San Pietro

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Leaburn O Brilliant short documentary showing the tactics, action and aftermath of just a single battle in the Italian offensive of 1943. When you are told of the casualties and the relentless battles between both sides, you come to realise the scale of loss and the harrowing endless nightmare that was the war. It's an excellent documentary and a timeless reminder of the tragedy of war. Watched this one on YouTube where there are a couple of versions of the picture uploaded, the remastered version having some scenes added back that had been edited for American audiences when first released there. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/16/24 Full Review Audience Member A short but nice documentary about the battle and it was surprisingly filmed during the actual battle. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/25/22 Full Review William L If you're going to make a fake documentary, you might as well make it with enough quality that people think it's real, and Huston made one that was so realistic that it took half a century for it to be debunked. Yes, the director deserves to be appropriately chastised for presenting San Pietro as something it wasn't - an on-location documentary in the heat of battle - but it was nevertheless a visionary and groundbreaking piece of film in the depiction of a genuine battle, opting for brutality and violence rather than airbrushed photography. The censors wanted Audie Murphy back home selling war bonds, talking about glory and Lugers taken from deserving, dead Nazis; Huston wanted to make something of an entirely new design, depicting real gallantry even if went against the "cowboys and Indians" fighting style the government wanted to portray. One thing though: San Pietro is not anti-war like some contemporary and modern critics seem to claim. The film is relentlessly star-spangled, just in a novel way that accepts a more realistic depiction of battle. (3/5) Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/24/21 Full Review Audience Member Okay, but a bit disappointing. John Huston's World War 2 documentary on the taking of the Italian town of San Pietro by US forces in December 1943. Okay, but a bit disappointing. Was interesting as it covers a battle that you never hear about in WW2 documentaries or read about in books. In a way San Pietro was a sample of the type of attritional war fought in Italy. However, like "Report from the Aleutians" the main problem is John Huston's narration. Dull, verbose, flowery, and quite irritating at times. Not as bad here as the aforementioned documentary, but still off-putting enough. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review s r 1001 movies to see before you die. Huston's voice is so powerfully distinct. It gives a support to this informative battle. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member A wonderfully rousing propaganda film about american military might during the good war. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Read all reviews

San Pietro

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