The 400 Million (1939)
61 min
Joris Ivens’s wartime documentary of China’s resistance to the Japanese invasion, cross-cutting civilian exodus and bombing with the Nationalist state’s mobilization—schools, industry, dispersed war production, foreign relief—and guerrilla fighting. Framing an ancient nation of “400 million,” it contrasts tradition with modernization and closes on the unresolved question of victory.
- Release date
- March 7, 1939
- Country of origin
- United States
Cast
- Fredric March as Narration
- Morris Carnovsky as Additional Voice
- Sidney Lumet as Additional Voice
- Robert Q. Lewis as Additional Voice
- Alfred Ryder as Additional Voice
- Adelaide Bean as Additional Voice
- Kai-Shek Chiang as Self
- Madame Chiang as Self
Crew
- Lai Sek · Archive footage
- Yat-sen Sun · Archive footage
- Kai-Shek Chiang · Archive footage
- Madame Chiang · Archive footage
- John Fernhout · Director
- Joris Ivens · Director
- Joris Ivens · Writer
- Dudley Nichols · Writer
- Hanns Eisler · Composer
- Robert Capa · Cinematographer
- John Fernhout · Cinematographer
- Joris Ivens · Cinematographer
- Helen van Dongen · Editor