Shoot information about what we are fighting for.

Hollywood movie master capra was the first successful immigrant to the United States to realize his dream. At the beginning of the 20th century, he went from Italy to the United States, and a one-night stand made him reach the pinnacle of his Oscar dream. During World War II, he retired from the army, and General Marshall personally entrusted him to shoot a large-scale documentary that could inspire American youth to join the army. Starting from 1942, capra led his team to produce 7 episodes of large-scale documentary [What Are We Fighting for], which was based on information films and captured enemy films. In the film, he used "the decisive battle between the bright world and the dark world" to describe the war, and took the American system and lifestyle as the representative of the "bright world". The shots of Capitol Hill and stone tablets are endowed with national significance and are used to sing carols for the "American spirit". [What are we fighting for] expressed his pastoral confidence in democracy. It was not until the Vietnam War that the supreme belief of this "country on the top of the mountain" was gradually knocked down.

A few weeks after Pearl Harbor, Hollywood film director frank capra suddenly sat in the office of Marshal Marshall, the chief of staff of the US Department of Defense. At this time, capra has changed into a brand-new military uniform and turned into a major. The marshal explained to him the purpose of calling him: the ratio of civilians to professional soldiers in the American army is about to reach 50 1. Both the German army and the Japanese army firmly believe that such young Americans are too weak to wage modern wars. However, Marshall thinks that if you explain to these young people why they wear military uniforms, they may go into battle like tigers. Marshal Marshall said, "So, Mr. capra, I want to make a plan with you to make a series of films that are the first in the history of our country, provide factual knowledge in the form of documentaries, and explain to our army soldiers why we are fighting and why we are fighting." The problem is that capra has no experience in making documentaries. He bluntly said to Marshall, "Marshal Marshall, I tell you, I haven't made a documentary yet. In fact, I have never been with anyone who made this kind of film. " The marshal nudged him and said, "Mr capra, I have never been the chief of staff until now! Thousands of young Americans have never been shot through their thighs! Soldiers who haven't seen the ocean a year ago are commanding warships today! " Capra suddenly realized: "I'm sorry, sir, I want to make a large documentary that no one has ever seen."

After some efforts, capra collected a large number of films from different sources and made eight films on this basis. They are called "Why Are We Fighting: Prelude to the War (1942)", "Nazi Strike", "Divide and Rule" (1943), "Battle of Britain" (1943), and. These films are listed as must-see films in American military education, some of which will be shown to ordinary citizens, translated into foreign languages and sent to many countries for screening. In the process of ideological education for American conscripts, the Battle of Britain achieved remarkable results. After watching the movie, the anti-British sentiment of the enlisted soldiers was greatly weakened. Since most American soldiers have gone to Britain, the change of anti-British sentiment is regarded as a very valuable achievement. In addition, capra organized some film teams, started to shoot the military news film Lu Haijun Magazine, and cooperated with British filmmakers to shoot Victory in Tunisia (1944). Most of the most famous works in American war documentaries are about the army, and the film department of the overseas branch of the Army Intelligence Agency has done a lot of work in this regard.

The series "What Are We Fighting for" involves the political, economic and cultural traditions of many countries, and the images come from many countries, just like a microcosm of modern history. These films played the role of "bugles" in the United States and performed diplomatic functions outside the United States. In these films, the concept of "allies" is summarized by the word "free world". Although this approach completely ignores many inappropriate problems, it has also become an important reason for the popularity of these films in the Allies. According to Churchill's order, the Battle of England was widely broadcast in Britain, while according to Stalin's order, the Battle of Russia was broadcast throughout the Soviet Union. However, not all the films made by capra and his photography team were well received. For example, the description of Chiang Kai-shek's rule of China in China aroused people's suspicion, and the film was removed shortly after its release. Some movies, such as Know Yourself and Know Yourself: Japan (1944), were never shown at all. According to one of the directors, the film was not released because it portrayed Emperor Hirohito as a war criminal, and with the change of American foreign policy, the emperor was regarded as an assistant to maintain order, and this situation will continue after the war.

This well-received documentary was produced during World War II, and it is a real news short film. The film was completed by three Oscar winners: the producer and director is frank capra of the US Army Communications Team (he has directed films such as One-Night Stand, Mr. Dietz Going to Town, Living Like a Dream); The composer is Dimitri Tiomkin (who has composed music for films such as Noon, Endless Love and The Old Man and the Sea); The narrator is the actor walter houghston (who appeared in the movie Game Writing Protocol).

General george marshall, commander of the U.S. Army, asked Major frank capra of the U.S. Army Communications Team to make a series of films to explain the national policy to the hastily assembled American soldiers. At that time, Major capra was already a well-known filmmaker, and his special requirement was to "make a series of well-documented and conclusive films to explain to the soldiers why we entered the war and the significance of our fighting for it".

1944 The series "What Are We Fighting for" won the Best Documentary Series Award of new york Film Critics Award. Although the series was originally shot specifically for soldiers, it was soon released to the public in cinemas. Moreover, American allies, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the then Soviet government also requested the United States to provide films for this series of films.