Going Hollywood: The War
Years
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: D Program: B
When we
have discussed the decline of the original Hollywood Studio System in its
Classical Era, we always note how World War II played a key role. Though not about the decline of Hollywood in
any way, Going Hollywood: The War Years
(1988) shows how and to what lengths tinseltown went when the United States
finally decided to fight in WWII, with Pearl Harbor (still controversial to
this day) as the final reason.
Van Johnson
hosts in what is a combination of film clips, rare footage and interviews with
actors of the time like Roddy McDowall, Jackie Cooper, Tony Randall, Sylvia
Sydney, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and many others.
Though it only runs 76 minutes, the program is very strong on
referential content and has the gust to tell it like it was about racism,
censorship, propaganda, Isolationism, and gender politics at that time. It does not get into the actual studios
themselves, but it does not have to.
When you see what was done, you realize how this could shake the film
industry, even one as organized and multi-layered as Classical Hollywood.
Specific
films are even singled out for the way they mark changes in message, tone and
approach in how they dealt with WWII and how coddling the studios were of the
public as the war went on. Some of this
can be seen as necessity, while others will call some of the points sinister
and ironic. The Japanese concentration
camps that the U.S. Government set up are even addressed.
The full
screen images range from several types of color to monochrome, with choppy
results. This is to be expected from a
documentary, but some of this is a bit more problematic image-wise than usual. Nevertheless, footage switches so often, that
any problems only last so long. The
Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is a bit better, thanks in part to the newer recordings
being done in 1987 to 1988. The audio is
about as clear as can be expected. There
are no extras, though room was on this DVD for something else; perhaps an
update on the participants.
Even
without that update, this is a good volume of film history that holds up very
well considering its age. Going Hollywood: The War Years is a
must-see for all serious film fans and history buffs will be impressed by its
substance.
- Nicholas Sheffo
