NFR Project: “The Battle of San Pietro”
Dir: John Huston
Scr: John Huston
Pho: Jules Buck
Ed: John Huston
Premiere: May 3, 1945
32 min.
This World War II documentary ruffled a lot of feathers. It’s a very honest account of a bitter battle on the Allies’ road to Rome in 1943. It got its creator, the great John Huston, in trouble – and out of trouble again.
Huston joined the Army and was assigned to make documentary films. This project was initially thought to follow the progress of Allied armies from their landings on the Italian coast to the capture of Rome. However, fate intervened. The campaign against the Germans bogged down; very little progress was made as American soldiers died by the score.
Huston decided to film the truth of the matter. His film describes the objective and the plans to take it; then moves to the depiction of actual combat (although scholars deduced that none of the footage was taken during the fighting). The scenes are raw, relentless – soldiers crouch down close to the earth, enduring artillery fire, then leap up to shoot and toss grenades in the Germans’ direction. Assaults are repulsed. Huston doesn’t shy away from showing us the faces of the dead soldiers, and showing corpses being loaded into trucks. He finishes the movie by showing the aftermath of the battle, as Italian civilians return to their shattered town to rebuild their lives.
The Army was mighty displeased with Huston’s finished product. It was cut from 50 minutes to 38, then to 32. The brass accused Huston of making an anti-war film. Huston replied, “If I ever make anything other than an anti-war film, I hope you take me out and shoot me.” Then General George C. Marshall saw the film and thought its seriousness and honesty would be better for the troops to see than a gung-ho, upbeat propaganda film. The film got released, and Huston was promoted to Major.
The NFR is one writer’s attempt to review all the films listed in the National Film Registry in chronological order. Next time: ‘Detour.’
No comments:
Post a Comment