Other Titles • Pearl Harbour (2001) • Tennessee (1999) • Capina
Synopses for Pearl Harbor (2001)
1.
A Two-Disc Set History comes alive in the unforgettable epic motion picture Pearl Harbor, the spectacular blockbuster brought to the screen by Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay. Astounding visual and audio effects put you at the center of the event that changed the world -- that early Sunday morning in paradise when warplanes screamed across the peaceful skies of Pearl Harbor and jolted America into World War II. This real-life tale of catastrophic defeat, heroic victory and personal courage focuses on the war's devastating impact on two daring young pilots, Ben Affleck (Armageddon) and Josh Hartnett (The Virgin Suicides), and a beautiful, dedicated nurse, Kate Beckinsale (Serendipity). Pearl Harbor is extraordinary moviemaking -- a breathtaking reenactment of the "date which will live in infamy" and a heartfelt tribute to the men and women who lived it.
2.
Sometimes bigger is actually better. Nearly matching the size of director Michael Bay's ego, this massive four-disc set is a veritable Pearl Harbor archive, and ironically, Bay's film remains the least interesting component. It's a purely conventional Hollywood take on the tragedy, using a clichéd love triangle between two ace pilots (Josh Hartnett, Ben Affleck) and a Pearl Harbor nurse (Kate Beckinsale) as an "intimate" means of spectacularly re-creating the attack that thrust America into World War II. The director's cut adds little to the previous DVD release, apart from authentic R-rated carnage during the Japanese raid, and minor expansion of the Hartnett-Beckinsale romance. Commentaries range from superfluous (Bay and film historian Jeanine Basinger) to highly entertaining (Ben Affleck and costars) and technically informative (primary production team), and a spirited examination of visual effects (with Bay and ILM supervisor Eric Brevig) is guaranteed to fascinate anyone interested in physical effects and CGI. A broad "making of" documentary is noteworthy for one-time viewing, while abundant historical records make this a valuable compilation of definitive materials.
The History Channel's "One Hour over Tokyo" and "Unsung Heroes of Pearl Harbor" provide depth that Bay's movie lacks, and Charles Kiselyak's interactive timeline is arguably the finest feature included, providing an in-depth historical perspective on U.S.-Japan relations. Even a brief reenactment of a Pearl Harbor nurse's journal is moving in a way that Bay's film can only try to be, while the "Interactive Attack Sequence" provides a multifaceted exploration of the entire production process (a highly educational feature for aspiring filmmakers). All in all, these four discs offer an admirable balance between Bay's technically impressive but ill-conceived epic and a thorough, fitting tribute to those who endured hell on that fateful Sunday in 1941. --Jeff Shannon
3.
To call Pearl Harbor a throwback to old-time war movies is something of an understatement. Director Michael Bay's epic take on the bombing that brought the United States into World War II hijacks every war movie situation and cliché (some affectionate, some stale) you've ever seen and gives them a shiny, glossy spin until the whole movie practically gleams. Planes glisten, water sparkles, trees beckon--and Bay's re-creation of the bombing itself, a 30-minute sequence that's tightly choreographed and amazingly photographed, sets the action movie bar up quite a few notches. And in updating the classic war film, Bay and screenwriter Randall Wallace (Braveheart) use that old plot standby, the love triangle--this time, it's between two pilots (Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett) and a nurse (Kate Beckinsale) who find themselves stationed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, during what they thought would be a nice, sunny tour of duty. Then, of course, history intervened.
For the first 90 minutes of the movie, Affleck and Beckinsale find a nice, appealing chemistry that plays on his strengths as a movie star and hers as a serious actress--he gives her glamour, she gives him smarts. Their truncated romance--the beginning of which is told in flashback so we can get right to the point where he has to leave her to go to England--works, thanks to their charm. They're no Kate and Leo from Titanic (a strategy the film strives hard toward), but they're pretty darn adorable in their own right. Hartnett, as the not entirely unwelcome third wheel, squints bravely but makes only a slight dent in the film. Everyone else in Pearl Harbor--from Cuba Gooding Jr.'s brave navy seaman to Jon Voight's able impersonation of FDR--is pretty much a glorified walk-on, taking a backseat to the pyrotechnics and action sequences that keep the three-hour film in fairly constant motion. But when that action does take hold, Pearl Harbor is quite a thrilling ride. --Mark Englehart
4.
Director Michael Bay (ARMAGEDDON, THE ROCK) uses a tragic romantic triangle to set the stage for the infamous Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in this epic tale of love, loss, and patriotism. When Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale), a beautiful Navy nurse, meets dashing ace Army fighter pilot Rafe (Ben Affleck), the two fall madly in love, only to be separated abruptly when he is called upon to help fight the war in Europe. Unforeseen circumstances lead Evelyn into the arms of Danny (Josh Hartnett), another fighter pilot and Rafe's best friend since childhood. In the meantime, the Japanese military is planning the surprise early morning raid on Hawaii that will pull the United States into World War II. Spectacular special effects vividly recreate the attack in devastating detail as bombs explode, torpedoes shoot through the water, and bullets fly, shaking tranquil Pearl Harbor to its core. Bay deftly captures the patriotism and the loss of innocence of the young men and women who were suddenly thrust into the war. Cuba Gooding, Jr., Jon Voight, Alec Baldwin and Mako also star in this tribute to both the fallen and the survivors of one of the most horrific tragedies ever to occur on American soil.
5.
