Story of the Unknown Soldier (1932)

Built from 1928 newsreels—the year 60 nations vowed to outlaw war—Storck’s razor-edged montage mocks the era’s self-congratulation by cross-cutting speeches and parades with portents of renewed violence: nationalism, colonial repression, police brutality. Slow-motion collapsing chimneys and the exhumation of an “unknown soldier” give the satire its sting.

Genres: Documentary

Stars: Benito Mussolini, Philippe Pétain, Czar Nicholas II of Russia