WGBH Lab | Sandbox | War by Land

WWII: Soldiers In Silhouette

kdorwart — Thu, 2 Aug 2007 10:05:18 -0400

History , War , War By Land

The camera rolls at dusk, capturing images in silhouette, as injured soldiers are carried off - hobbling, on stretchers, with arms around their fellow soldiers.

WWII: Casualties Of War

kdorwart — Thu, 2 Aug 2007 10:07:38 -0400

History , War , War By Land

The bodies of dead soldiers, covered in green body bags, are arranged in the dirt for a mass burial. Chaplains read from the Bible before scene dissolves into a shot of a cemetery of white crosses, marking the death of soldiers. The final shot rests on a cross that reads "Unidentified."

WWII: Bomb Stockpiles

kdorwart — Thu, 2 Aug 2007 10:08:33 -0400

History , War , War By Land

As the camera pans from left to right, a truck drives past neatly lined stockpiles of bombs.

WWII: Stockpiling Provisions

kdorwart — Thu, 2 Aug 2007 10:10:00 -0400

History , War , War By Land

In assembly line-fashion, a line of men shuttle boxes of food down a conveyor belt. The camera pulls out to reveal a wide shot of a landscape filled with provision boxes.

WWII: Provisions

kdorwart — Thu, 2 Aug 2007 10:11:22 -0400

History , War , War By Land

A tight close-up of provision boxes, from Lipton's yellow pea soup to "chocolate dessert powder," as they are pushed down a conveyor belt.

WWII: Stockpiling Bombs

kdorwart — Thu, 2 Aug 2007 10:12:34 -0400

History , War , War By Land

Five men push a single bomb, one of hundreds, up a ramp. The camera looks upwards, towards a crane lifting the bombs from ship to dock. In an unexpected move, the camera moves smoothly from low to high, revealing rows of bombs and supplies.

WWII: Flagraising on Iwo Jima

kdorwart — Thu, 2 Aug 2007 10:14:50 -0400

History , War , War By Land

In an iconic moment in American history, soldiers raise the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi, signaling the conquer of Iwo Jima.

WWII: Captured Soldiers

kdorwart — Thu, 2 Aug 2007 10:15:58 -0400

History , War , War By Land

German soldiers are taken as prisoners of war. Following a few close-up shorts of individual soldiers, the camera films the defeated soldiers marching with their arms raised, hands folded against the back of their necks. A local woman holds her infant as she sees the procession.

WWII: Empty Concentration Camp

kdorwart — Thu, 2 Aug 2007 10:17:08 -0400

History , War , War By Land

The camera begins with a high angle above an empty concentration camp, outlined by deep sets of zig-zagging trenches. Moving around its perimeter, the camera catches dilapidated barracks behind twisted webs of barbed wire and dead bodies.

WWII: Okinawa Invasion

kdorwart — Thu, 2 Aug 2007 10:22:29 -0400

History , War , War By Land

In these scenes of war from Okinawa, a soldier uses a flamethrower while other soldiers outrun grenades and launch missiles. In a closer shot, a soldier walks past a burning building. Okinawan natives flee for safety, and an American soldier carries a half naked baby to safety.