A Year in Shorts Day 11: "London Can Take It!" (Repost)

How, exactly, does one review a propaganda short? How does one give it a star rating? And perhaps most importantly, how does one write about it while trying to stay entertaining? Well, hopefully we find the answer to all the questions and more as we discuss London Can Take It!

(via Londontopia)

London Can Take It! is the first documentary short we're covering on the Great Oscar Baiter, although at the time of its release the Documentary Short category hadn't been created. Instead, the live action shorts were divided by length, with two categories being reserved for One-Reel or Two-Reel Shorts; London Can Take It! qualified for the former.



Like a large number of Oscar-nominated shorts released during the Second World War, London Can Take It! is a propaganda piece, depicting a day in London during the Blitz and released to shift popular opinion in America towards declaring war on Germany. There is a part of me that thinks perhaps the only way to truly rate a short like this is on how effective it was. But those things can be awfully hard to quantify.


(via Wikipedia)

No, instead the unhappy task is left to me to judge London Can Take It! on its merits as a film, something which it was never really intended to be scrutinized for. Altogether, it's perfectly fine for what it is. It gets its point across clearly and concisely, and contains some fairly striking images sprinkled throughout. Director Humphrey Jennings and Harry Watt have a lot of good footage to work with, and editor Stewart McAllister ties it all together nicely. The narration, delivered by US correspondent Quentin Reynolds, remains informative and rousing whenever it's called to be. At times, it seems as if the short might be better served if there weren't any narration. It would certainly be more cinematic, but that, of course, was a secondary concern for the filmmakers.

Ultimately, London Can Take It! is more interesting as a historical artifact than as a film. If you want to see footage of how the citizens of London lived during the Blitz, you should definitely check it out. If, however, you're looking for an artistic piece of documentary storytelling, there are other films which will suit you better.


Keep up with all the Oscar Baiting here on Letterboxd!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Song of the Week #15: "Take My Breath Away"

Image
I’ll put myself on a consistent schedule for these things one day, I promise. In my defense, there are a lot of movies to catch up on, and isn’t that what Oscar Baiting is all about? For instance- until recently, I’d never seen the original Top Gun! But with Top Gun: Maverick holding its spot as the biggest hit of the year (probably only to be dethroned by Black Panther or Avatar ) and even potentially soaring into the obligatory crowd pleaser Best Picture slot, I figured it was time to see where things began. Because while the Oscars Top Gun: Maverick may win have yet to be decided, the first Top Gun only went home with one- for the love theme, “Take My Breath Away.” (via Wikipedia) Love themes for films have gone a bit out of style these days, although for a long time it seemed to be a surefire way to nab a Best Song nomination. Seriously, look through the Wikipedia article and count how many times you see "Title Seemingly Chosen at Random (Love Theme from Movie You Didn...
Read more

Song of the Week #6: "The Ballad of High Noon"

Image
I was finally able to catch Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast this weekend, and I have to say it certainly lived up to the hype. There’s a lot to love about this movie, from the gorgeous black-and-white cinematography, the exquisite performances from both the seasoned veterans and newcomers in the cast, to a script that’s brimming with heart and humor. But one aspect of the film I don’t see a lot of people mention is the way it incorporates footage from other films- most notably Fred Zinnemann’s High Noon, using not only a scene from the movie itself but scoring two pivotal scenes with the film’s theme song, the aptly-named (and Oscar-winning) “The Ballad of High Noon.” It was a bold choice to be sure, but who could blame Branagh? It’s a great movie, and a great song- and the subject for today’s installment in Song of the Week. (via Wikipedia) For those of you haven't seen High Noon... well, you really should get on that, it's a classic! Aside from being a taut, tightly edited thril...
Read more

Song of the Week #14- "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"

Image
I was watching Belfast with my friend last week, and- like all great films- it raised a lot of questions. Questions like, “Hey, remember the last time I watched Belfast and was inspired to write a blog post because of it ?” and “Hey, why haven’t I written anything Oscar Bait related in a while?” Well, luckily for all of us “The Ballad of High Noon” wasn’t the only Oscar-nominated song featured in Belfast. Unluckily for us, that other song just happens to be “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” (via Wikipedia) Readers of this blog will hopefully remember that I love a good movie musical. Sadly, those were few and far between in the 1960s. Oh sure, movie musicals certainly had a brief resurgence in those days. Many of them were big hits, both critically and commercially. Hell, Best Picture went to a musical on four separate occasions in that decade! But how many of them were actually any good? Not a lot. Oh sure, The Music Man is great fun and Mary Poppins is a classic. But far too many mu...
Read more