If War Comes Tomorrow

About the production

The film was commissioned by the Soviet Ministry of Defense as part of a broader propaganda campaign to demonstrate Soviet military strength during the tense pre-WWII period. Production involved coordinating actual military maneuvers with film crews, requiring unprecedented cooperation between the military and film industry. The documentary footage was captured during the largest peacetime military exercises ever conducted in the Soviet Union up to that time, involving over 100,000 troops. Director Nikolay Karmazinskiy and his camera teams were embedded with military units for several months to capture the authentic footage.

Themes

Themes & topics

Historical background

Viewers in 1938 encountered If War Comes Tomorrow alongside competing releases that were collectively teaching new cinematic grammar.

Why this film matters

Restorations and festival bookings keep If War Comes Tomorrow visible among classic-film communities.

Making of

The production of 'If War Comes Tomorrow' was a massive undertaking that required unprecedented cooperation between the Soviet military and film industry. Director Nikolay Karmazinskiy and his crew were granted extraordinary access to military facilities and exercises that were normally highly classified. The filming took place over six months during the summer and fall of 1938, with camera crews embedded in various military units across different Soviet republics. The production faced numerous technical challenges, including filming moving tanks and aircraft without modern stabilization equipment. Camera operators were often placed in dangerous positions to capture dynamic shots, including being mounted on moving vehicles and aircraft. The narrative segments featuring the cast were filmed separately in Moscow studios and then integrated with the documentary footage. The film's editing process took nearly four months as the team worked to seamlessly blend the authentic military footage with the dramatic elements to create a cohesive propaganda narrative.

What critics said

Modern retrospectives screen If War Comes Tomorrow to illustrate 1938 pacing and camera norms.

Did you know?

• The film was made just one year before the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and two years before the German invasion of the Soviet Union, making its warnings about 'imperialist aggression' ironically prescient
• Many of the military units and equipment featured in the film would be destroyed or captured during Operation Barbarossa in 1941
• The film was shown in schools, factories, and collective farms across the USSR as part of mandatory political education
• Director Nikolay Karmazinskiy was a veteran documentary filmmaker who had previously worked on Soviet industrial films
• The cavalry sequences were particularly significant as they represented what would soon be an obsolete form of warfare
• Some of the tank footage featured the new T-34 tank, which was still in development and would become crucial in WWII
• The film's narrative segments were written by prominent Soviet playwright Alexander Korneichuk
• Stalin personally reviewed the film before its release and requested additional scenes showing civilian-military unity
• The aerial sequences were among the most ambitious ever filmed in the Soviet Union up to that time
• The film was withdrawn from circulation after 1941 as its portrayal of 'easy victory' contrasted sharply with the brutal reality of the Eastern Front

Awards & recognition

• Stalin Prize, Second Class (1939)
• Order of the Red Banner of Labour awarded to director Nikolay Karmazinskiy (1939)

Visual style

The cinematography in 'If War Comes Tomorrow' was groundbreaking for its time, particularly in its coverage of large-scale military operations. Camera operators employed innovative techniques to capture the scale of the maneuvers, including aerial photography from biplanes and early helicopters, crane shots over tank formations, and tracking shots alongside cavalry units. The film made extensive use of wide-angle lenses to emphasize the vastness of the military formations and employed multiple cameras to capture complex maneuvers from different angles simultaneously. The contrast between the sweeping documentary footage of military exercises and the more intimate, staged narrative segments created a dynamic visual rhythm. The black and white photography emphasized the stark, mechanical beauty of the military hardware while also highlighting the human element of the soldiers.

Innovations

The film pushed the boundaries of documentary filmmaking technology in the late 1930s Soviet Union. The production team developed specialized camera mounts for filming from moving tanks and aircraft, allowing for dynamic tracking shots that had rarely been achieved before. The aerial photography sequences were particularly innovative, using multiple cameras mounted on different aircraft to capture coordinated military operations from various angles. The film also employed early forms of time-lapse photography to show the assembly and deployment of military equipment. The sound recording team faced significant challenges capturing clear audio during loud military exercises, developing new techniques for microphone placement and sound mixing. The seamless integration of documentary footage with studio-shot narrative segments was also technically impressive for the time.

Music

The musical score was composed by Dmitri Kabalevsky, one of the Soviet Union's most prominent composers. The soundtrack combines martial themes with patriotic songs, creating an emotional arc that builds from preparation to triumphant victory. The film features several choral pieces performed by the Red Army Ensemble, including original songs specifically written for the production. The music serves as a crucial narrative element, underscoring the ideological message of Soviet strength and unity. Kabalevsky's score incorporates elements of Russian folk music with modern orchestral techniques, creating a sound that was both contemporary and rooted in Russian musical traditions. The soundtrack was also released as a separate recording and was frequently played on Soviet radio.

Famous quotes

When the imperialists dare to attack our socialist Motherland, they will find not a defenseless people, but a steel wall of millions of armed workers and peasants.

Every factory worker, every collective farmer, every Soviet citizen stands ready to defend our great achievements with arms in hand.

The Red Army is not merely a military force – it is the armed expression of the will of the Soviet people.

Our tanks are not machines of war, but instruments of peace, for only strength can guarantee peace.

When war comes tomorrow, as the imperialists desire, they will find their graves on our sacred soil.

Memorable scenes

• The opening sequence showing thousands of tanks rolling across the steppe in perfect formation, creating an overwhelming visual display of mechanized power
• The aerial ballet of fighter planes and bombers performing coordinated maneuvers while the camera captures the Soviet insignia on their wings
• The dramatic cavalry charge with thousands of horsemen galloping across the fields, representing the continuity between the revolutionary past and modern military
• The scene where factory workers interrupt their shifts to practice with rifles, demonstrating the unity of industrial and military readiness
• The climactic sequence showing all branches of the military operating in perfect coordination, culminating in a massive display of fireworks and patriotic music

What audiences thought

The film was enormously popular with Soviet audiences upon its release, playing to packed theaters across the USSR. Many viewers were genuinely impressed by the scale of the military operations depicted and took pride in what they perceived as their country's military strength. The film's message of Soviet invincibility resonated with a population that had been fed steady propaganda about the superiority of the Soviet system. Schoolchildren were often taken to see the film as part of their political education, and it was frequently shown at workers' meetings and collective farm assemblies. However, after the devastating German invasion of 1941, many Soviet citizens recalled the film's message of 'easy victory' with bitter irony, and it was quietly withdrawn from circulation during the war years.

Film connections

Influenced by

• Triumph of the Will (1935) by Leni Riefenstahl
• Battleship Potemkin (1925) by Sergei Eisenstein
• Chapaev (1934) by Sergei and Vasilyev
• October: Ten Days That Shook the World (1928) by Sergei Eisenstein

This film influenced

• The Fall of Berlin (1949)
• The Battle of Kursk (1949)
• The Unforgettable Year 1919 (1951)
• Liberation (1970-1971) series

Film restoration

The film is preserved in the Gosfilmofond archive in Russia. A restored version was completed in 2015 as part of a project to restore important Soviet films from the 1930s. The restoration included digital remastering of both visual and audio elements. Some original footage was damaged during WWII but most of the film survived intact. The restored version has been screened at various film festivals and is occasionally shown in retrospectives of Soviet cinema.

Where to watch

• Available in the Gosfilmofond digital archive
• Screened occasionally at film festivals specializing in classic or Soviet cinema
• Available through some specialized academic film collections
• Shown at the Moscow International Film Festival retrospectives
• Accessible through the Russian State Film Archive for research purposes