Existing comment:
Pictures That Didn't Tell the Story:
World War I produced some of the earliest motion pictures of the military, most of them in the form of newsreels filmed with cameras similar to this Akeley "Pancake" model. Newsreels were a powerful propaganda tool. But almost all of the dramatic footage was either staged -- like the U.S. Army photo below -- or filmed during training exercises. Photographers (and reporters) had almost no access to the front lines. In the postwar years, newsreels became a key source of news and information and remained a staple in American theaters for nearly half a century. |