Why We Fight: The Battle of Britain
Poor image Duration: 00:54:00 The film is the fourth addition to the Office of War Information sponsored and Frank Capra directed `Why We Fight' series. More propaganda than documentary, it was commissioned by United States Army Chief of Staff George Marshall to be screened both to the draftees...
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| Institution: | Open Society Archives at Central European University |
| Language: | English |
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Elstree Hill Entertainment
1945
United States |
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10891/osa:249bbac3-1b7d-422a-91df-cb466ccb96b3 |
| Summary: | Poor image
Duration: 00:54:00
The film is the fourth addition to the Office of War Information sponsored and Frank Capra directed `Why We Fight' series. More propaganda than documentary, it was commissioned by United States Army Chief of Staff George Marshall to be screened both to the draftees and the general public as early as 1943. The time frame for this film is June through December 1940. We see Germans entering what can only be described as a stunned Paris, while a Darth Vader-like Adolf Hitler strides through the northern port city of Calais, looking hungrily through a pair of binoculars at what, we assume, is the southern coast of England. As the title indicates, "The Battle of Britan" is devoted to Germany's prolonged air assault of Britain following her swift defeat of France. It begins by sketching was the filmmakers believed was the phased plan for the conquest of Britain - defeat the Royal Air Force, then destroy coastal defenses and land paratrooper shock troops, finally ferry land troops and tanks over the by then secure English Channel. "The Battle" is an examination of the triumph of the RAF against daunting odds and a celebration of the indomitable spirit of the English people. The fourth of the seven `Why We Fight' movies is also the first to end without an Allied defeat or an Axis victory. Like all the `Why We Fight' movies, "The Battle of Britain" will likely look familiar even to those who've never seen them. The exact same footage of London in flames and scrambling RAF pilots has been used in countless subsequent documentaries of England's finest hour.Capra's technique - a rapid paced montage of newsreel footage punctuated by a dramatic voice-over narration - became the preferred way to present the subject. L |
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| Published: | 1945 |