Let There Be Light (1946)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038687/

The final entry in a trilogy of films produced for the U.S. government by John Huston. This documentary film follows 75 U.S. soldiers who have sustained debilitating emotional trauma and depression. A series of scenes chronicle their entry into a psychiatric hospital, their treatment and eventual recovery.

• Category

  Education

[WesternWilder]

came here because of PTA's The Master

[GooglFascists]

These are brave men with a conscience concerning death & destruction.

Humans are not wired for non-stop combat for long periods.

Only difference between these guys and the thousands coming back

from Iraq and Afghanistan today is now they pump 'em with psychotropic

drugs and DISCHARGE 'EM RAW.

[DoctaDualist]

Holy cow, John Huston?! That's the guy from The Bermuda Triangle!

[Tucsonsarah]

Thank a Soldier, every chance you get. Always. Tho there is always room for criticism and cynicism with a government- issued film, I focus on, and my heart goes out for these men... and our troops since, to present. War sucks, dammit. I am solidly against the next one.

[verbusen]

Made me cry as many of the wounded veterans stories do, very powerful. I can understand why the government censored it for 35 years. If you get a chance, watch the very last episode and the very last 10 minutes (maybe even less) of the BBC documentary The World At War (deluxe version). They interview a Marine who was on Iwo Jima and had shell shocked and came home to find his wife had left him. He was still messed up 25 years after the war. Sad and very moving to hear him tell his story.

[KingChiliPepper]

Paul Thomas Anderson has cited this film as having a heavy influence on him during the writing process for The Master.

[ddrum001]

The main character goes thru this process. There is a 5 min segment in the beginning which takes all of its lines verbatim from this piece. PTA discussed this with Elvis Mitchell after screening Let There Be Light...they're discussion is available thru KCRW's website.