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.

With the Memorial day weekend upon us, I decided to take this World War II documentary series off the shelf and watch it in it's entirety. My father served in WWII, and in recent years I've become fascinated with the scope and dimension of the conflict, as it truly did engulf nearly the entire world of the 1930's and '40's. Directed by the legendary Frank Capra, the series of seven films was produced by the War Department in cooperation with the Research Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. They were intended to be shown to all new military recruits so that they would have an understanding of the enemy, and how urgent it was to halt the advancing march of Naziism and Fascism across the globe.The first installment, "Prelude to War", discusses how Hitler, Mussolini and Emperor Hirohito used their demagogic influence to convince the people of their countries to give up their individuality and become part of a massive human herd, subject to the near god-like decisions of their leaders. It was particularly frightening to see young German grade school children singing "Our Hitler is Our Lord, Who Rules a Brave New World". Juxtaposing images of American school children at play with those of German youngsters marching in military youth camps drew a striking contrast in ideology and mindset of two vastly different societies, one devoted to freedom against one devoted to blind obedience to a Fuehrer bent on world conquest.The film spends a good portion of it's run on that dichotomy - the notion of a Free World in conflict with that of a Slave World, before touching on the opening salvos of the conflict. The War officially began on 9/18/1931, when Japan invaded Manchuria in the northern reaches of China, followed by attacks on Shanghai in 1932. In 1935, Italy began it's imperialistic designs with an invasion of Ethiopia on the African continent. The segment defers Germany's entry into the War to the following chapter - "The Nazis Strike".Should anyone doubt Adolf Hitler's resolve to subjugate the entire known world under his direct control, the film reminds us of that intent with Hitler's own words, describing how he would turn his defeated victims into slaves to enrich the German Master Race. Particularly chilling and even more haunting, Hitler proclaimed - "I want to see again in the eyes of (German) youth the gleam of the beast of prey".

This is Frank Capra's classic first installment from the seven film series entitled, "Why We Fight." It is a masterpiece of US propaganda, shown first to soldiers, later to the US public, and eventually to our allies (including the Soviet Union). With dramatic narration and musical score, it drives home the point that "Our World, the free world" must fight "That other world." Capra's idea was to use the film archives of Japanese, German, and Italian propagandists against them with, of course, careful editing and translating.If you are looking to buy a copy, CARE SHOULD BE EXERCISED due to the existence of a fraudulent film by the same title. The original is a classic, starting with a lively series of shots, often employing double exposures and fading edits, listing the fallen nations to the axis powers. One poorly done fraud, sold in a set of four with three of the original series titles, has a narrator reading a textbook or encyclopedia and turning the pages...

I found this short film fascinating. It very clearly lays out to the "common man" the argument in favor of getting involved in WW II. Yes, the animation is crude by today's standards and the voice-over is melodramatic, but considering most people of fifty-odd years ago never got anywhere near a college campus and their lives stopped at the city limits of their hometowns, this film does a good job of spelling out what was going on around the world and what was at stake. The earnestness with which it is presented may be seen as campy today, but just imagine what it must have been like, trying to understand it all and trying to guess what it would mean to you and your family.