Why We Fight: Prelude to War (1943)
The opening chapter of Frank Capra's seven-part U.S. Army series, tracing the rise of fascism from Japan's 1931 invasion of Manchuria to Mussolini's conquest of Ethiopia in order to explain to American recruits why the country could not stay neutral.
Prelude to War was Capra’s answer to Leni Riefenstahl: assigned by Army Chief of Staff George Marshall to explain the war to raw recruits, Capra built much of the film from captured Axis propaganda footage re-cut against itself. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Background
Prelude to War is the first film in Frank Capra’s seven-part Why We Fight series, made at the direct request of Army Chief of Staff George Marshall to explain to American recruits why the country had entered the Second World War. Capra, already a celebrated Hollywood director, assembled much of the film from captured Axis newsreel and propaganda footage, arguing that Japan’s and Italy’s own recorded aggression made the case against them better than any new footage could.
What to watch for
Watch for how the film traces the rise of fascism and militarism from Japan’s 1931 invasion of Manchuria through Mussolini’s conquest of Ethiopia, building an argument aimed squarely at persuading a civilian-turned-soldier audience rather than at neutral historical record-keeping. It is frankly a work of wartime persuasion rather than balanced documentary, and it is worth watching with that purpose in mind. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
