We owe a debt of gratitude to Brownlow & Mollo for the making of this film. I had never seen it until today, Dec25th 2011.
It's a remarkable film especially when you consider it's meagre budget (said to have been $20,000), the ages of the film's makers, who were 18 & 16 and the eight years it took to produce. Everything about it seems strikingly authentic. The attention to detail is meticulous; the cinematography is inspirational; the subject matter is horrific and so very nearly came to pass; the poor sound quality and grainy black & white adds to the realism; the dark and brooding scenes are terribly atmospheric.
I was born in 1949, close enough to the end of World War II to almost feel I was a part of it. I grew up listening to my parents' recollections and 'the war' has always felt very real to me. So it chills me to the bone to contemplate the England I may have been born into. 'It Happened Here' should act as a warning to today's deluded souls who think Fascism has any place at all in our political spectrum. Anyone who thinks it glorifies Fascism and is anti-Semitic has missed the point completely.
First thing tomorrow I'm going to post it to my 16year old granddaughter studying Government & Politics. It should be made a compulsory part of the school curriculum.
I can't thank Brownlow & Mollo enough for making this film and am just so sorry it took so long to discover it.
It's a remarkable film especially when you consider it's meagre budget (said to have been $20,000), the ages of the film's makers, who were 18 & 16 and the eight years it took to produce. Everything about it seems strikingly authentic. The attention to detail is meticulous; the cinematography is inspirational; the subject matter is horrific and so very nearly came to pass; the poor sound quality and grainy black & white adds to the realism; the dark and brooding scenes are terribly atmospheric.
I was born in 1949, close enough to the end of World War II to almost feel I was a part of it. I grew up listening to my parents' recollections and 'the war' has always felt very real to me. So it chills me to the bone to contemplate the England I may have been born into. 'It Happened Here' should act as a warning to today's deluded souls who think Fascism has any place at all in our political spectrum. Anyone who thinks it glorifies Fascism and is anti-Semitic has missed the point completely.
First thing tomorrow I'm going to post it to my 16year old granddaughter studying Government & Politics. It should be made a compulsory part of the school curriculum.
I can't thank Brownlow & Mollo enough for making this film and am just so sorry it took so long to discover it.