My grandfather PFC Peter Thomas DeCicco from Brooklyn, New York appears for a few seconds at around @29:01. He won the Bronze Star and Purple Heart Medals. Thank you for sharing and restoring this video. He was in Company K, 143rd Infantry Regiment, 36th US Infantry Division during WWII. This unit was the first to enter Grenoble France, in August of 1944. He died before I was born, so getting to see him was bittersweet!!
That's my father at 13:50 helping to bring the stretcher down the hill. He removed his helmet to support the wounded soldier's head. He had a severe neck injury.
Staged or captured during actual battle, the film is quite powerful and enduring in how it includes the toll of war: the partial faces and bodies of dead American soldiers. All of whom were likely younger than 30-years-old, fighting on distant battlefields hardly anyone recalls today, the sons of fathers and mothers back home whose lives would never be the same. When I see those young soldiers disappearing into the burial shrouds never to be seen whole again, it is impossible not to grasp the totality of war and the completeness of death. Those men never got to experience a fraction of life that defines most of us, never had a chance to leave a personal legacy in children and grandchildren.
The war departement tried to ban this film, because of it showing the brutality of battle. Ike got his eys on it and made it mandatory to show i to the troops befor d-day; he thought the boys should know what they were up against. God man, Ike!
The great Elwy Yost interviews John Houston who tells the story about the screening of _The Battle of San Pietro_ to some American military top brass before distribution. As short as the film is, one by one according to descending order of rank, each officer filed out till John Houston was left alone. That was the end of Houston's film. That is till George C. Marshall saw it, and declared that every man about to go into combat ought to see it. And, here is Houston's film still.
I read for the 1st time on this movie by John Huston in a 1974 Newsweek issue, about its restoration for showing in public. The article said too that at the time of its production in 1943, it was decided to withhold it from the public due to the distressing sight of casualties. We must remember too that it was only in 1943 the first pictures of American dead on the Buna beach in the Pacific were published in LIFE Magazine, causing quite a shock in the public.
Actually, that was another John Huston film, called "Let There be Light". That film was about US soldiers suffering from PTSD. The Army deemed the film too shocking and kept it classified. Huston sued the US government to release the film and ultimately won in 1981.
Read "Day of Battle" by Rick Atkinson regarding the Italian Campaign. Unreal what our forces went through. Very sad and sobering. San Pietro is discussed.
American Sons. 12:51 12:56 12:59 13:03 13:13 Each and everytime I revisit this Documentary I cry. I cry very hard. 11:23 A GI is shot dead. He strikes the ground lifeless. In this heart wrenching combat reel this sobering moment is recorded.
At 27 min. an American soldier emerges from a dugout with what appears to be a Mauser with the bolt on the left side. I assume the shot was reversed for some reason.
I'm surprised clark had time to do the intro- must not have had any better photo ops that day. He had bragged that he would be the last man to ever liberate Rome, so disobeying orders to reinforce the men that had hung on so long already was common for him. The only good thing was that his picture WAS on front pages around the world- again, as he predicted- BUT it was old news the next day= D-Day-lol God rest the poor Texans and all the others he left in his dust.
Exactly. According to "Five Who Came Back" by Mark Harris (a book on WW2 movie directors), director John Huston made this film as a re-enactment instead of from actual combat film clips. The controversy is that Huston continued to pass it off as having been made during actual combat at San Pietro which is well known not to be true. Even the filming of the villagers was staged - they had fled the fighting and had to be trucked back for the filming.
The controversy involved whether or not a film with some recreated scenes was a true documentary and should be allowed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to be nominated for an academy award in the documentary field. Some people have taken that to mean the entire movie was faked. Military cameramen were there during the actual battle and much of the film includes their combat film. Huston showed up later and rounded up some soldiers to recreate some scenes. But much of what you see in the 35 minutes is real.
My grandpa is in this and in the battle. According to him, some of it is real, some is not. They "cleaned" some of it up. If the soldier is clean looking it was filmed like 2-3 days after. If they are tired and sweaty looking it is real. According to my grandpa, it was nice because they all got showers and a shave for it.
Clarke's insubordination extended the war in Italy and cost the lives of many men. Against orders he went for the glory of liberating Rome rather than cut off the retreating German army. The Germans or Russians would have shot him.
Morbius1963 WW 2 was full of primadonas looking to satisfy their inflated egos. Clark was definitely an asshole who sought personal glory above military needs. By far the worst was Monty. He was not the brilliant tactician some historians claim him to be. Market Garden was ill conceived and poorly executed. Victory Disease was not limited to the Japanese.
