A War Begins

The WW2 Documentaries of Herbert Kline

Mar 10–24, 2022

Online

Lights Out in Europe. 1940. USA. Directed by Herbert Kline

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Herbert Kline’s two extraordinary World War II documentaries, about an authoritarian state rapidly devouring its smaller neighbors, remain shockingly resonant today. Made on the ground in Czechoslovakia and Poland, respectively, as the Nazi campaign unfolded, Crisis: A Film of the Nazi Way (1939) and Lights Out in Europe (1940) evoke the coming of war with an almost unbearable immediacy, from summer camps for political refugees in the Sudetenland to German troops pouring across the Polish border.

Long available only in incomplete 16mm prints, both films have been fully restored by The Museum of Modern Art and are presented here in pristine visual quality.

Organized by Dave Kehr, Curator, Department of Film.

  • This film series is part of Virtual Cinema.
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