Somebody pinch me ...
We were fighting socialists in Europe who wanted to exterminate the Jews and totalitarians in Japan who attacked us by surprise. Of course today's totalitarian socialists are shocked that fighting back against their side is seen as unambiguously good. And, no, times have not changed other than the evil emanating from within the democrat party to a much greater degree. Back then, President FDR was on our side even though he was a democrat.
FReepers wanting to avoid a visit to google.com, always and forever a good idea, can read the original article published by the LA Times here:
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-11-07/midway-review
Going to see it next week!
I watched a youtube video on Midway maybe a year ago. It was done by a German who seemed to know everything about the battle.
After about 10 minutes I noticed that it was going to last 48 minutes. Normally will not watch anything that long but decided to stick it out.
He eventually gave his opinion as to why the Americans won. There were a lot of different things but it boiled down to the Japanese had no idea that the Americans would be so aggressive.
The Americans simply fought with great determination and aggressiveness.
The 1976 Midway was somewhat sympathetic to the Japanese. My guess is that because Hollywood wants to invade the Chinese market, portrayals of the Japanese will be much more harsh.
I am looking forward to seeing this movie, the first one I have even had an interest in seeing since Godfather (the last movie I saw in a theater.
However because I refuse to pay $12 for a ticker and $4.00 for popcorn I will wait until it is available on Amazon Prime for free.
Yeah, I’m cheap in someways but it galls me to be ripped off and todays movie prices are definitely a rip off.
War movies with so much computer-generated scenery and action don’t have the same impact. It’s like producers and directors are cheating by taking the path of least resistance.
Saw it yesterday, give it an A. Doesn’t have the extraneous and fictional back story that the Charlton Heston version did, just the actual stories of the people who were there. Great recreations of the ships and aircraft of the time.
DITTOS!! Saw it last night, first time since "Pearl Harbor" that I stepped into a theater. Where the original "Midway" focused mostly on the events, how the code was broken and the search for the Japanese fleet, this one was more towards telling the story of the men who participated. Of course, the battle scenes were amazing. The theater had reclining chairs and one heck of a sound system. Got to say, it was worth the expense. Popcorn was still made the old way. :D
I saw this movie yesterday. I give it an A plus! It’s true to the story. No SJW BS. No sappy side love stories. No brothers in conflict.
It cost me $20 with the ticket and snacks but it was totally worth it. This is one to see on the big screen with the big theater sound system. I’ll probably go see it again this week.
When you watch this movie, you are funding Chinese propaganda.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/hollywood-revisits-battle-of-midwaywith-backing-from-china-11573214401
Nobody knew.
Now you do.
We are going to see it on Veteran’s Day!
Sharing: what I learned about this from my Dad
When the United States Navy sent director John Ford to Midway Island in 1942, he believed that the military wanted him to make a documentary on life at a small, isolated military base, and filmed casual footage of the sailors and marines there working and having fun. Two days before the battle, he learned that the Japanese planned to attack the base and that it was preparing to defend itself.
Ford’s handheld, 16mm footage of the battle was captured totally impromptu. He had been in transit on the island, roused from his bunk by the sounds of the battle, and started filming.
Ford was wounded by enemy fire while filming the battle. Acclaimed as a hero when he returned home because of the footage and the minor wound.
Ford was worried that military censors would prevent the footage from being shown in public. After returning to Los Angeles, he gave the footage to Robert Parrish, who had worked with him on How Green Was My Valley, to edit in secret. Ford spliced in footage of James Roosevelt, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s son and a Marine Corps officer; when the president saw the film in the White House, he told William Leahy: “I want every mother in America to see this film”, thus PROTECTING FORD FROM CENSORSHIP
Parrish wrote an in-depth account of the making of The Battle of Midway in his autobiography, Growing Up in Hollywood (1976). The film runs for 18 minutes, was distributed by 20th Century Fox, and was one of four winners of the inaugural, 1942 Academy Award for Best Documentary.
Seeing men he had met and filmed die horrified Ford, who said, “I am really a coward” compared to those who fought. He had spent time with Torpedo Squadron 8, and 29 of 30 men of the unit died or were missing after the battle.
Ford assembled the footage he had taken of the squadron into an eight-minute film, adding titles praising the squadron for having “written the most brilliant pages in the glowing history of our Naval Air Forces” and identifying each man as he appeared. He printed the result, Torpedo Squadron 8, to 8mm film suitable for home projectors and sent copies to the men’s families.
ACTUAL 18 MINUTE MIDWAY DOCUMENTARY:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkiXHKeMC9k&index=37&list=PLJ8RjvesnvDMirffrNEsCKnSFlIMwJoei
I saw the movie today. I might even see it again.
The original ‘76 movie had a much bigger impact on my psyche than this latest version did. It wasn’t until I was older that I understood and saw its flaws, but I still enjoy it more than Tora! Tora! Tora! and Bruckheimer’s Pearl Harbor.
The new movie was more entertaining and did what no war movie has done in a long time: tried to eschew/downplay the romance angles and just accept that the movie will only be seriously attended to by war-movie buffs, historical rivet-counters (that find fault with anything put in front of them, but enjoy it all the more for telling everyone about all the faults they found), and action-movie fans. It was fun to watch in a summer blockbuster sort of way.
This new movie tries to do a lot. It shoehorns Pearl Harbor, a raid on the Marshall Islands, The Doolittle Raid, tags the Battle of Coral Sea, briefly explains the part cryptology played in shaping the Midway battle, and finally the Big Show. The whole time, ships and planes—on both—sides—blow up real good. The wives are appreciative of what their husbands are doing, are anxious about it, and look good saying it.
The Japanese are pretty much unchanged from the original movie: ruthless, rigid, disciplined, and doggedly following a fatally flawed battle plan. There is exploration that the Americans will be waiting for them, but it is ultimately dismissed as unrealistic and the plan is pitched with precision into the US Navy’s strike zone.
I think the original movie did a better job of explaining the battle; especially the indecision over whether to continue attacking or (finally) attacking the American carrier group and the loss of the Yorktown. I think it even lent subtitles to specific ships and air groups so you could follow their efforts. Thanks to an extended version that appeared in 80’s on television, the Battle of Coral Sea and the arc of USS Yorktown’s participation is more pronounced.
I noticed a few small things missing from the movie and these my only rivet-counter nits: I did not notice any F2 Buffalos, F4 Wildcats, and only 1 B-17. If anyone else saw them perform in the movie, please point it out to me.
Acting: I thought both were equally well/badly acted. If you like rock-ribbed, square-jawed, cigar-chewing, wise-cracking American heroes both have them in abundance. And get a good look, because they’re a vanishing breed. The new movie has two or three stunning wives and a nightclub singer to rest your eyes on, so that’s a plus over the earlier film. The Japanese, as mentioned, are on a par with the ‘76 feature.
Okay, that’s it. As I said, I enjoyed it. I was more entertained by it than the ‘76 Midway, but thought the original a better vehicle for telling the story of the battle itself. The new movie packs a lot of other extraneous historical events that seemed (to me) unnecessary but are interesting in showing the context of the battle.
Just got home from watching it.
OUTSTANDING!!!