BootDigest
Such a frustrating disappointment
UnowPriceless
hyped garbage
Griff Lees
Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
Michael_Elliott
Prelude to War (1942) *** (out of 4)Walter Houston narrates this documentary, which was the first of seven in Frank Capra's "Why We Fight" series. The series was produced by the U.S. Government to explain WWII people who might not understand why we were going to war.When viewing these films today it's important to remember that they were propaganda movies that were meant to gain support for WWII. I'm sure many people could look at these movies today and see various flaws and issues with them but when reviewing them I keep in mind when and why they were made.This documentary starts off talking about what it was that made America get into the war. Obviously Pearl Harbor is mentioned and we also learn about what is going on overseas. From here we learn about the enemies that we are fighting and we also ehar from some Americans on their thoughts about the war.There's certainly nothing ground-breaking about this film or any others in the series but for the most part this here was entertaining enough to make it worth watching. It will probably appeal to history buffs more than film buffs but it's still a good start to the series.
jcapogrossi
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.
Cookie003
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.
a35362
I found this short film fascinating. It very clearly lays out to the "common man" the argument in favor of getting involved in WW II. Yes, the animation is crude by today's standards and the voice-over is melodramatic, but considering most people of fifty-odd years ago never got anywhere near a college campus and their lives stopped at the city limits of their hometowns, this film does a good job of spelling out what was going on around the world and what was at stake. The earnestness with which it is presented may be seen as campy today, but just imagine what it must have been like, trying to understand it all and trying to guess what it would mean to you and your family.
