Verdadeira Glória

Not your average World War II documentary, 'The True Glory' avoids static interviews or impersonal narration, instead presenting collated archive footage from the final few months of the war, played out against real war veterans verbally relating their experiences. While some of the stock footage shown feels awfully familiar, there are several excellent, unusual shots throughout, most notably one where the camera is positioned at the wheels of the plane and a sequence where passers-by on the street walk up to the camera from all different directions. The nighttime footage is remarkable too. Not all of the verbal recounts resonate with a lot of flag-waving dialogue, however, several lines linger long in the mind ("I'm not squeamish... but I'm human") and the documentary refreshingly includes recounts from an extensive variety of personnel. Sure, most of the interviewees are soldiers, but we also get the perspective of an army hospital nurse, a war reporter and the list goes on. The documentary also curiously mentions the prospect of World War III some time in (then) foreseeable future with a reminder that war really can be a horrible thing. Indeed, while the film sometimes feels like the Allies patting themselves on the back for a successful victory, 'The True Glory' does not shy away from depicting how grueling war is and it deserves some credit for that.

Described by Basil Wright as "a really brilliant example of collaboration of talent on an international level" and bearing the official endorsement of an introduction by General Eisenhower, this blow by blow account of the final year of the war in Europe includes uncredited contributions from both commentator Leslie Banks and combat cameraman Russ Meyer.

Moving at a rare old lick, the frequent dry humour and laconic passion of the words combines with forcefully edited found footage to create an engrossing piece of reportage as fresh as the day it was made (although the actual events depicted probably felt like a lifetime to actually experience compared with the way the film flies past).

This is a documentary of Victory in Europe starting from before D-day to VE day. The Allied military gathered combat and other military footage to put together their version of the fight from Normandy to Berlin. Eisenhower has a foreword introduction. There are lots of combat footage. Some of them are fairly bloody with dead bodies. They are very compelling and many of the footage have been reused over the years. There are two versions of the ending. One ends simply while the other ends mentioning Japan. I can do without the various people (actors?) doing the narration as a stereotype of each nationality and military unit.

The choice of film was excellent with one exception. They devoted one minute to Belsen with no actual mention of the Holocaust. The documentary though was almost ruined by the dreadful ponderous blank verse commentary.

Later documentaries and war films have combined to make this piece seem rather outmoded in manner and naively optimistic in tone whilst its powerful images now alas seem all too familiar. At the time of course it must have packed quite a punch. The editing of newsreel footage shared among others by co-directors Carol Reed and Garson Kanin, is superlative. Some of the front line cameramen of course would not have lived to see the film receive its Oscar as Best Documentary. Splendid score by William Alwyn. Lots of familiar and uncredited voices here and the choice of Leslie Banks to declaim the somewhat purple prose is inspired following his role as Chorus in 'Henry V'. An 'uncredited' name as cinematographer is that of Russ Meyer who went on to film 'action' of an altogether different sort! The less successful aspects of the campaign are glossed over in keeping with its propogandist nature and the massive casualties are seen as the price to be paid for a job well done. History has naturally overtaken the film and it is most unsettling now to see Joseph Stalin, who was handed millions of East Europeans on a plate at the Yalta Conference, being described as one of the 'architects of peace'! The following year another of those architects, Winston Churchill, delivered his 'Iron Curtain' speech. Well-intentioned and technically faultless this is a moving testament to human beings 'in extremis'.