Osa Archivum Catalog

Why We Fight: Prelude to War

Summary: "Prelude to War" is the first film in Frank Capra's "Why We Fight" series that was commissioned by the United States Government to explain first to the soldiers, then to the general public, America's involvement in World War II. They aren't documentaries in the general sense of the word, and they don't pretend a detached view of America or its Axis enemies, but rather a calssical example of war-time propaganda film. "Prelude To War" is the most wide-ranging movie in the series. It stretches back from Moses and the Ten Commandments to `we hold these truths to be self evident' to the Lincoln Memorial to establish America as one of the `lighthouses of liberty' of the Free World. Capra contrasts this with the Slave World of Germany, Italy, and Japan, where men `threw away their human dignity,' destroyed the temples of worship, indoctrinated the youth in the habits of militarism, and forsook free thought for blind obedience to their charismatic leaders. A lot of screen time is devoted to contrasting the regimented life in the Axis states to the free life in the rest of the world. Capra deserves full credit for this strong to overpowering approach, with a nod to series' editor award-winner William Hornbeck, Japan's Tanaka Plan, it's `blueprint for world domination' is looked at in some detail, and Japan's invasion of Manchuria and China in the early '30s, phase one of the Tanaka Plan, is shown. The film ends with Italy's attack on Ethiopia in 1935.

Item Type	Current Location	Call Number	Status	Shelving Location	Public Note
DVD-ROM	OSA Film Library	FL Record 0612	Available	-	-
Digital film	OSA Film Library	FL Record 0612 (HU_OSA_00002344.mp4)	Available		Access Copy, MP4 format