Story of the Unknown Soldier

Built from 1928 newsreels—the year 60 nations vowed to outlaw war—Storck’s razor-edged montage mocks the era’s self-congratulation by cross-cutting speeches and parades with portents of renewed violence: nationalism, colonial repression, police brutality. Slow-motion collapsing chimneys and the exhumation of an “unknown soldier” give the satire its sting.

• Henri StorckDirector

• Benito MussoliniHimself (archive footage)
• Philippe PétainHimself (archive footage)
• Czar Nicholas II of RussiaHimself (archive footage)