The Guns of August

"The Guns of August" is one of the most thorough historical accounts of World War I. The film is based on a 1962 book of the same title by American journalist, historian and author, Barbara Tuchman. The book earned her the 1963 Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction, and was made into this 99-minute documentary film in 1964 The book was highly popular and made the New York Times bestseller list for ten months. The documentary used news film collected from the U. S. and many European countries.

It may seem odd to many in modern times that a book and film about WW I should be so popular in the early 1960s. That time was much closer to World War II when most of the world's population had memories of the most destructive war in history. And, it was a time when the Cold War was at fever pitch, after the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. But this documentary story did something more and better than any previous history of World War I had done. It delved deeply into the background and the situation of world politics, particularly in Europe, of the several years before the war.

The opening prologue in the film sets the stage. "The year 1914. Millions of peaceful and industrious people were hounded into a war by the folly of a few all-powerful leaders. The war was in no way inevitable. But the results determined the shape of the world in which we live today (1964)." And, "The innocence of the people was in the streets of Europe. The guilt was in the Cabinets."

Fritz Weaver narrates this documentary. It includes more news clips of European royalty and prominent leaders than any film I can recall ever having seen. Winston Churchill will be the most familiar to people in the 21st century. But, in their day, many others were frequently in the news headlines. The list includes prominent English, French, German, Prussian, Austrian, Belgian, and Russian aristocrats and officers. So, heir-apparent of Austria-Hungary, Archduke Franz Ferdinand is here, as well as Austrian Emperor Franz-Josef, French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, German Emperor Wilhelm II, and a host of other statesmen, generals and other military commanders. Prominent females of the period are here also. Most noted among these are the assassinated and exiled Russian royalty - Grand Duchesses Olga Nikolaevna, Romanov, Maria Romanov, and Anastasia Romanov.

History and war buffs especially should find this film very interesting.