Theaters of War

The documentary takes up the relationship between the American military and cinema. The question is this: whether the military hardware on screen comes with something asked in return. Another question is whether the script is interfered with. What the film rests on is a newly released trove of government documents. According to the work, those documents show the military has held editorial control over thousands of films and television programmes. That judgement belongs to the film itself. The account looks at well-known productions as examples. Another question the film asks is why this went unnoticed for so long. The work opens up an argument about censorship and openness. Oliver Stone is among those who speak. Robin Andersen and Sebastian Kaempf are in Roger Stahl’s American documentary of 2022, which runs eighty five minutes.