Historical Movies and World War Images
From the Battle of Somme to Frank Capra's Why We Fight
Oct 19, 2009
The historic photo archive and the film and video archive of the Imperial War Museum in London offers a wealth of visual material for research and educational purposes. There are some 120 million feet of film and 6,500 hours of video tape held in the Film and Video Archive, while the Photographic Archive boasts some 6 million World War images.
Historical Movies from WWI
The First World War film collection in the Film and Video Archive comprises over 1,000 items. The historical movies range from soldier parades and British Pathe Gazette newsreels to battles and troops on the Western Front (Flanders, Antwerp, Somme, etc.). The highlight of the historical movies collection is the iconic Battle of the Somme.
The Battle of Somme, Historical Movie
One of the most iconic historical films, the Battle of the Somme has played a major role in film history. The film, indeed a pioneering battlefield documentary, recorded one of largest battles of WWI which saw a massive loss of life and negligible territorial gains. The Battle of Somme was one of the bloodiest military operations ever recorded with over 1.5 million fatalities on both sides.
The historical movie is an early example of film propaganda recording some harrowing images of British and German soldiers dying in the trenches. The Battle of the Somme brought WWI battle footage and war images of trench warfare home and became a hit with audiences upon its release in August 1916. This historical film is part of UNESCO's Memory of the World register.
WWI Images at Imperial War Museum's Photographic Archive
WWI was the first war to be covered by official photographers. There are around 40,000 war photos from the WWI in the photographic archive taken by British, Canadian and Australian photographers, mainly from the second half of the war on the Western Front.
Historical Movies from WWII
The Film and Video Archive of the Imperial War Museum contains
- footage from battlefield cameramen
- official and private records of wartime life
- Soviet newsreels
- German propaganda films
- Oscar-winning historical movie, True Glory, 1945, of the Allied invasion from Normandy to VE day. It is introduced by Eisenhower and filmed by combat cameramen from USA, Britain, Canada, France and other countries.
- Green Mountain, Black Mountain, 1942; a historical film about Wales at war, scripted by Dylan Thomas
Frank Capra Why we Fight
The highlight of the WWII historical movies collection of the Imperial War Museum, Why we Fight is a series of six propaganda films made by Frank Capra to justify America's involvement in the Second World War to the American public. The series was a direct response to Axis propaganda footage. It comprises
- Prelude to War, 1942
- The Nazi Strike, 1943
- Battle of Britain, 1943
- Divide and Conquer, 1944
- The Battle of Russia, 1944
- The Battle of China, 1944
WWII Images from the Photographic Archive
The Photographic Archive contains photographs of some famous photographers who were appointed by the Ministry of Information to make a visual record of the war and of civilian life during wartime. Among the important WWII images held in the archive are Bill Brandt's famous air raid shelter photos in London and Cecil Beaton's photographs from war campaigns in the Middle East, India and China.
Imperial War Museum Buy and Licence Online
Researches and the public can use the Image Sale facility to order photographs, posters and digital files. Prices vary depending on commercial and non-commercial use.
Address: Lambeth Road, London SE1 6 HZ, UK; Admission is free; Open daily 10am-6pm (except 25-26 December).
World War Related Articles
- On the WWI Christmas truce, see Wartime Truces in History
- Second World War Winston Churchill Famous Quotes: Historic Speeches in the Sound Archive of the Imperial War Museum
- Eyewitness to Hitler's Bunker Suicide: Oral History of the Death of Adolf Hitler
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