With the Marines at Tarawa (1944)
*** (out of 4)
Richard Brooks and Louis Hayward co-directed this WWII short that shows us the battle at Tarawa where less than a thousand American soldiers were killed battling the Japanese. If you watch these old WWII films you'll be struck by how brutally honest they are. These films were made to show people back in the States what was going on in the war and a lot of times these shorts were made to build up support for our troops. There were some films that were deemed too controversial to release including some by the great John Huston. This one here certainly isn't a masterpiece but at the same time it's pretty remarkable that you get to see so much of the battle footage and of course the harsh realities of the aftermath. The film was shot in color, which also helped bring the realism to life. This here certainly won't appeal to everyone but history buffs should be entertained by the footage.
*** (out of 4)
Richard Brooks and Louis Hayward co-directed this WWII short that shows us the battle at Tarawa where less than a thousand American soldiers were killed battling the Japanese. If you watch these old WWII films you'll be struck by how brutally honest they are. These films were made to show people back in the States what was going on in the war and a lot of times these shorts were made to build up support for our troops. There were some films that were deemed too controversial to release including some by the great John Huston. This one here certainly isn't a masterpiece but at the same time it's pretty remarkable that you get to see so much of the battle footage and of course the harsh realities of the aftermath. The film was shot in color, which also helped bring the realism to life. This here certainly won't appeal to everyone but history buffs should be entertained by the footage.