Pearl Harbor is an epic love story set in the days when nations last made the devastating leap from peace to World War. The story follows two daring young pilots, Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker, who grew up like brothers and first learned to fly in the daring and dangerous aviation practice of crop-dusting; now they both have become pilots in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Rafe has fallen in love with Evelyn Stewart, a beautiful and courageous nurse serving in the U.S. Navy. But their love has only just begun to bloom when their personal destiny -- and that of a world on the brink of war -- intervenes.
6.
Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) and Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett) are childhood friends who both dream of flying. As the world becomes embroiled in World War II in the early 1940's, Rafe and Danny sign on with the United States armed forces, although America is still in an isolationist position. Eager to participate in combat, Rafe is compelled to join the British air fight against the Nazis, leaving his girlfriend, beautiful army nurse Evelyn Stewart (Kate Beckinsale) behind. When Evelyn and Danny are transferred to the military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, they hear the news that Rafe has been shot down and killed. Hoping to move on after grieving, Danny and Evelyn find themselves in love. When Rafe returns alive, the three find themselves in an uncomfortable personal situation that is soon engulfed by the massive surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.
Putting aside their differences, Rafe and Danny join the desperate fight against the enemy invaders. The film's epic sweep intertwines Rafe and Danny's stories with the heroic efforts of such characters as "Dorrie" Miller (Cuba Gooding Jr.), a ship's cook turned fighter, Earl (Tom Sizemore), a courageous base mechanic, and Jimmy Doolittle (Alec Baldwin), the visionary pilot who would lead one of America's most famous counterattacks of the war. Dan Aykroyd also appears as the code breaking Captain Thurman and Jon Voight as President Franklin Roosevelt.
National Geographic Beyond the Movie: Pearl Harbor
7.
Disc I: Kamikaze:
A revealing documentary on the Pacific War beginning with Japanese preparations before the bombing of Pearl Harbor and ending with the U.S. dropping the atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Aside from the interesting footage on the Japanese home front before Pearl Harbor, there are also many questions raised as to why the U.S. was not aware that Pearl Harbor might be bombed. Evidence is given that enemy planes were sighted earlier and messages were decoded, both in time to give plenty of warning.
Bonus Feature:
"Know Your Enemy" (Directed By Frank Capra)
In Frank Capra's documentary "Know Your Enemy", he uses images and sounds to give the American soldier a look into the mentality of the enemy in Japan.
Disc II: December 7, 1941:
A classic recreation combining actual footage of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Bonus Features:
"Pearl Harbor Newsreel"
Special on Pearl Harbor attack.
"Formal Japanese Surrender"
The Japanese surrender to end the War with The Allies.
"Recognition Of The Japanese Zero Fighter" (Hosted By Ronal Reagan)
Information about the Japanese Zero fighter plane. (Dramatized Story)
8.
A big summer blockbuster, Pearl Harbor is pitched as a romantic epic, but the story is essentially a frame for an impressive depiction of the Japanese attack on that "day of infamy", deploying all the modelwork, CGI, stunts and special effects necessary to trump previous screen re-enactments in Tora! Tora! Tora! and From Here to Eternity. At heart, it's another Top Gun-style exercise in heroically sublimated homosexuality as Rafe (Ben Affleck) and Dan (Josh Hartnett), lifelong buddies, fall out over a ridiculous contrivance that allows both decently to fallin love with a nurse (Kate Beckinsale) but forget all their differences when the fighting starts--as expected, their big climax comes in each other's arms, with Kate left behind as one wounded buddy extracts a promise from the other to look after his unborn child.
Historical snippets are interleaved, with Mako and Jon Voigt stiff under the prosthetics asAdmiral Yamamoto and Franklin Roosevelt, and a lot of detail is given about things like the wooden rudders on the new Japanese torpedoes, the chaos in the understaffed hospital as the heroine is forced to make lipstick triage marks on wounded men's foreheads and the terrible effects of strafing. A surprisingly bright little performance from Dan Aykroyd (a sole reminder of 1941) as an intelligence analyst is balanced by an insufferably smug one from Cuba Gooding Jr as a token black supporting hero. It's the first film of the George W Bush era: aggressive and dumb as a rock, utterly uninterested in period--no one in this WWII-era army smokes, swears or uses racial abuse (Gooding's boxing opponent sneers at him because he's a cook)--and awkwardly straddles a dignified treatment of the Japanese and America's actual spasm of hatred after the attack (one soldier refuses to be treated by a Japanese doctor, but that's it). When Pearl Harbour is bombed, we see endangered dogs, drowning men and dead women, but when Tokyo gets blasted in payback only buildings are destroyed and in long-shot. Michael Bay (Armageddon) remains a jittery director, a great second-unit man who can't deal with people or stories. It borrows from Titanic and Saving Private Ryan, but tidies the war of the latter up so it can still haul in a broad audience and therefore misses the real tragic sense of the former.--Kim Newman
On the DVD: Considering there are two discs in the special edition of this special effects homage, the second DVD is woefully short of extras. There is a 45-minute featurette on the highs and lows of bringing Michael Bay's magnum opus to the screen which, along with the usual interviews with cast and crew, features the more compelling eyewitness testimony bringing the events of December 7, 1941 to life. The irony of the second disc focussing on the research and quest for historical accuracy is a little difficult to swallow, considering that the film is little more than a paper thin, overly romanticised muddle of history and fantasy, but for those wanting to experience the real events on that fateful day rather than the Hollywood version, this is an excellent antidote. The movie has been THX digitally mastered for superior sound and picture quality improving those big-bang special effects and is presented in anamorphic widescreen with 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Unlike the Region 1 release, there's no DTS track but the 5.1 Dolby Digital sound is more than up to the challenge of the effects laden assault, with different elements of the Japanese attack rumbling between the speakers and making you feel you're in the thick of things. -- Kristen Bowditch
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