Apocalypse ’45

Apocalypse ’45

If there was a documentary about World War II on TV, my dad would watch it. This meant that I watched a lot of them too, and most were forgettable from a cinematic standpoint. I mean, once you’ve seen one film with a booming voiceover, talking head interviews with lesser-known historians, and reels upon reels of increasingly familiar stock footage, you’ve kind of seen them all.

It’s not really a format that invites daring (“All This And World War II,” the infamous 1976 oddity that interspersed newsreel footage covering the entirety of the war with covers of Beatles songs performed by the likes of Elton John, Helen Reddy and Frankie Laine, certainly didn’t disprove this theory), but while Dad could look at those films as comfort food rehashing the same old stories offered its own strange pleasures for him what I wouldn’t have given to have just one of them mix things up every now and then.

This is why Erik Nelson’s “Apocalypse ’45,” an enthralling chronicle of the final months of the Pacific War, feels so unique. None of those tropes I mentioned earlier ever show up here; in fact, none of what you might consider “usual” does either. Instead of relying on a narrator or talking heads to contextualize things once they got their hands on some footage, Nelson (a frequent collaborator with Werner Herzog) edited together narration from two dozen men who were actually there into something that approximates an inner monologue for anyone watching.

As for the footage: More than 700 reels’ worth of archival color material has been digitized in 4K after sitting around in cans marked “Top Secret” at the National Archives for decades almost none has been publicly screened before.

One of the items on display here is a piece of genuine film history and one that’s never been seen before. Early in the movie, there’s footage shot in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor that shows the destruction of the Pacific Fleet. The scenes, which capture the wreckage in simple but devastatingly direct detail, were filmed by none other than John Ford yes, that John Ford who was among several prominent American directors enlisted by the government to document the war (a story told in the great 2017 documentary “Five Came Back”).

The rest of this footage may not have quite as impressive a pedigree as the Ford stuff, but what these embedded cameramen captured is often amazing. There are sights from the Battle of Manila; aerial bombing runs; troops heading for Iwo Jima and not knowing what awaited them; kamikaze pilots aiming their planes at American vessels on suicide missions; shots back home of atomic bomb tests; and the aftermaths of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (which brought about an end to World War II but at a terrible price humanity still struggles to comprehend).

(It should be noted that these sequences have not been sanitized, and some of what they show scores of dead or grievously wounded bodies; a person in Saipan jumping off a cliff rather than be captured; survivors stumbling around after an A-bomb blast may be hard for some viewers to take.) The interviews with those involved are just as compelling for how matter-of-factly they describe living through such events, as well as for viewpoints that have emerged after decades spent living with them.

The one thing about “Apocalypse ’45” that might frustrate some viewers is that it isn’t until very late into its running time that people speaking on the soundtrack are identified by name, so it’s almost impossible to know who specifically is speaking at any given moment. I confess this was initially somewhat disorienting on Nelson’s part, though after a while it becomes clear that this is the right choice one that underscores how the war was a collective effort in which individuals merged and lost themselves into a shared struggle against a common enemy. And while it’s clearly timed for release on the 75th anniversary of V-J Day, the film has ideas and stirs emotions that will resonate powerfully whenever it’s seen.

My dad was one of those guys who always sat down with any World War II documentary he came across while channel-surfing. So I wound up seeing a lot of them too, and from a purely cinematic perspective, hardly any made an impression. Because, honestly, once you’ve watched one combination of droning narration, talking-head interviews with semi-obscure academics and reams of increasingly familiar stock footage you’ve watched them all.

Of course, this is not a format where bold experiments are always good you might end up with something like “All This And World War II,” the 1976 curiosity that combined newsreel footage of the entire conflict with covers of Beatles songs by Elton John, Helen Reddy and Frankie Laine but while my dad could see old stuff as comfort food, I’d wish one of these documentaries would try something different once in awhile.

Erik Nelson’s “Apocalypse ’45,” an engrossing chronicle of the final months in the Pacific theater, breaks from other films about the subject in every way I’ve mentioned so far. None of those familiar elements comes into play here. Instead of using a narrator or interviews to help tell the story, Nelson (a frequent Werner Herzog collaborator) gives voice to the film through narration culled from interviews with two dozen men who lived through these events. And instead of drawing on typical wartime footage, he uses more than 700 reels of archival color film stored at the National Archives most never seen before by the public which has been digitally restored in 4K.

One of the things we have on show here is a genuine and previously unseen piece of film history. The beginning of the film contains footage shot in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor that shows the destruction of the Pacific Fleet. These scenes are very simple but they’re also terribly direct – you see the wreckage which has been caused. And they were taken by none other than John Ford, who was one of several prominent American filmmakers enlisted by the government to document the war (a story told in last year’s excellent documentary “Five Came Back”).

The rest of this footage may not have quite that pedigree, but it is often stunning in its own right as men with cameras embedded themselves with troops. We see Manila burning; aerial bombing runs; troops heading towards Iwo Jima with no idea what awaits them; kamikaze pilots aiming their planes at American ships on suicide missions; shots back home of A-bomb tests and then finally some truly horrifying footage shot after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, when survivors staggered through an atomic wasteland (the bombings effectively sealed Japan’s surrender but at a terrible cost that continues to exact a toll on mankind).

(Suffice it to say, these sequences are not sanitized, so there are scores of dead bodies and badly wounded soldiers and people jumping off cliffs in Saipan rather than be captured and survivors stumbling around after blast.) The interviews add another layer, as participants talk about what happened then from their perspective now wherever they may be.

The only thing about “Apocalypse ’45” that might drive some viewers nuts is that for most part we don’t know who is speaking on soundtrack until very end nor can we identify most voices specifically at any given time. This struck me as slightly disingenuous on Nelson’s part when I first saw it but now feel like maybe he did ideal thing because it underlines how much everybody worked together during war there’s no need for credit in that sense. Though timed for the 75th anniversary of VJ Day, the film speaks to and should evoke strong feelings from anyone who sees it at any time.

Watch Apocalypse ’45 For Free On Gomovies.