Jorge J Noguera I agree and disagree with your statement. Monty did well in North Africa. Market Garden was a damn disaster! Generals Clark,Patton, Montgomery all made bad mistakes. That said thank God we had them.
@@jorgejnoguera1941 Yes Jorge, too bad Clark was ever born. And too bad that Patton slapped those to soldiers or Clark would never have been chosen to take over by his buddy Ike...
I like the disclaimer at the end of the movie; "for the purposes of continuity .... a few of the scenes were shot before or after the battle...." In fact, the entire documentary was shot after the battle ALL scenes are fake with the exception of most footage taken of the dead and wounded.
It is not fair to use the word "fake" in the case of this documentary. Military cameramen were there during the battle and much of their film was incorporated into what you see in this video. Huston showed up later, rounded up some soldiers to recreate some scenes, but that is not an unusual tactic in putting such a documentary together. Cut Huston some slack. Some scenes of American soldiers attacking are recreations, but some are not. Certainly the scenes of dead Americans are NOT recreated but actual.
Lets stop calling this a documentary and instead label it an anti-war film. After all, that is exactly what this is. As for me, I need never see it again.
Gee, I'm so sad that you won't be watching this again. I'll probably cry myself to sleep tonight. Two points, or questions, though... can't a film be both a documentary and anti-war? That's a hypothetical question by the way because I don't really see this as anti-war and I'm curious as to what you would like to have seen so you would remove that label. John Wayne?
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My grandfather PFC Peter Thomas DeCicco from Brooklyn, New York appears for a few seconds at around @29:01. He won the Bronze Star and Purple Heart Medals. Thank you for sharing and restoring this video. He was in Company K, 143rd Infantry Regiment, 36th US Infantry Division during WWII. This unit was the first to enter Grenoble France, in August of 1944. He died before I was born, so getting to see him was bittersweet!!
That's my father at 13:50 helping to bring the stretcher down the hill. He removed his helmet to support the wounded soldier's head. He had a severe neck injury.
My father was wounded in this battle, Maybe your father helped mine out..
I see on other youtube video that there were some mexican american fighting on these battle
How cool- SALUTE!
Saluti da un abitante di san Pietro infine dove è stato girato questo documentario
Interesting to see the battle tactics explained so vividly and to see the horrors of war simultaneously. Thank you for sharing.
Staged or captured during actual battle, the film is quite powerful and enduring in how it includes the toll of war: the partial faces and bodies of dead American soldiers. All of whom were likely younger than 30-years-old, fighting on distant battlefields hardly anyone recalls today, the sons of fathers and mothers back home whose lives would never be the same. When I see those young soldiers disappearing into the burial shrouds never to be seen whole again, it is impossible not to grasp the totality of war and the completeness of death. Those men never got to experience a fraction of life that defines most of us, never had a chance to leave a personal legacy in children and grandchildren.
Very powerfull documentary! The Italian campaign was bloody!
Very well said
The war departement tried to ban this film, because of it showing the brutality of battle. Ike got his eys on it and made it mandatory to show i to the troops befor d-day; he thought the boys should know what they were up against. God man, Ike!
Every American should watch this. Better yet every Congressperson should watch this.
The great Elwy Yost interviews John Houston who tells the story about the screening of _The Battle of San Pietro_ to some American military top brass before distribution.
As short as the film is, one by one according to descending order of rank, each officer filed out till John Houston was left alone.
That was the end of Houston's film.
That is till George C. Marshall saw it, and declared that every man about to go into combat ought to see it.
And, here is Houston's film still.
I read for the 1st time on this movie by John Huston in a 1974 Newsweek issue,
about its restoration for showing in public.
The article said too that at the time of its production in 1943,
it was decided to withhold it from the public due to the distressing sight of casualties.
We must remember too that it was only in 1943 the first pictures of American dead
on the Buna beach in the Pacific were published in LIFE Magazine, causing quite a
shock in the public.
Actually, that was another John Huston film, called "Let There be Light". That film was about US soldiers suffering from PTSD. The Army deemed the film too shocking and kept it classified. Huston sued the US government to release the film and ultimately won in 1981.
Read "Day of Battle" by Rick Atkinson regarding the Italian Campaign. Unreal what our forces went through. Very sad and sobering. San Pietro is discussed.
Eric Ambler wrote the texts. A brilliant novelist, sadly neglected today. Read him.
Just listened to a BBC Radio 4 drama called Ambler The Battle of San Pietro. Interesting story. Good to see actual film.
That's what brought me here too.
@@pakistanidalek Yes, me too,
Me as well!
American Sons.
