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The Spanish Earth

  • 1937
  • Unrated
  • 52m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
835
YOUR RATING
The Spanish Earth (1937)
DocumentaryWar

A documentary showing the struggle of the Spanish Republican government against a rebellion by ultra-right-wing forces led by Gen. Francisco Franco and backed by Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita... Read allA documentary showing the struggle of the Spanish Republican government against a rebellion by ultra-right-wing forces led by Gen. Francisco Franco and backed by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.A documentary showing the struggle of the Spanish Republican government against a rebellion by ultra-right-wing forces led by Gen. Francisco Franco and backed by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

  • Director
    • Joris Ivens
  • Writers
    • John Dos Passos
    • Lillian Hellman
    • Ernest Hemingway
  • Stars
    • Enrique Lister
    • Carlos Romero Giménez
    • José Díaz
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    835
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Joris Ivens
    • Writers
      • John Dos Passos
      • Lillian Hellman
      • Ernest Hemingway
    • Stars
      • Enrique Lister
      • Carlos Romero Giménez
      • José Díaz
    • 8User reviews
    • 7Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win

    Photos

    The Spanish Earth (1937)
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    Top cast

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    Enrique Lister
    • Self - Commander 1st Division Republican Army
    Carlos Romero Giménez
    • Self - Commander 5th Division Republican Army
    • (as Carlos)
    José Díaz
    • Self - Member of Parliament
    Gustav Regler
    • Self - German Writer
    Dolores Ibárruri
    • Self - Republican Leader
    • (as La Pasionaria)
    Manuel Azaña
    • Self - President of the Republic
    Martinez de Aragón
    • Self - Commander 2nd Division Republican Army
    Commander Martinez de Aragón
    • Self (Republican Army)
    Orson Welles
    Orson Welles
    • Narrator (English version) (later replaced by Ernest Hemingway)
    • (voice)
    Ernest Hemingway
    Ernest Hemingway
    • Narrator (English version)
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Jean Renoir
    Jean Renoir
    • Narrator (French version)
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    • …
    • Director
      • Joris Ivens
    • Writers
      • John Dos Passos(part one)
      • Lillian Hellman(uncredited)
      • Ernest Hemingway(part two)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Orson Welles recorded the commentary written by Ernest Hemingway and receives on-screen credit, but Hemingway decided to use his own voice instead. It is not clear which version of the film uses Hemingway's voice; the most common print does use the more cultured voice of Welles, which seemed jarring to members of the Contemporary Historians production company--formed by Herman Shumlin, Lillian Hellman and Dorothy Parker, which produced the movie. Both versions are available.
    • Quotes

      Orson Welles, Narrator: [Background sounds of wartime shelling] This is the true face of men going into action. It is a little different from any other face that you will ever see.

    • Connections
      Featured in Schweizer im spanischen Bürgerkrieg (1974)

    User reviews8

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Interesting, if shaded, documentary
    The Spanish Civil War remains as one of the longest and bloodiest conflicts involving a major country, and it's impossible to sum up its many nuances. You'll get one view of the conflict here with incredible footage of war and glimpses of rural Spanish life.

    This, however, isn't a documentary as much as it is straight Soviet-style propaganda. The style of the film, from the poor farmers bettering themselves with a homemade concrete irrigation system to the election of soldiers to hear impassioned political pep talks from movement leaders, s straight from the Stalnist manual of Lifestyles of the Glorious Peoples. This isn't meant to Red-bait any of the participants -- they truly believed in a "free" Spain, and fascist-backed Francisco Franco's regime wasn't the answer, either -- but the reality was far different and is only now coming to light after 70 years.

    The Spanish Civil War was also very much a fascist/Soviet proxy war, and the Soviet Union had a not-so-hidden hand in its direction. Look carefully at the fighting sequences, and you'll see very atypical people in different-style uniforms guiding artillery and directing troops.

    As a historical insight -- despite what now appears to be a ham-fisted approach in propaganda -- the film is priceless. And many thanks for TCM and its ever-expanding programming efforts in broadcasting the film in July 2007; hopefully, we'll always have somebody unwilling to slice, dice and crop something and still call it a classic, ala AMC.
    helpful•24
    10
    • eschwartzkopf
    • Aug 1, 2007

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 20, 1937 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Tierra de España
    • Filming locations
      • Fuentidueña de Tajo, Madrid, Spain(Main location for the irrigation project.)
    • Production company
      • Contemporary Historians Inc.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      52 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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