Prelude to War (1942)

Please don't spend money on this.

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

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.

Directed by famed Hollywood director Frank Capra and Ukrainian director Anatole Litvak , a US documentary / propaganda film on the causes of World War 2. Shows Germany, Italy and Japan's build up to WW2, and how the tension escalated. Part of Capra's "Why We Fight" series.One of the many documentary films made by the Hollywood directors employed by the US Armed Forces during World War 2. While a large amount of these felt more like pure documentaries, i.e. the jingoism was toned down, Prelude to War is much more in the propaganda camp. The anti-German/Italian/Japanese rhetoric is laid on very thick, and much chest-beating and sage-like quotations are used against the three belligerents. While it feels overdone down, it must have been very effective at the time. The history shown is accurate and the arguments laid down are very sound. Furthermore, there is a gravitas to the tone that I imagine could only have made Americans feel more patriotic and compelled to fight.Quite convincing and thus effective.

The series "Why we fight" was US government propaganda to explain to American soldiers, and later the public, why the US was involved in WWII. It is very interesting to watch, and a good way to learn what Americans thought (or were supposed to think) at the time - but on its own this series does not provide an accurate account of the war.Obviously, this was made before political correctness existed, and you can tell: there is talk of 'Japs', the Holocaust is largely ignored. Also, the movie is necessarily ambivalent about the Russian role, who were allies at the time. For example, the Molotov-Von Ribbentrop pact (especially the annex about the division of Eastern Europe) goes virtually unmentioned, and the Red Army's reasons for showing up in Eastern Poland are nebulous.On the other hand, the movies are quite detailed about the people involved, the various Nazi leaders and so on - who would have been household names at the time, but would probably be left out of present day WWII documentaries. Also interesting is that one of the reasons, apparently, why Nazism must be fought was their union busting - surely a reflection of the post-Depression Roosevelt era.All in all, well worth watching. I rate this highly both because it is essential viewing as an historical document, and because it is very well done propaganda (Frank Capra, animations by Disney)! Note that the US government has placed these movies in the public space, which means that perfectly legal, digital versions can be found on the internet.

So says Walter Huston, speaking about Mussolini, Hirohito & Hitler. Prelude To War is the 1st in 7 information films collectively known as the Why We Fight series. Each film is a masterpiece and still, 60 years later, the benchmark of documentary film-making. This particular film shows how the Axis powers (Germany, Italy & Japan) destroyed freedom in their own countries and then set out to poison their youth and conquer the world. It shows why we MUST fight. I don't say "we" lightly. The movie is SO powerful that by the end I actually felt myself involved in the struggle. The film is beautifully narrated by 2 very unique voices who each bring a distinctive style and message. Walter Huston is the voice of experience, and Anthony Veiller's no-nonsense New York accent adds a sense of real urgency to what must be done. The various 'footage' clips are painstakingly collected to back up the narration and they really are chilling; particularly the shots of small children utterly brainwashed by the vicious poison of militarism. WE all know that good triumphed over evil, but it certainly was touch and go back then and this movie played a major role in showing American soldiers "Why We Fight". God bless them for their sacrifice. I bought the entire series on DVD and they are essential viewing.