Pearl Harbor
By Murray Bourne, 02 Jan 2005
What a great movie! It was brilliantly filmed (you know it is a real photographer behind the lens when the light is superb - shots are taken at dawn and dusk, there is lovely backlighting and some superb angles, like the shots of the Zeros coming in above the woman hanging out her washing - almost in silhouette.)
The bombing of Pearl harbor was an event that my father often talked about - and it was the event which spurred him on to sign up. He ended up in Singapore just before it fell.
The Pearl Harbor bombings coincided with the first bombing attacks on Malaysia and Singapore.
It was great to visit Pearl Harbor (twice) where they actually filmed the movie. There were a small number of survivors around telling of their experiences.
My daughter requested the movie (she is maturing quickly) and even XS watched all of it with us...
I wonder how keen Yamamoto really was to bomb the Pacific Fleet? I guess we will never really know their inner feelings.
See the 1 Comment below.
4 Jan 2005 at 5:59 pm [Comment permalink]
Yes, I agreed the CGI effects were fantastic ! I can't tell the faked stuff from the real. But I didn't like the love story embedded into the storyline which makes the whole movie lethargic, especially at the beginning. But once the war started, it's a roller-coaster ride !
My comment about the war ? I thought it was very unwise of the Japanese to bomb Pearl Harbour in the first place, thinking it would scare the Americans into not joining the war. Their miscalculation proved to be their downfall, for they have awakened the giant. World War II might have been prolonged if not for the bombing of Pearl Harbour and the Japanese attacking the Americans in The Battle of Midway. But thank God, they did !