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Burma Victory
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Wikipedia article
'Burma Victory' is a 1945 British documentary about the Burma Campaign during World War II. It was directed by Roy Boulting. The accompanying music is by Alan Rawsthorne.
Production
The film was a project of Louis Mountbatten. It was originally meant to be a US-British co-production but neither side could agree on what emphasis to place on the film. The Americans made their own documentary.[http://www.historytoday.com/jeffrey-richards/forgotten-war-remembered Jeffrey Richards, "Forgotten War Remembered", 'History Today']
It features Mountbatten talking to his men and officers and footage of General Slim, Merrill's Marauders the Chindits etc.
Over and above war footage it covers the Burmese monsoon and local traditions.
More unusual sequences include a massive construction exercise of transport ships for use on the main river near Mandalay which led to the capture of Mandalay.
Forces then converge on Rangoon which allowed the release of British prisoners.
As Japan surrenders the guns fall silent.
Reception
According to 'Kinematograph Weekly' the film performed well at the British box office in 1945.[https://books.google.com.au/books?id=xtGIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA209&lpg=PA209&dq=hungry+hill+film+box+office&source=bl&ots=MTsQXadYDw&sig=2h-5aG3Vy4tT_h1mlC4mfRi18JQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiZ8b6P1YHMAhVEFqYKHcy9BF8Q6AEIMzAF#v=onepage&q=hungry%20hill%20film%20box%20office&f=false Robert Murphy, 'Realism and Tinsel: Cinema and Society in Britain 1939-48' 2003 p 208]
References
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