Wow! Such a good movie.

So much average

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

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.

*Spoiler/plot- 1942, A film showing and speaking of the conditions that made WW2 to many perceptive folks, inevitable. This film is often called- "Why We Fight, Part 1" *Special Stars- Narrator: Walter Huston *Theme- War comes to a country when it's least prepared.*Trivia/location/goofs- Public domain film, no copyrights left, never renewed. Free.*Emotion- An enjoyable documentary made up of live action combat or newsreel footage. But it is extremely educational and does what a narrative simulated war film can do.

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.

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...