It runs a compact 53m.
Synopsis
Joris Ivens’s advocacy documentary for the Republican cause intercuts a besieged Madrid with a nearby village digging an irrigation canal, linking the war to bread, land, and survival. Produced by the writers’ collective Contemporary Historians, edited by Helen van Dongen, scored by Marc Blitzstein, and narrated in its U.S. version by Ernest Hemingway (after an initial Orson Welles track), it blends frontline reportage with persuasion against Franco’s forces and their German–Italian backers.
Ratings
| Source | Rating | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| IMDb | 6.5/10 | 53% |
| Rotten Tomatoes | 80% | 26% |
| TMDB | 6.7/1022 votes | 21% |
| Balasaur Score | 69 | 100% |
Key crew
- Prudencio de PeredaWriter
- John Dos PassosWriter
- Joris IvensDirector, Writer
- Archibald MacleishWriter
- Lillian HellmanWriter
- Ernest HemingwayWriter
Cast
- Manuel AzañaHimself (President of Spain)
- José DíazHimself (Parliamentarian)
- Dolores IbárruriHerself
- Enrique ListerHimself (Republican Army)
- Commander Martinez de AragónHimself (Republican Army)
- Gustav ReglerHimself (German writer)
- Orson WellesNarrator (voice)
- Ernest HemingwayNarrator (voice)
- Jean RenoirNarrator (voice)