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John HustonThe Battle of San Pietro (1945)

Documentary of the US efforts to take Italy by acclaimed director John Huston. The US Army which commissioned the film refused to show it because it was too honest in its portrayal of the high cost of battle and the difficulties faced.


This movie is part of the collection: Feature Films

Director: John Huston
Sponsor: US Army Pictorial Service
Audio/Visual: sound, black & white
Keywords: war; WWII; documentary

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: wolfiejo - - April 8, 2009
Subject: "Hollywood-style war, not real war."
While this is a very intrieging movie, it does not show real war. It is very well documented that almost 95% of the footage in this film was staged. John Huston did not risk his life while filming this, and staged this against direct orders from the US Army Signal Corps not to do so. If you want more proof of this, read Armed with Cameras by Peter Maslowski (specificaly chapter 3 "Jeez, this is Just Like in the Movies.") The author of this book went to the national archives and looked up all of the reels used in the makeing of this film and "9 [reels] are undated, 4 are dated during the battle, and 33 are dated AFTER the battle." "28 [reels] indicate that the film was completely or partialy reenacted."

This film is Hollywood-style war, not real war. "San Pietro acheived 'the stamp of authenticity,' not authenticity."

Reviewer: BobbyJimmy - - March 24, 2007
Subject: Interesting but largely faked...
People need to know that most footage was faked. If you watch the excellent documentary "Shooting War" it gives details about this, including how John Huston smacked the camera every time there was an explosion, and used the most dramatic pyrotechnics he could find. American soldiers played dead German soldiers, etc. In fact "Shooting War" has some amazing and disturbing real footage that you might not have seen before.

Reviewer: seekingclassics - - March 24, 2007
Subject: Good Film, But Technical Problems
A great documentary but unfortunately the low res version can't be seen too well and the high-res copy has the sound badly out of sync. This seems to be a problem with a lot of MPEG2 files.

Reviewer: LovelyLaura1313 - - July 18, 2006
Subject: once again..
maybe you all should do a little back round check before you watch this movie and make assumptions. i wrote a review earlier. none of the footage is fake folks. its all real. once again, there is a lot of my family in this movie. we own the movie at home, and my family members remember it happening. theres a scene of a lady laying above a gutter with flowers in her hand and she is dead. that would be my great aunt. and that would be where and when she died. when i visited san pietro i stood in that spot. once again, the footage isn't fake. thanks for reading ! :)

Reviewer: k-otic - - June 15, 2006
Subject: All fake footage
You must know that almost all combat footage you can see in this movie are fake!

John Huston shot all scenes month after the actual fighting because he didn`t like the original combat footage provided by camera units of the 163rd Signal Corps.
Huston simply shot the combat footage you can see in this film with three eyemo`s and two battalions of the 36th division by using the most eyecatching ammunition he can get his hands on.

so, it`s just all fake hollywood you see in this movie, not a single american serviceman dies in it and some of the displayed "dead" soldiers are fake too.

but, besides beeing all fake, it is really nice made..

Reviewer: goonsquad4 - - June 9, 2006
Subject: still disturbs and shocks because it is real
I am actually writing my MA dissertation on this film and the two other war documentaries Huston did for the Army--Report from the Aleutians (1943) and Let There Be LIght (1946). I have viewed San Pietro a dozen times now, and still learn more with each viewing. My research tells me this film is considered to be the best war documentary ever. That is a large claim but it is indeed the best I have ever seen. The film is vastly different than any newsreel-style, cheerleading documentary of the era, as the voice-over is sober, ironic, and poignant at times. The battle scenes are brutal as we see American servicemen actually getting killed in battle. I have seen recent documentaries about Irag and Afghanistan, but none compare with the horror seen in San Pietro. I would highly recommend this film to anyone, but it is a must for any "war buff," as is Huston's other two war documentaries.

Peace.

Reviewer: Gunter - - December 5, 2005
Subject: 46 minutes in 2 pictures
There is no need to say something about John Huston because he was probably one of the most appreciated movie man in the 40s and the 50s in America.
I saw the Battle of San Pietro for the first time when I bought the video in London by After The Battle in the late 1970s.
Since this day they are 2 pictures in the movie I will nerver forget : le little "man" wearing a beannie (jeep cap) and that sweet little girl behind her mother and sared like hell.
These two pictures are making this whole movie being one of the best ever made on world war two.

The Military part itself is one of the best. No need to special artifacts, special effects or spÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂécial sounds. This is a truh and naked war movie as cold as only war can be. It's muddy, bloody and doesn't need any explanation. War is War and this movie is War.

Gunter G. Gillot Jr

Historians & Collectors rating 8/10

Reviewer: John-boy - - August 26, 2005
Subject: A very fine piece of work by Huston.
Those who would evaluate this documentary solely on its entertainment value are completely missing the point. This work portrays the battle using setup detail description and filming methods that take you right into the action. The ending, when the people of San Pietro come out of hiding and show their gratitude even in the midst of suffering casualties themselves by falling victim to enemy laid booby traps, leaves no doubt in the viewer's mind that this battle had to be fought. It's a shame that the Army chose not to show it to the public but the truth is that it's easy to understand why they didn't. As for the ending being "propaganda", nothing could be further from the truth. It was simply an accurate portrayal of the aftermath. To imply that the United States should have remained out of World War II is totally absurd.

I highly recommend viewing this film but it's not for the squeamish. There is nothing "slow moving" or "dull" about it.

Reviewer: bobsluckycat - - July 21, 2005
Subject: War In Italy Up C lose
Upon viewing this film, it's easy to understand why the U.S. Army witheld it. The first two thirds are extremely stark and real. The narration of John Huston candid and matter-of-fact, dropping assorted facts and statistics to accompany the up close and personal fighting and dying, the body bags, and always the youthful faces of young men living minute to minute in war is intense. Huston never says that the battle for San Pietro was totally insane, but being a very real writer/director lets the reality speak for itself. The re-birth of the village is the kind of tacked on propaganda you would expect, but it too is barren and bleak.
Looking back to a time before television this was tough film making of the finest kind.
foot-note:San Pietro 61 years later is a green, somewhat still rural, beautiful place and you can still dig up bullets there. Highly recommended.

Reviewer: Christine Hennig - - July 20, 2005
Subject: The Horror and the Boredom of Combat
This film documents the Battle of San Pietro, one of the most bloody and difficult of the Italian campaign in WWII. For the most part this is rather slow-moving and dull. However, there are some striking images of bodies being put into body bags, and multiple graves being dug, giving you an idea of just how bloody this battle was. And the ending, in which we see the townspeople of San Pietro emerging from the caves where they had been hiding, is fairly moving. Mostly, though, this is straightforward, and it could have had at least 15 minutes of it edited out without really losing anything. Unless they were trying to show us the boredom of combat, in which case they succeeded.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.