War

The AAF Comes of Age

August 18, 1945

This United States government documentary short film recapitulates the efforts made by the United States Army Air Forces in coming to terms with the necessities and exigencies of war in the lead-up to and during the Second World War. Archival footage, charts, and animated illustrations depict the unprepared state of America's air power in face of the threat from Germany, Italy, and Japan, and the massive efforts made to catch up to the enemy in terms of manpower, training, and materiel.

Barak 1

Barak 1

August 17, 1945

Life in Gestapo jails in occupied Belgium.

Belgrade

August 14, 1945

Documentary, black and white.

Know Your Enemy: Japan

Know Your Enemy: Japan

August 9, 1945

Frank Capra-directed propaganda film produced during World War II depicting the United States' new enemy: Japan.

Pride of the Marines

Pride of the Marines

August 24, 1945

Marine hero Al Schmid is blinded in battle and returns home to be rehabilitated. He readjusts to his civilian life with the help of his soon to be wife.

Three Women of the North

Three Women of the North

August 5, 1945

The story of an airport and its air traffic control crew in a remote and northern Japanese town. Three of the air traffic controllers are female with one of them working with her dead fiancé's sister. The engaged man had gone to war and never returned.

Humayun

Humayun

July 27, 1945

The film follows Humayun’s rise to the throne, his struggles to maintain the empire, and his conflicts with rivals—especially Sher Shah Suri, who defeats him and forces him into exile. Amid political upheaval and personal loss, the story also explores Humayun’s relationships, particularly with his noble wife Hamida Banu. Eventually, with Persian support, he regains his empire, but his triumph is short-lived, as his reign ends with a fatal accident.

To Love and Swear

To Love and Swear

July 26, 1945

After facing hard times, an orphan Korean boy gets adopted to Japanese society. He meets several Japanese people who are kind to him, and grows up wanting to repay his debt to Japan, by becoming a kamikaze pilot.

The Fleet That Came to Stay

The Fleet That Came to Stay

July 26, 1945

A propaganda short film produced by the US Navy in 1945 about the naval engagements of the invasion of Okinawa.

The Turning Point

The Turning Point

July 19, 1945

The film tells the story of those who took part in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942, which became a turning point in the Great Patriotic War. For five months, the city resisted the Nazi offensive. Surrendering Stalingrad to the enemy would have meant losing the war, but holding on to the city seemed almost impossible.

Story of G.I. Joe

Story of G.I. Joe

July 13, 1945

War correspondent Ernie Pyle joins Company C, 18th Infantry as this American army unit fights its way across North Africa in World War II. He comes to know the soldiers and finds much human interest material for his readers back in the States. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 2000.

It Happened in the Donbass

It Happened in the Donbass

July 11, 1945

The film is about the Soviet youth who fearlessly fight in the years of the Great Patriotic War against the Nazi invaders in the German-occupied Donbass and continue the work of their fathers, who in their time defended the Soviet Union.

Death Mills

Death Mills

July 10, 1945

Originally made with a German soundtrack for screening in occupied Germany and Austria, this film was the first documentary to show what the Allies found when they liberated the Nazi extermination camps: the survivors, the conditions, and the evidence of mass murder. The film includes accounts of the economic aspects of the camps' operation, the interrogation of captured camp personnel, and the enforced visits of the inhabitants of neighboring towns, who, along with the rest of their compatriots, are blamed for complicity in the Nazi crimes - one of the few such condemnations in the Allied war records.

A Few Quick Facts: Japan

A Few Quick Facts: Japan

July 1, 1945

Short US propaganda cartoon.

Theater

Theater

June 28, 1945

Kotobuki-za is a story of the Naniwa-bushi singer Baichuken Tsurumaru.

A Tale of Archery at the Sanjusangendo

A Tale of Archery at the Sanjusangendo

June 28, 1945

In A Tale of Archery, young, timid bowmaster Kazuma (Akitake Kôno) seeks to beat the archery record set by Hoshino Kanzaemon, a mysterious figure who, it is rumored, drove the previous champion (Kazuma’s father) to suicide. Possessed of much raw talent, Kazuma is also very much a coward, holing himself up in an inn run by the kindly Okinu (Kinuyo Tanaka) and generally avoiding confrontation of any sort. Despite his clandestine manner, enough of the locals know of Kazuma’s purpose and an attempt is made on his life. He is saved by Karatsu Kanbei (Kazuo Hasegawa), a samurai who offers to help Kazuma hone his archery skills, though it soon becomes clear that this apparently selfless stranger has several potentially shady ulterior motives.

A Bell for Adano

A Bell for Adano

June 21, 1945

Major Joppolo and his men are assigned to restore order to the war-torn Italian town of Adano. He has to manage getting supplies into town without interfering with troop movements, all the while dealing with colorful citizens of the town. One of his quests is to replace the bell which orders the town's life.

The Fight for the Sky

June 21, 1945

Documentary detailing the activities of American fighter escort pilots during bombing raids over Germany.

The Fall of Berlin

The Fall of Berlin

June 17, 1945

Documentary on the fall of the nazi Germany's capital, Berlin, edited and directed by the soviet filmmaker Yelizaveta Svilova

The Way to the Stars

The Way to the Stars

June 16, 1945

Life on a British bomber base, and the surrounding towns, from the opening days of the Battle of Britain, to the arrival of the Americans, who join in the bomber offensive. The film centres around Pilot Officer Peter Penrose, fresh out of a training unit, who joins the squadron, and quickly discovers about life during war time. He falls for Iris, a young girl who lives at the local hotel, but he becomes disillusioned about marriage, when the squadron commander dies in a raid, and leaves his wife, the hotel manageress, with a young son to bring up. As the war progresses, Penross comes to terms that he has survived, while others have been killed.