chilling, perhaps, to U.S. audiences would be the Nazi regime. If anyone ever doubted how scary the Nazis were, just watch this film. Especially enlightening are facts that many of us likely didn't know or remember,-the fact that the Nazi's were not only anti-Semetic. Hitler's takeover of Germany soon became a decidedly anti-Christian "religion". The Nazi party actually removed crosses off of churches and replaced them with swastikas, and in speeches the Nazi's cast Hitler's words as "Germany's religion". Many Christian ministers and even priests and nuns were jailed. The most eerie was the scene where the children in Germany were made to sing songs like "Hitler is our Lord" etc... CHILLING.Many have called this film slanted, and U.S. propaganda, and this may be true...but I still think it's a great piece of historical film-making. I feel more than other films I have seen, this one really makes us in 2009 realize the seriousness of World War II (The slave world of Hitler vs the free world), and how high the stakes were.It makes me thankful to live in America, and for me also brings about a newfound respect for our senior citizens who lived through that very challenging era of history, especially those who served as soldiers.

There has been a political documentary, of recent vintage, called Why We Fight, which tries to examine the infamous Military Industrial Complex and its grip on this nation. It is considered both polemical and incisive in making its case against both that complex and the war fiasco we are currently involved in in Iraq. Yet, a far more famous series of films, with the same name, was made during World War Two, by Hollywood director Frank Capra. Although considered documentaries, and having won Oscars in that category, this series of seven films is really and truly mere agitprop, more in the vein of Leni Reifenstal's Triumph Of The Will, scenes of which Capra recycles for his own purposes. That said, that fact does not mean it does not have vital information that subsequent generations of World War Two documentaries (such as the BBC's lauded The World At War) lacked, nor does that mean that its value as a primary source is any the less valuable. They are skillfully made, and after recently purchasing some used DVDs at a discount store, I found myself with the opportunity to select a free DVD with my purchase. I chose Goodtimes DVD's four DVD collection of the series.Rarely has something free been so worth invaluable. While there are no extras on the DVDs, and the sound quality of the prints varies, these films provide insight into the minds of Americans two thirds of a century ago, when racism was overt (as in many of the classic Warner Brothers pro-war cartoons of the era), and there was nothing wrong with blatant distortion of facts. The seven films, produced between 1942 and 1945, are Prelude To War, The Nazis Strike, Divide And Conquer, The Battle Of Britain, The Battle Of Russia, The Battle Of China, and War Comes To America.Overall, the film series is well worth watching, not only for the obvious reasons, but for the subtle things it reveals, such as the use of the plural for terms like X millions when referring to dollars, rather than the modern singular, or the most overused graphic in the whole series- a Japanese sword piercing the center of Manchuria. Yet, it also shows the complexities of trying to apply past standards to current wars. The lesson of World War One (avoid foreign entanglements) was not applicable to World War Two, whose own lesson (act early against dictatorships) has not been applicable in the three major wars America has fought since: Korea, Vietnam, nor Iraq. The fact that much of this series teeters on the uncertainties of the times it was made in only underscores its historic value in today's information-clogged times. It may not help you sort out the truth from the lies and propaganda of today, but at least you'll realize you are not the first to be in such a tenuous position, nor will you be the last.

Prelude to War is the first in a series of well-made propaganda films that were co-directed by Frank Capra during World War II with the intention of educating new U.S. soldiers about the war while inspiring them to fight for "what's right". Watching them at this point in time, they are fascinating as a glimpse into more or less official propagandistic stances. Of course it's to be expected that the films go to pains to dehumanize, even demonize, then enemy cultures. Because this specific material is so far removed from our current stances and concerns, it's instructive to watch and especially to show it to students, because it's much easier to see through the propaganda tactics, enabling similar tactics to more easily be identified in modern politics.But perhaps surprisingly, Prelude to War and the other films in the series also contain a good deal of accurate factual information, so that unless you're a World War II buff, you can learn quite a bit about how the war progressed and at least one side of why it progressed (one of many necessary sides)--if you watch the series with a critical eye.The series also contains a lot of intriguing historical footage--including films of Axis military campaigns in execution, and some of the more typical newsreel-type shots of the three Axis leaders--Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito, their right-hand men and their military and civilian support systems. Just as notable now is footage of various aspects of American life that would have passed by without much thought in 1943--such as cars traveling on relatively sparse, newly built U.S. highway interchanges. You can gain as much from Prelude to War by simply watching the images and keeping in mind the historical context as you can by listening to the narration.There are a couple rough spots--a montage of Axis armies marching like huge, well-oiled machines probably goes on too long 60-something years later, but surely the aim was to put just a bit of fear as well as an increased fervor to conquer into the new U.S. military recruits.This film isn't crucial viewing for everyone, but for those who study history, politics, sociology, the military and especially World War II, it is essential.

This film is a great opening to the entire series convincing and American public why they are entering WW II. This film shows the viewer much more about American ideals right after the events of Dec 7th 1942.Some of the language is a little hard to handle and the overt nature makes the viewer laugh more than once, its great to look at old training videos as the try and instill a sense of pride in America and hate over the enemy. Recommended viewing for anyone looking into WW II propaganda, also used as a good counter argument to Triumph of the Will.