MovieChat Forums > The Sullivans (1944) Discussion > I love this piece of propaganda!

I love this piece of propaganda!

posted 18 years ago by jersey-3
9 replies | jump to latest

As a history teacher, I always point to this movie as a great example of Hollywood war propaganda during WWII.

I saw this film as a child in the late 1970s or very early 1980s. My dad loved WWII movies and turned me onto it. It must've been on a Sunday afternoon...probably channel 9 or 11 in New York City.

I love this movie. While not very accurate in terms of how the five brothers really died...and generally over dramatized for affect...it is a great movie.

The true story of the family, especially after the hoopla of the movie ended, is a much sadder story of alcoholism and depression.

Every once and a while I throw in the DVD for a re-watching! Great film!

[–] helen_of_troy19 18 years ago

I was lucky enough to have a U.S. history teacher in high school who showed our class this film! I still get a chill when I think about the line "All five."

[–] CindyH 10 years ago

How sad that you think the deaths of real human beings is propaganda. Shame on you.

Random Thoughts: http://goo.gl/eXk3O

[–] jersey-3 10 years ago

How sad that you don't know the true story nor how the government used the family and the deaths to help the war effort. Shame on you!

[–] jellyree 10 years ago

Tell it jersey.

[–] cheapfrill 8 years ago

Yeah... good point. But I think toward the end of the war the government just wanted the parents to go away. The story was such a downer and they wanted more focus on victories.

[–] Cine-Verite 8 years ago

I get what you're saying, but if the government is drafting them into a war where they are placed in harm's way and ultimately, lives are lost, then the government should be willing to put up with the "downer" of their deaths while waving the flag and popping off fireworks in victory.

 Some movies are released; others sneak out. 

[–] cheapfrill 8 years ago

Oh, I'm not stating an opinion. I'm just relaying something I saw on the History Channel.

[–] pfarnell 10 years ago

I think such movies as this , or Bataan, or "Purple Heart" and many other wartime war films, are better termed 'flag flappers" than 'propaganda"

yes, they are invariably historically inaccurate, but half of that is based on factual confusion and misinformation which always exists during wartime about exactly what happened...also there are always numerous misconceptions about the enemy in particular..

[–] boxerrebellion 9 years ago

Good point. I have had the honour of meeting three WWII Medal of Honour recipients (HATE the term winner, and so did they - the MoH is NOT something service members aspire to). All three insisted that they were simply doing their jobs (two were Navy Corpsmen stationed with the Marines in the Pacific, the other a Marine in the battle of Okinawa). They were doing what they trained to do.

Not every service member has the opportunity to be a hero, but most of the ones I know (hubby and I are both retirees) hope that given the situation, they would act to the best of their ability.

Marines today and many Navy Corpsmen get totally jazzed watching movies featuring their services from both World Wars, Korea and Vietnam (Heartbreak Ridge is a personal favorite). Actually, no service knows their own history like the USMC does. Yes, the stories are Hollywooded up, but they tell our stories, our history. They are similar to the folk tales that pass culture down from generation to generation.