John Huston has been hailed as one of the finest directors
of all time, deservedly so. We’re at a time when many young people won’t
recognize his name and some might not even be aware of his films. He made some
of the most memorable movies ever like THE MALTESE FALCON, THE TREASURE OF
SIERRA MADRE, THE AFRICAN QUEEN, THE MISFITS and PRIZZI’S HONOR. But young
people today seem destined to forget history and be consumed with nothing but
things happening within their lifetime. That’s sad. One of the best things
about film is the ability to actually view history rather than just read about
it. Which brings us to this collection.
With only two feature films under his belt as a director, a
young John Huston enlisted at the beginning of WWII. Recognizing the
possibilities his talents posed for the war effort he was put into a special
unit that helped create movies that would assist the war effort. In the four
years Huston was in the unit he only made three films but they’ve become
important documents as to what happened. They also showed the progression of
Huston from a gung ho youngster seeking adventure to a realistic film maker who
saw the results of war.
The progression becomes clear as you watch the films on
display here. Starting with WINNING YOUR WINGS we’re greeted with young pilot
Jimmy Stewart, who was indeed a pilot in the Army Air Corp, stepping out of his
plane to talk to viewers about what to expect when the young men out there
enlisted. It’s a bright big wonderful world in the military that offers
comradery, food, clothing, education and more. In essence the film is a
promotional piece for the military that talks about all the benefits but ignore
the dangers and hardships. It is what one would expect to see as a war effort
was just beginning.
But all of that changes with Huston’s second film, REPORT
FROM THE ALEUTIANS. Shot in color, this film looks at the actual bases and
military men in action, or inaction. The setting is the Aleutian Islands in
Alaska and the battles that took place there. The scenery is desolate and the
time consumed with waiting for battle takes precedence here. While the bombings
and descriptions of what happens is here as well the glamor of Huston’s first
subjects aren’t seen this time around. Its war and what he is seeing has
changed his attitudes just as it has those involved in battle.
When we get to the third film in the set, SAN PIETRO, we get
the chance to see the horrors of war through the eye of Huston. By this time
he’s seen how war really is. The blood, the death and the destruction. The
movie, as with all three films, is staged after all the real destruction has
taken place. But to know what to shoot one had to have been there to see it
happen. The movie covers a 9 month period that costs the lives of over 1,100
U.S. military personnel, showing them as heroes having won the battle. But the
end result was a movie that the U.S. military didn’t show to audiences for fear
it would harm morale for those here at home. The effects of watching war on the
evening news during the Vietnam War would later prove that it probably would
have done just that.
The last film of the set is LET THERE BE LIGHT, a film that
looks at soldiers who have sustained what we now call Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder as well as many debilitating injuries. The move takes a hard and
brutal look at what they went through and the treatment they received. But we
also learn that all of the raw footage Huston shot was removed and actors were
used to duplicate scenes so as to not alarm the public or put on display the
more traumatic reality of what they went through.
What makes this set of films important is that they offer a
record of what was actually going on at the time through the eyes of film maker
Huston. Even more so is the slow progression of his views on the subject matter
going from overenthusiastic supporter to more cautious consideration of the
effects of war having witnessed it firsthand. With war constantly waiting to
happen again it offers a great document on what to consider before entering.
Olive has done as good a job of restoration as possible
considering the age and condition of these films. It also offers the just a few
extras including an introduction, the raw camera footage from SAN PIETRO and
SHADES OF GRAY, the dramatized remake of LET THERE BE LIGHT that the military
allowed to be viewed. All of this is an important contribution to history as
seen through the eyes of the camera lens and should be considered must see
viewing by those studying WWII. That it is available makes it a worthwhile
endeavor that Olive should be praised for.
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