12:51
12:56
12:59
13:03
13:13
Each and everytime I revisit this Documentary I cry. I cry very hard.
11:23
A GI is shot dead.
He strikes the ground lifeless.
In this heart wrenching combat reel this sobering moment is recorded.
Just reading About Face by Col David H. Hackworth. He mentioned using this documentary in all his training so am looking forward to watching this.
Viva l italia è grazzie a i nostri nonni per i sacrifici che hanno sopportato
Hustons autobiography is a good read.
Thank you!
At 27 min. an American soldier emerges from a dugout with what appears to be a Mauser with the bolt on the left side. I assume the shot was reversed for some reason.
Aren't the 'battle scenes' in this actually filmed after the battle?
Some of them were. It’s a mixture. In some cases they filmed the actual participants where the action occurred. The account of the battle is accurate.
I'm surprised clark had time to do the intro- must not have had any better photo ops that day. He had bragged that he would be the last man to ever liberate Rome, so disobeying orders to reinforce the men that had hung on so long already was common for him. The only good thing was that his picture WAS on front pages around the world- again, as he predicted- BUT it was old news the next day= D-Day-lol God rest the poor Texans and all the others he left in his dust.
Dovrebbero trasmetterlo nelle scuola.
Exactly. According to "Five Who Came Back" by Mark Harris (a book on WW2 movie directors), director John Huston made this film as a re-enactment instead of from actual combat film clips. The controversy is that Huston continued to pass it off as having been made during actual combat at San Pietro which is well known not to be true. Even the filming of the villagers was staged - they had fled the fighting and had to be trucked back for the filming.
The controversy involved whether or not a film with some recreated scenes was a true documentary and should be allowed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to be nominated for an academy award in the documentary field. Some people have taken that to mean the entire movie was faked.
Military cameramen were there during the actual battle and much of the film includes their combat film. Huston showed up later and rounded up some soldiers to recreate some scenes. But much of what you see in the 35 minutes is real.
My grandpa is in this and in the battle. According to him, some of it is real, some is not. They "cleaned" some of it up. If the soldier is clean looking it was filmed like 2-3 days after. If they are tired and sweaty looking it is real. According to my grandpa, it was nice because they all got showers and a shave for it.
Some is real and some is staged.
Mark Clark was really bad.
Mark Clark looks he had a stroke! Notice how his mouth droops on one side?
Seems the US and the Soviets fought the same way - charge!
Wasn’t this re-enacted?
Clarke's insubordination extended the war in Italy and cost the lives of many men. Against orders he went for the glory of liberating Rome rather than cut off the retreating German army. The Germans or Russians would have shot him.
Morbius1963 WW 2 was full of primadonas looking to satisfy their inflated egos. Clark was definitely an asshole who sought personal glory above military needs. By far the worst was Monty. He was not the brilliant tactician some historians claim him to be. Market Garden was ill conceived and poorly executed. Victory Disease was not limited to the Japanese.
Jorge J Noguera I agree and disagree with your statement. Monty did well in North Africa. Market Garden was a damn disaster! Generals Clark,Patton, Montgomery all made bad mistakes. That said thank God we had them.
I completely agree.
He later commanded army forces in Korea.
@@jorgejnoguera1941 Yes Jorge, too bad Clark was ever born. And too bad that Patton slapped those to soldiers or Clark would never have been chosen to take over by his buddy Ike...
Principi essenziali wasp di mark clarck. 5 army principi frederick winslov Taylor in. generale vai Luciano robella Asti
I like the disclaimer at the end of the movie; "for the purposes of continuity .... a few of the scenes were shot before or after the battle...." In fact, the entire documentary was shot after the battle ALL scenes are fake with the exception of most footage taken of the dead and wounded.
It is not fair to use the word "fake" in the case of this documentary. Military cameramen were there during the battle and much of their film was incorporated into what you see in this video. Huston showed up later, rounded up some soldiers to recreate some scenes, but that is not an unusual tactic in putting such a documentary together. Cut Huston some slack. Some scenes of American soldiers attacking are recreations, but some are not. Certainly the scenes of dead Americans are NOT recreated but actual.
All?
@@ChacoKid42 I do not think that those exploding phosphorous shells fired by the Germans are "recreations".
Not all but some
Lets stop calling this a documentary and instead label it an anti-war film. After all, that is exactly what this is. As for me, I need never see it again.
Gee, I'm so sad that you won't be watching this again. I'll probably cry myself to sleep tonight.
Two points, or questions, though... can't a film be both a documentary and anti-war? That's a hypothetical question by the way because I don't really see this as anti-war and I'm curious as to what you would like to have seen so you would remove that label. John Wayne?