Prelude to War

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 I rate this highly both because it is essential viewing as an historical document, and because it is very well done propaganda (Frank Capra, animations by Disney)!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.

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.

The official World War II US Government film statement defining the various enemies of the Allies and why they must be fought.

In the two decades following World War I and the failure of the League of Nations, a spirit of isolationism became prevalent throughout the United States that persisted up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The government needed to combat this feeling, and thus the birth of the modern American propaganda film.

The film examines the differences between the U.S. and the fascist states of Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler and Yamamoto, portraying the latter countries working together as gangsters to conquer the world. In order to do this, Capra made use of footage from "Triumph of the Will", but with different narration designed to support the Allied cause.

Although the goal was to get Americans unified for the war effort, it actually does this in a very welcoming way. Early on we see an appeal to people of different faiths -- including Muslims and Confucians -- that would seem very out of place today (2016). So, although this was a pro-war film, it was also very much a pro-melting pot film in its own way.

Prelude to War is the first in a series of well-made propaganda films that were co-directed by Frank Capra during World War II with the intention of educating new U.S. soldiers about the war while inspiring them to fight for "what's right". Watching them at this point in time, they are fascinating as a glimpse into more or less official propagandistic stances. Of course it's to be expected that the films go to pains to dehumanize, even demonize, then enemy cultures. Because this specific material is so far removed from our current stances and concerns, it's instructive to watch and especially to show it to students, because it's much easier to see through the propaganda tactics, enabling similar tactics to more easily be identified in modern politics.

But perhaps surprisingly, Prelude to War and the other films in the series also contain a good deal of accurate factual information, so that unless you're a World War II buff, you can learn quite a bit about how the war progressed and at least one side of why it progressed (one of many necessary sides)--if you watch the series with a critical eye.

The series also contains a lot of intriguing historical footage--including films of Axis military campaigns in execution, and some of the more typical newsreel-type shots of the three Axis leaders--Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito, their right-hand men and their military and civilian support systems. Just as notable now is footage of various aspects of American life that would have passed by without much thought in 1943--such as cars traveling on relatively sparse, newly built U.S. highway interchanges. You can gain as much from Prelude to War by simply watching the images and keeping in mind the historical context as you can by listening to the narration.

There are a couple rough spots--a montage of Axis armies marching like huge, well-oiled machines probably goes on too long 60-something years later, but surely the aim was to put just a bit of fear as well as an increased fervor to conquer into the new U.S. military recruits.

This film isn't crucial viewing for everyone, but for those who study history, politics, sociology, the military and especially World War II, it is essential.

The first an probably the best of the US Government's Why We Fight Series due to its overview of Democracy's three enemies Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan as opposed to concentrating on one theatre of War in subsequent series entries. Hitler, Hirohito and Mussolini need little makeover to demonize as their words and actions vividly captured and powerfully edited show a world on the brink of annihilation as the three war machines ratchet things up in the thirties.

Judged in hindsight Prelude packs vast amounts of information in its engrossing less than an hour running time about threats to the American way, soberly and effectively narrated by Walter Huston. Filled with charts and graphs it divides the planet in two ( the world of light and the world of darkness) as the iconic symbols of the axis powers advance across territories in black, inter cutting documentary footage of atrocity.

Over 60 years after it was made this documentary about world wide life and death struggle remains compelling viewing as the universe still wrestles with massive conflict today. I can only imagine the massive emotional weight this film must have had on an American film audience as the conflagration still raged in 1943. To sit in a darkened theater suddenly illuminated by blast and explosion viewing visions of civilian slaughter in city streets like ours must have shaken audiences to the core. Frank Capra made some classic films in his day but he never made more important ones than the Why We Fight series.