Among Dylan Thomas's lesser-known public roles during his short career was that of working as a propagandist for the Ministry of Information. By all accounts the job was not especially pleasant, but he nonetheless produced some memorable films.
THIS IS THE MEN is certainly one of these. Using as its basis a film shot by pro-Nazi director Leni Riefenstahl of a Nazi rally - perhaps in Nuremberg, or elsewhere - Alan Osbiston's film superimposes Thomas's words on images of the major leaders (Hitler, Himmler, Goebbels, Hess, and others) speaking in German. We observe their hysterical rantings, intercut with favorable reactions from the massed audiences of supporters as they offer salutes and pay tribute to their leaders' achievements.
This sense of triumphalism is cleverly undercut by Thomas's words - spoken by an English commentator - that focus on on the Nazi leaders' antisemitism, their innate prejudice against anyone daring to countermand their words, and their potential to destroy young minds. Their insidious power is emphasized; their ability to rabble-rouse through fire and brimstone, that needs to be understood for what it is - nothing more than pure propaganda.
THESE ARE THE MEN is a chilling reminder of just how dangerous the Nazi threat was to world stability during the darkest years of World War II, and how viewers of this propaganda film had to be mindful, not only of what people were saying and how they were saying it.
