“Here is human salvage—the final result of all that metal and fire can do to violate mortal flesh.”
-Narrator
Big thanks to my friend Audrey Amidon for bringing John Huston’s documentary Let There Be Light to my attention. If you've listened to some of our podcasts (to those who haven't, do yourself a favor and check them out: Return to Oz, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), you'll know that Audrey restores and preserves films for the National Archives. And Let There Be Light was one of the bigger films the National Archive has worked on.
Anyway, Audrey recommended Huston's film after she saw The Master and noticed a few similarities between the two films. I just watched Huston film and, oh my God, was she right. Various themes, shots, themes (nostalgia), and lines, ("buy two acres and raise some chickens" and “undoubtedly, there will be people on the outside who won’t have any understanding of the condition, who may think of it as being a rather shameful condition”) were liberally borrowed from Huston's film and used in the VA hospital segment of The Master. And with good reason, Let There Be Light a powerful, unflinching work. (By the way, this doesn't diminish my appreciation for The Master; it just makes me glad I know the reference.)
The National Film Preservation has made Let There Be Light available on their website. It's free, but you should donate. That is, if you're not an asshole.
Incidentally, Let There Be Light and Frank Capra's war-time doc The Negro Soldier will both have screenings in November. Here is the info from Audrey:
NARA will be screening the digital restorations of Let There Be Light and The Negro Soldier on the following dates at our downtown DC location:
Wednesday, November 7, at 7 p.m.
William G. McGowan Theater
Classics Restored: The Negro Soldier and Let There Be Light
In honor of Veterans Day, we premiere high-definition versions of two classic World War II–era documentaries, preserved and digitally restored by the National Archives Motion Picture Preservation Team. The Negro Soldier (1944; 43 minutes) was produced by Frank Capra’s Army motion picture unit to help unite white and black troops in the fight against the Axis. Let There Be Light (1946; 58 minutes), commissioned from Academy Award®–winning director John Huston by the U.S. Army Signal Corps, follows the treatment of emotionally traumatized GIs. The screening will be introduced by Dr. David Culbert, author of Film and Propaganda in America: A Documentary History.
Friday, November 9, at noon
William G. McGowan Theater
A Classic Restored: The Negro Soldier
A repeat screening of a high-definition version of the film, preserved and digitally restored by the National Archives Motion Picture Preservation Team. (1944; 43 minutes)
Friday, November 16, at noon
William G. McGowan Theater
A Classic Restored: John Huston’s Let There Be Light
The third in the World War II trilogy commissioned from Academy Award®-winning director John Huston by the U.S. Army Signal Corps, Let There Be Light follows the treatment of emotionally traumatized GIs from their admission at a psychiatric hospital to their reentry into civilian life. Today we premiere a high-definition version of the film, which had been suppressed until 1980 but has been preserved and digitally restored by the National Archives Motion Picture Preservation Team. (1946; 58 minutes)
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