Pearl Harbour

I saw the short, 34 minute, version of this film and I'm intrigued by the notion of what constitutes a documentary since so much of this film has been recreated. Essentially the story of what happened on that morning this is brief retelling of what happened, mixed with a rousing warning to the Japanese that the destruction they caused wasn't as fatal as they would have liked.

I'm of mixed minds about the film. Certainly the recreation of the bombing is stunning and had I seen this film back in the 1940's I would have been floored by it since its often a great mix of almost believable Hollywood magic and real life footage. Its so good that its clear that later recreations of the attack like Tora Tora Tora and Pearl Harbor stole shots and sequences from it. Unfortunately these same films, freed of the shackles of having to be a propaganda puff piece, are more interesting to watch. We can get lost in the story and don't need to have our patriotism pumped up.

Its not bad, its just more a curio that should be viewed in context of when it was made rather than as a piece of entertainment or a source of real information on the subject.

Worth a look for those who want to see a snapshot of how the war was viewed during the war, or for those cine-files who want to see where later movies cribbed their shots.

This is a well made Hollywood movie about Pearl Harbor. Director John Ford working for the government made this film after the attack as a motivational and propaganda film. The vast majority of the film is staged as there was no footage of the actual attack. The only real footage is the aftermath of some of the ships burning. That being said Ford attention to detail has lead many to believe that the shots of the Japenese planes where real. In reality they were Duantless Dive-bombers. Further the movie tends to downplay the losses of the United States while encouraging the anti-Japenese ideals of the day. Overall this is a good movie and a fairly accurate retelling if one remembers that it is not actual footage and rather a sound stage for the most part. Those interested in real battle footage should look to Ford's Battle of Midway which is entirely real footage and is even in color.

After Pearl Harbor, Gregg Toland filmed a propaganda movie for the navy about the attack. The military and John Ford would reshape the 82 min film down to a 34 min short which would win the 1944 Oscar for documentary short. In recent years, the full length film is recovered and released.

Uncle Sam is eagerly promoting Hawaii as a peaceful vacation spot. Mr. C questions him and their conversation reveals the history of Japanese immigration onto the island. While Uncle Sam shows them as patriotic Americans, Mr. C counters with suspicions of their true loyalties. Uncle Sam is shown to be naive in his beliefs as Mr. C uses a false story to illustrate the disloyalty of some of the Japanese population cooperating with the Japanese Empire and the German Nazis. Uncle Sam is shown as a weak-kneed disbeliever until the attack wakes him from his sleep proving him wrong. Of all the hokey propaganda takes, the most effective is the voices from the soldiers' graves. It really makes it a war for all Americans.

The fictional espionage story reminds me of the old industrial educational films with bad acting. On the hand, the attack recreations blend very well with real footage of the attack. I can see why so much of it was cut while the leftovers would be award winning. Overall, there is great craftmanship in the battle while the preceding espionage story is poorly acted and problematic as a documentary endeavor. It does show how easily fear can be whipped by against the local Japanese population and explain the popularity of the internment decision. As a time capsule, it shows how a false narrative can easily push people into the wrong conclusions. As a film, it shows great skills in combat recreation.

This is another war documentary by Ford, obviously detailing the nefarious 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour that saw the U.S. finally enter WWII. Ironically, the film was originally made as a feature (running 82 minutes) but was heavily censored by the authorities – despite having been commissioned by President Roosevelt himself! – to the point that it was reduced to a 34-minute short, entered in the Academy Award category for Best Documentary Short and winning the Oscar! For the record, only the edited version was released among the extras on Fox's BECOMING JOHN FORD (2007) DVD and, while I managed to acquire the full-length edition off "You Tube", I opted to only watch the shorter print in view of its being Oscar season!

Anyway, this makes a much better attempt to tell the whole story than THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY (one imagines the feature being that more comprehensive in this regard!), and only resorts to mawkishness – albeit movingly done regardless – towards the end i.e. when the fallen soldiers 'introduce' themselves to the audience. Needless to say, the Japanese side is depicted in strictly caricatured terms (which was the accepted norm for the duration of the conflict, seen also in contemporary cartoons!)…but, while a Japanese civilian (sympathizing with the invasion) is interviewed, we also get to see how other naturalized Orientals hid evidence (not just store-signs but the Asian calligraphy itself!) of their old country in shame. Again, a number of stars lend their services to provide the accompanying narration: I recognized Walter Huston's voice in this streamlined copy but, reportedly, the likes of Harry Davenport and Dana Andrews were also involved.

December 7th, 1941 (1943)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

John Ford's highly entertaining recreation of Pearl Harbor and the events after it certainly deserved the Academy Award win it received for Best Documentary Short. The film mixes recreated scenes very well with actual footage and I'd go as far to say that the battle scenes (done with models) are among the best from any war film of the period. The version I watched was the original, 34-minute theatrical version.

All of Ford's WW2 shorts are worth seeking out as well as the film's done by Frank Capra during this period.