Before Hindsight on AllMovie

Aside from newspapers, most people in the 1930s got their news from movie newsreels. In this British documentary, the filmmaker makes the case that the generally vague and uninformative coverage of world events by the newsreel companies was a result of government and other pressures. A concerted effort was made to paint a rose-colored picture of the world situation, when in fact, much information was available which could have been used to give viewers a more realistic understanding of the world situation. As an example, by the late 1930s, news companies had on file much filmed footage showing the horrors of Nazi concentration camps. Using interviews with reporters and other important figures, as well as archival film footage, the director makes a strong case for his unpalatable assertions.