grantss
John Huston's World War 2 documentary on the taking of the Italian town of San Pietro by US forces in December 1943.Okay, but a bit disappointing. Was interesting as it covers a battle that you never hear about in WW2 documentaries or read about in books. In a way San Pietro was a sample of the type of attritional war fought in Italy.However, like "Report from the Aleutians" the main problem is John Huston's narration. Dull, verbose, flowery, and quite irritating at times. Not as bad here as the aforementioned documentary, but still off-putting enough.
tavm
In honor of Memorial Day, I decided to watch some John Huston documentaries made during World War II. Before the film begins, a General Mark Clark makes some comments on the worthiness of what is depicted in the picture. Then narrator Huston guides us through what went on in the title village of Italy as the American soldiers try to break the German blockade of our troops. Quite compelling battle footage even though a later disclaimer mentions how staged some of it was before and after the actual battle. There's also much somber footage of dead soldiers and many survivors digging graves. But there's also some joyful scenes of women and children smiling at their rescue and many grateful local men as well. I have to also note how surprised I was at some breastfeeding shots as well! This seemed even more worthy of this commemorative day than Huston's previous doc, Report from the Aleutians, as the stakes were higher. So on that note, San Pietro is recommended.
Jackson Booth-Millard
This short documentary might not be listed as a feature film in the Radio Times film book and stuff, but it features in the book 1001 Movie You Must See Before You Die, and that's good enough for me. From director John Huston, also narrating, this is real footage of the battle on San Pietro, a small village in Italy. It showed all the movements for the US soldiers and Allied Forces many battalions as they positioned themselves to attack the Germans. Over 1,000 of these soldiers were killed trying to take this location, but in the end, it was a successful operation, and even though some of the soldiers retraced their steps for the footage, it is captured well. I suppose it is a real life film about World War II that should be seen, especially as the army detested this film and Huston for creating something "anti-war". Good!
Michael_Elliott
San Pietro (1945) *** (out of 4) John Huston's second of three documentaries made during WW2. This one shows the graphic battle of San Pietro where more than 1,100 American soldiers died. I had heard a lot about this film over the years and while it was a good movie I was somewhat letdown due to some of the hype I had heard. I watched the 32-minute version, which was included on the Treasures from the American Film Archives collection, but I believe there are a couple other longer versions out there that feature more footage of the dead soldier. The U.S. government called this film "anti-war" and I wouldn't say that but the film does show the viewer the casualties of what's going on. The digging of the graves was an eerie sight. A lot of people praised Huston's narration but I found it to be quite distracting.
AD
