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Video Reviews and News : Documentary : ****Excellent ***Good **Ordinary *Poor

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<i> Recent releases, reviewed by Times critics.</i> : <i> Compiled by Terry Atkinson</i>

*** 1/2 “Going Hollywood:

The War Years.”

Warner Bros. $19.98. 76 min.

During World War II, Hollywood painted its own propagandist pictures of the conflict--sometimes good and true, sometimes way off base, often loaded with racist caricatures. Hollywood also responded in other ways to the “last good war,” as this documentary’s host Van Johnson calls it, sending its stars before the cameras to sell war bonds and keep morale up. This superior compilation captures the excitement of the time, the silliness and the seriousness. Several stars are interviewed, and many more are seen in vintage footage--not just of the period’s feature films but of studio archives, newsreels and promotional shorts--but the real star here is the editing, which is as quick and witty as Bugs Bunny, who also makes a memorable appearance.

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