Skip Navigation
Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg

Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg - Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg is an associate editor at The Atlantic. She curates the Video channel. More

Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg's work in media spans documentary television, advertising, and print. As a producer in the Viewer Created Content division of Al Gore's Current TV, she acquired and produced short documentaries by independent filmmakers around the world. Post-Current, she worked as a producer and strategist at Urgent Content, developing consumer-created and branded nonfiction campaigns for clients including Cisco, Ford, and GOOD Magazine. She studied filmmaking and digital media at Harvard University, where she was co-creator and editor in chief of H BOMB Magazine.

John Huston's Banned 1946 Film About WWII Veterans

By Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg
Nov 11 2011, 1:50 PM ET Comment

American film legend John Huston directed Let There Be Light for the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1946, documenting the treatment of psychologically traumatized soldiers at an army hospital after the war. The beautiful black and white cinematography might look like a Hollywood production, but the film states that "no scenes were staged. The cameras merely recorded what took place ..." It's a moving testament to the cost of war, which might be why the U.S. Army suppressed screenings of the film for over 30 years. The documentary finally resurfaced at the Cannes Film Festival in 1981, to critical acclaim. 

This excerpt from the beginning of the film includes the narrator's introduction and interviews with soldiers about their symptoms and experiences in combat. The full documentary is an hour long and can be watched at the Internet Archive.

For more films from the Internet Archive, visit http://www.archive.org/.

Presented by

Join the Discussion

After you comment, click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be asked to log in or register.
blog comments powered by Disqus
View All Correspondents

The Biggest Story in Photos

Afghanistan: May 2012

Jun 1, 2012

Subscribe Now

SAVE 59%! 10 issues JUST $2.45 PER COPY

Newsletters

Sign up to receive our free newsletters

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)