The read
It runs a compact 11m.
Synopsis
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.
Ratings
IMDb7.1/10
4 audience votes
Key crew
- Henri StorckDirector
Cast
- Benito MussoliniHimself (archive footage)
- Philippe PétainHimself (archive footage)
- Czar Nicholas II of RussiaHimself (archive footage)
Themes
newsreel