Is "Let There Be Light" (1946) a real documentary?
Let There Be Light (1946) is a documentary film commissioned by the US Army that depicts returning soldiers being treated for war neurosis. It has been recently launched on Netflix. One interesting fact is that the movie ended up being censored by the army at the time, purportedly to protect the patients' privacy.
After watching it, as much as I admire the director's work, it feels staged. The scenes are "too perfect" to be true and the interactions look artificial. I could not find any discussion about the veracity of the movie, hence my question: is "Let There Be Light" (1946) a real documentary?
Best Answer
The terms "real documentary" and "staged" are not, in fact, mutually exclusive. Most documentaries are staged to a greater or lesser extent. You can't really make a documentary by filming everything that moves and hope to catch something significant as it happens.
The film starts with several vehicles arriving at the hospital. The doors open in unison. Men exit the vehicles and walk past the camera without a glance. I have no doubt that this shot was choreographed and rehearsed, but the men are genuine patients.
Next comes a shot of the men sitting in rows of chairs. In the front row, a man is shaking. The narrator says "Here are men who tremble." This is probably a real patient with a real medical condition, but they deliberately arranged for him to sit in the front row.
Shortly after that, they show a Doctor talking to a patient. I'd guess that the Doctor had already had several sessions with that patient, and then suggested to the filmmakers that this particular patient might make a good subject for their film. It's a real patient, telling a real story, but likely a reenactment of a session they've already had.
And so on, throughout the film.
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Is Let there be light movie a true story?
Let There Be Light is a 2017 American Christian drama directed by and starring Kevin Sorbo and written by Dan Gordon and Sam Sorbo. The plot follows an atheist who goes through a near-death experience in an auto accident and converts to Christianity....Let There Be Light (2017 film)Let There Be LightBox office$7.2 million15 more rowsWas Let There Be Light staged?
The documentary was revolutionary for its time with its use of unscripted but real footage of interviews. Huston placed hidden cameras in the doctor-patient interview rooms, one focused on the doctor and the other focused on the patient.Is a documentary a true story?
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record".Where was let there be light filmed?
Birmingham landmarks Avondale Park and the Lyric Theatre have a starring role in a new movie released nationally today. "Hercules" actor Kevin Sorbo and his wife, actress Sam Sorbo, wrapped up three weeks of filming in Birmingham in August 2016 for the faith-based movie they co-star in, "Let There Be Light."Let There Be Light - 1946 (Restored Image and Sound)
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Answer 2
If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.
The same applies to Let There Be Light, it's a documentary film in all the senses. Even if there is any staged scene there is no claim and proof for it present anywhere.
Also, the ban was due to demoralizing effects on war time army recruitment.
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Images: Binyamin Mellish, Erik Mclean, Skylar Kang, Dayvison de Oliveira Silva