Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 11,12 (click to see context) from:
Not to be confused with the 2017 film of the same name.
to:
Not to be confused with the [[Film/LetThereBeLight2017 2017 film of the same name.
name]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lightdvd_2.jpg]]
-> ''"Every man has his breaking point."''
''Let There Be Light'' is a 1946 documentary film directed by Creator/JohnHuston, who had volunteered for service in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. It was the third and last documentary Huston made for the Army, which wanted a film that would reassure the public that the [[ShellShockedVeteran shell-shocked veterans]] coming home from service overseas were not dangerous lunatics and could, with help, be re-integrated into society. The film follows a group of PTSD victims arriving at Mason General Hospital on Long Island. Psychiatrists talk to the men and help them talk out the traumas that they suffered in combat. Other activities such as occupational therapy and baseball help the men come out of their shells and re-engage with the world.
While Huston's movie showed all the veterans cured and returning home at the end of the film, the Army was not happy about the first part of the film and its unflinching portrayal of deeply damaged veterans. In fact, the film was shelved, with the Army going so far as to send [=MPs=] to break up a private screening arranged by Huston. The film was not made available for the public until 1980. As a product of the federal government, it is in the public domain.
This film inspired the Army hospital scenes in Creator/PaulThomasAnderson's film ''Film/TheMaster'', which even took bits of dialogue from ''Let There Be Light''. Huston's other war documentaries are ''Film/TheBattleOfSanPietro'' and ''Film/ReportFromTheAleutians''.
Not to be confused with the 2017 film of the same name.
----
!!Tropes:
* AsTheGoodBookSays: In a group session with the men a therapist says "Man does not live by bread alone", when talking about re-adjusting to civilian life. The title, of course, is an allusion to the first chapter of the Book of Genesis.
* AllPsychologyIsFreudian: Almost all psychology ''was'' Freudian in 1946, and that is reflected in this film. Although the film talks about physical causes for psychological problems, the therapy shown is pretty much straight Freudian, with psychiatrists using hypnosis, sodium amytal, and the old-fashioned "talking cure" to bring the soldiers around. Apparently Huston filmed scenes of soldiers getting electroshock therapy, but left it on the cutting room floor as being [[ElectricTorture too disturbing]].
* CallBack: A scene of the men playing baseball near the end of the movie includes flashbacks to earlier in the movie. After a soldier is shown yelling "Out! You're out!", the film flashes back to that same soldier, who was the severe stutterer. As another soldier runs around the bases, the film flashes back to that soldier, who was the one unable to walk.
* CigaretteOfAnxiety: Seen from one soldier who takes deep drags from a cigarette as he struggles to get out his story of combat.
* HappyEnding: Ironically, this film, suppressed by the Army for being a too harsh portrayal of PTSD, actually shows an unrealistically optimistic portrayal of PTSD recovery. All the men shown in the film recover fully, and leave the hospital seeming to be fully functional and ready to return to civilian life.
* InkblotTest: Part of the therapy used to help the men.
* TheInsomniac: One scene shows the soldiers sleeping in a common barracks room, with one soldier unable to sleep. Another soldier confesses during therapy that nightmares of combat are preventing him from sleeping.
* ManlyTears: One of the soldiers tells about receiving a picture from his girlfriend, then breaks down sobbing. As he apologizes, the psychiatrist tells him that it's OK, crying is necessary to release what's inside.
* {{Narrator}}: Creator/WalterHuston, John's father, who also narrated John Huston's documentary ''The Battle for San Pietro'' as well as Creator/FrankCapra's war documentary series ''Series/WhyWeFight''.
* ShellShockedVeteran: "The psycho-neurotic soldier...the casualties of spirit, the troubled in mind." One veteran twitches uncontrollably, another has a severe stutter, another can't walk. Most of them mumble and have difficulty making eye contact with the psychiatrists.
----
-> ''"Every man has his breaking point."''
''Let There Be Light'' is a 1946 documentary film directed by Creator/JohnHuston, who had volunteered for service in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. It was the third and last documentary Huston made for the Army, which wanted a film that would reassure the public that the [[ShellShockedVeteran shell-shocked veterans]] coming home from service overseas were not dangerous lunatics and could, with help, be re-integrated into society. The film follows a group of PTSD victims arriving at Mason General Hospital on Long Island. Psychiatrists talk to the men and help them talk out the traumas that they suffered in combat. Other activities such as occupational therapy and baseball help the men come out of their shells and re-engage with the world.
While Huston's movie showed all the veterans cured and returning home at the end of the film, the Army was not happy about the first part of the film and its unflinching portrayal of deeply damaged veterans. In fact, the film was shelved, with the Army going so far as to send [=MPs=] to break up a private screening arranged by Huston. The film was not made available for the public until 1980. As a product of the federal government, it is in the public domain.
This film inspired the Army hospital scenes in Creator/PaulThomasAnderson's film ''Film/TheMaster'', which even took bits of dialogue from ''Let There Be Light''. Huston's other war documentaries are ''Film/TheBattleOfSanPietro'' and ''Film/ReportFromTheAleutians''.
Not to be confused with the 2017 film of the same name.
----
!!Tropes:
* AsTheGoodBookSays: In a group session with the men a therapist says "Man does not live by bread alone", when talking about re-adjusting to civilian life. The title, of course, is an allusion to the first chapter of the Book of Genesis.
* AllPsychologyIsFreudian: Almost all psychology ''was'' Freudian in 1946, and that is reflected in this film. Although the film talks about physical causes for psychological problems, the therapy shown is pretty much straight Freudian, with psychiatrists using hypnosis, sodium amytal, and the old-fashioned "talking cure" to bring the soldiers around. Apparently Huston filmed scenes of soldiers getting electroshock therapy, but left it on the cutting room floor as being [[ElectricTorture too disturbing]].
* CallBack: A scene of the men playing baseball near the end of the movie includes flashbacks to earlier in the movie. After a soldier is shown yelling "Out! You're out!", the film flashes back to that same soldier, who was the severe stutterer. As another soldier runs around the bases, the film flashes back to that soldier, who was the one unable to walk.
* CigaretteOfAnxiety: Seen from one soldier who takes deep drags from a cigarette as he struggles to get out his story of combat.
* HappyEnding: Ironically, this film, suppressed by the Army for being a too harsh portrayal of PTSD, actually shows an unrealistically optimistic portrayal of PTSD recovery. All the men shown in the film recover fully, and leave the hospital seeming to be fully functional and ready to return to civilian life.
* InkblotTest: Part of the therapy used to help the men.
* TheInsomniac: One scene shows the soldiers sleeping in a common barracks room, with one soldier unable to sleep. Another soldier confesses during therapy that nightmares of combat are preventing him from sleeping.
* ManlyTears: One of the soldiers tells about receiving a picture from his girlfriend, then breaks down sobbing. As he apologizes, the psychiatrist tells him that it's OK, crying is necessary to release what's inside.
* {{Narrator}}: Creator/WalterHuston, John's father, who also narrated John Huston's documentary ''The Battle for San Pietro'' as well as Creator/FrankCapra's war documentary series ''Series/WhyWeFight''.
* ShellShockedVeteran: "The psycho-neurotic soldier...the casualties of spirit, the troubled in mind." One veteran twitches uncontrollably, another has a severe stutter, another can't walk. Most of them mumble and have difficulty making eye contact with the psychiatrists.
----
