Stars and Stripes on Screen: Sixty Years After World War
August 20–21, 2005

August 2005 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the end of World War II. The twentieth century’s greatest conflict was documented by the cinema more thoroughly than any other event before or since. Many of the actuality and propaganda films from the period reside in MoMA’s archives, and these provide a fascinating look at some of the watershed moments in our country’s—and the world’s—history. This exhibition also commemorates the publication of Dr. Lawrence Suid and Dolores Haverstick’s Stars and Stripes on Screen: A Comprehensive Guide to Portrayals of American Military on Film (2005, Scarecrow Press). The authors will introduce most of the screenings and sign copies of their book. Dr. Suid, one of America’s most distinguished military historians, is also the author of Guts and Glory: The Making of the American Military Image in Film (2002), the publication of which was celebrated by a MoMA film series in 2003.

Organized by Charles Silver, Associate Curator, Department of Film and Media.

Program 1: The Pacific Theater
War in China (The March of Time). 1937. USA. Director unknown. Japan tests its war machine in China. 12 min.
Hawai-Marei oki kaisen (Volunteers of Death). 1942. Japan. Directed by Kajiro Yamamoto. The attack on Pearl Harbor as presented to Japanese audiences by Toho Studios and the Imperial Navy. In Japanese, French subtitles; English synopsis provided. 74 min.
The Battle of Midway. 1942. USA. Directed by John Ford. Oscar-winning eyewitness account of a pivotal battle. 18 min. Program 104 min.
Saturday, August 20, 12:30. T2

Program 2: The European Theater
Inside Nazi Germany (The March of Time). 1938. USA. Director unknown. 16 min.
Die Deutschen Wochenschau. 1940. Germany. Director unknown. Nazi “newsreel.” 11 min.
Memphis Belle. 1944. USA. Directed by William Wyler. Classic biography of a B-17 bomber. 40 min
United News. 1944. Italy. Director unknown. Newsreel. 9 min.
The Battle of San Pietro. 1945. USA. Directed by John Huston. A chronicle of the liberation of Italy. 30 min. Program 106 min.
Saturday, August 20, 3:15. T2

Program 3: Aftermath in Japan and America
Bombs over Tokyo. 1946. USA. Director unknown. A rarely seen Marine Corps production arguing for the Corps’ continued independence. 18 min.
Hiroshima-Nagasaki, August 1945. 1970. USA. Produced by Erik Barnouw. This film features once-classified footage of the effects of the atomic bomb. 16 min.
Atomic Power (The March of Time). 1946. USA. Director unknown. 17 min.
Let There Be Light. 1946. USA. Directed by John Huston. A long-suppressed study of the effects of war on returning veterans. 58 min. Program 109 min.
Saturday, August 20, 6:00. T2

Program 4: Aftermath in Europe
Nuremberg. 1948. USA. Directed by Pare Lorentz, Stuart Schulberg. A classic documentary on the War Crimes Trials. 70 min.
Saturday, August 20, 8:30. T2

Program 5: Why We Fight
Between 1942 and 1945, Frank Capra, assisted by Anatole Litvak and Anthony Veiller, produced this historic series for the U.S. War Department and the Army Pictorial Services. This marathon screening of all seven films provides audiences with a rare opportunity to survey the entire war in detail and appreciate its magnitude.
Prelude to War. 1942. USA. Capra. 54 min.
The Nazis Strike. 1942. USA. Capra, Litvak. 41 min.
Divide and Conquer. 1943. USA. Capra, Litvak. 57 min.
The Battle of Britain. 1943. USA. Capra, Veiller. 54 min.
The Battle of Russia. 1943. USA. Capra, Litvak. 80 min.
The Battle of China. 1944. USA. Capra, Litvak. 67 min.
War Comes to America. 1945. USA. Capra, Litvak. 67 min. Program 7 hours, with 10-minute intermissions.
Sunday, August 21, 12:30. T2

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