kapelusznik18 The reality of the War in Europe was brought to the American people in the John Huston shocking documentary "San Pietro" a forgotten battle in the hills and mountains of Central Italy that ended up costing as many US military battle casualties-some 1,200-as San Pietro's own population-1,400-in the 10 days of brutal fighting it took to capture it. We see here for the first time war in the raw with real footage that make people watching it stomachs churn. The film was unlike the movies that were released by Hollywood about the war to boost moral and make us-the US-look invincible compared to those we were at war with.Released just -on May 3 1945- a week before the war in Europe ended the American people saw for the first time US servicemen in real life not in the movie killed fighting the enemy in far greater numbers then the US Government or War Department was willing to show them. Using stock footage as well as recreating the battle scenes director John Huston showed us the reality of war not at all to glorify it like the Hollywood studios did to hide it's shocking effects from the American public.New at the time the war documentary opened the door to many more documentaries as well as movies to follow over the next 70 years in showing us that war is hell and mostly to those who have to fight it. Since then war movies out of Hollywood have become far more real in their depiction of war and less patriotic which is the best thing that the war documentary achieved. And it almost landed it's director John Huston behind bars for it's anti-war message that was considered unpatriotic and defeatist at the time of its release.

MartinHafer I saw this film while watching my copy of the 4-DVD set "Treasures From American Film Archives"--a set of mostly ephemeral films that would have otherwise been lost."San Pietro" is a film assembled by the US War Department to chronicle one of many battles from WWII. Like so many government films made during WWII, it is narrated by a Hollywood star (director John Huston) and I assume it was made by film makers who were in military service for the war.The film's narration and images are surprisingly blunt and free from extreme patriotism--making it highly realistic and gripping. In other words, the film is not all about American victory but shows casualties and describes how difficult this battle was--not some jingoistic rant meant to glorify war and make it seem like the troops were super-human. While some might have thought this would demoralize the folks at home (hence it was held for release for two years), it was direct, informative and well-constructed. At times, it felt almost as if you were there in the action and was very compelling--and a nice tribute to real sacrifices made by some very brave soldiers as well as an important historical record.

Boba_Fett1138 I was expecting quite a bit from this movie, as it's often being credited as being an intriguing WW II (anti)war documentary, that puts you right in the middle of things. It does feature some unique and straight-forward battle images but to me it just didn't all worked out.To me this movie looks and feels more like a news reel than an actual documentary about the accounts of the battle of San Pietro. This might sound like a compliment but it isn't really. The movie tells a story and it features lots of footage but it all feels glued together. To me it's even doubtful if the narration and images even belong together. The entire narration tells how the battle progressed but I doubted that all of the footage got shot during any of those talked about events. My suspicion got confirmed by the end of the movie, when a disclaimer got shown saying some of the footage got shot before and after the battle but were put into the movie for continuity reasons.The narration by John Huston keeps the movie going at all times but it makes things happen a bit too fast as well really. Guess this is not the creator's fault but more the war department's that heavily cut the movie down because the movie got considered to be too anti-war by them.The movie is mostly considered to be anti-war because it's being pretty straight-forward and of course honest. You'll see death bodies in this movie and allies taking some heavy blows by the Nazi-enemy. This of course however this present day only works out as realistic and more interesting as well.After watching this movie I still don't feel like I knew what happened all during the battle of San Pietro, or why this battle was considered to be such a distinctive or important one to the allied campaign. But this again is also mostly due to the movie its too high pace.WW II-buffs will still 'enjoy' this movie for what it is, due to its unique footage but don't expect to learn much or to be blown away by any of the movie its images.6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

chinaskee While I agree with another reviewer here that " All Quiet On The Western Front" is one of the greatest anti-war films of all time I don't see this documentary as anti-war at all. San Pietro was of strategic value to the Allied Forces and yes we took it at great loss of life and yes nobody wants to die in some war in a foreign country but these brave young men died for a good cause. To try and use this film to argue that wars should never be fought does a great disservice to all the young Americans who died to free Europe from the Nazis.