The Battle of San Pietro

John Huston's second war documentary is about the 1943 Battle of San Pietro Infine, a costly Allied fight in the Italian campaign. Huston filmed with troops in the field, and the result was so unflinching that the U.S. Army initially refused to show it, fearing it would damage morale. General George Marshall ordered its release, arguing that soldiers headed into combat should see what war really looked like. Some battle scenes were re-created with the soldiers who had fought there, but the cost is real: two members of Huston's crew were killed during filming. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the film is in the public domain.