World War II: 60 Years After 2005 / The True Glory / United Kingdom, USA 1945
The eminent American critic James Agee summed up the Oscar-winning war documentary The True Glory, to this day acknowledged as an exceptional work, with the words: “Sharply paced, brisk editing, intelligent choice of shots, of which several hundred are true gems”.
The unity of British and American forces during wartime transferred to the making of the compilation film The True Glory. The year it was made, in 1945, classes it among war documentaries in the fin de la guerre category, a recapitulation whose theme is defined by the preparations for and implementation of the invasion on the beaches of France on 6 June 1944, and the encounter of the units of the victorious Western powers and the Red Army along the Elbe line. And all the while, we have a necessary reminder of the terrible nature of the enemy Third Reich. The shots used here are taken both from previous documentaries and from the ‘latest’ footage capturing the last few days of the war. The filmmakers balance out the inevitable simplification of the synoptical type of film with a poetic commentary comprising testimonies from participants of the war from all nationalities and military ranks. The historical gravity is only emphasised by the introduction and observations by General Eisenhower.
77 min / Black & white, 35 mm
Director Garson Kanin, Carol Reed
/ Screenplay Peter Ustinov, Eric Maschwitz, Guy Trosper, Gerald Kersh, Jenny Nicholson, Harry Brown
/ Dir. of Photography anonymní kameramané z USA, Kanady, Francie, Polska, Belgie atd.
/ Music Marc Blitzstein, William Alwyn
/ Editor Robert Carrick, Bob Clarke, Jerry Cowan, Robert Verrell
/ Production Ministry of Information, U.S. Office of War Information
/ Contact Národní filmový archiv, Imperial War Museum
Carol Reed (1906, London-1976, London)
Characteristic of the films of British director Carol Reed is the treatment of socio-critical issues. His style is defined by a tendency towards documentarism and eloquent realism. In connection with these concepts, one should mention his frequent cooperation with the writer Graham Greene. The Odd Man Out (1947) and The Third Man (1949) are his masterpieces. The lavish musical Oliver! (1968) earned him an Oscar.
Garson Kanin (1912, New York-1999, New York) worked as a jazz musician, actor, screenwriter, stage and film director, dramatist, producer and literary author, with a career spanning the end of the 1930s to the beginning of the 1980s. As a co-writer, he received greatest acclaim, together with his wife, the actress Ruth Gordon, for the screenplay for the social comedy Adam’s Rib (1949); on his own he is best known for the play and later the screenplay of the same name for the film comedy Born Yesterday (1956).
Národní filmový archiv
Závišova 5, 140 00, Praha 4
Czech Republic
E-mail: [email protected]
Imperial War Museum
Lambeth Road, SE1 6HZ, London
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 20 741 653 20
Fax: +44 20 741 653 74
E-mail: [email protected]
Briana Čechová
Film Institution Rep.
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