OT Midway Movie
- Thread starter TFBaum
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It couldn't be worse then Pearl Harbor, could it?
I was really disappointed in the movie. Special effects were OK but it was hard to follow the story. A much better version was the 1976 version with an unbelievable cast:
Charlton Heston ... Capt. Matt Garth
Henry Fonda ... Adm. Chester W. Nimitz
James Coburn ... Capt. Vinton Maddox
Glenn Ford ... Rear Adm. Raymond A. Spruance
Hal Holbrook ... Cmdr. Joseph Rochefort
Toshirô Mifune ... Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (as Toshiro Mifune)
Robert Mitchum ... Admiral William F. Halsey
Cliff Robertson ... Commander Carl Jessop
Robert Wagner ... Lieutenant Commander Ernest L. Blake
Robert Webber ... Rear Admiral Frank J. 'Jack' Fletcher
Ed Nelson ... Admiral Harry Pearson
James Shigeta ... Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo
Christina Kokubo ... Haruko Sakura
Monte Markham ... Commander Max Leslie
Charlton Heston ... Capt. Matt Garth Henry Fonda ... Adm. Chester W. Nimitz James Coburn ... Capt. Vinton Maddox Glenn Ford ... Rear Adm. Raymond A. Spruance Hal Holbrook ... Cmdr. Joseph Rochefort Toshirô Mifune ... Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (as Toshiro Mifune) Robert Mitchum ... Admiral William F. Halsey Cliff Robertson ... Commander Carl Jessop Robert Wagner ... Lieutenant Commander Ernest L. Blake Robert Webber ... Rear Admiral Frank J. 'Jack' Fletcher Ed Nelson ... Admiral Harry Pearson James Shigeta ... Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo Christina Kokubo ... Haruko Sakura Monte Markham ... Commander Max Leslie
That movie actually follows the true story. It also depicted the men that fought in a more realistic manner. I enjoy Woody In Kingpin but as Nimitz?I was really disappointed in the movie. Special effects were OK but it was hard to follow the story. A much better version was the 1976 version with an unbelievable cast:
I was really disappointed in the movie. Special effects were OK but it was hard to follow the story. A much better version was the 1976 version with an unbelievable cast:
They showed that in our social studies class I think in 7th grade - took a few classes to get through it. Patton, too.
Movies are what they are now, but there are LOTS of really good documentaries on things now. I mean, Ken Burns just kills it on his, Netflix and Amazon have countless docs.
What a cast. Whoa.I was really disappointed in the movie. Special effects were OK but it was hard to follow the story. A much better version was the 1976 version with an unbelievable cast:
Two of many require reading at the academy are At Dawn We Slept and Miracle at Midway. I highly recommend both.
Donald Goldstein, a proffessor at Pitt (at least he was 20 years ago) was a contributing author on both. He did a guest lecture for my WWII in Asia class (which Johnny Majors audited, great guy) and also taught some honors college classes that filled up faster than I could ever get into. He was a great lecturer, with some really great insights into both Pearl Harbor and Midway.
Edit: Dr. Goldstein unfortunately passed in December 2017.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
I don’t think any movie should be taken as a true historical depiction. They’re created for entertainment. Some are just closer to reality than others.
a movie is a movie,is a movie. its intended to make money period. how it gets profitability- is the key. the fact its historically accurate is way down the list. the movie goer wants to be entertained-thats it.. conservatively i would guess "midway"to 80% CGI.its the wave of the future. likely you're watching a cartoon.
I was really disappointed in the movie. Special effects were OK but it was hard to follow the story. A much better version was the 1976 version with an unbelievable cast:
That’s the one I only consider, the remakes are dumb, or not done well. Seeing all these Hollywood legends and current actors we see as young actors is fun to watch. Seeing a young Pat Morita, Robert Wagner, Erik Estrada, and Tom Selleck is interesting too.
He came to the academy and would lecture it was always packed you would see a 1st class seeing him for the fourth time. Amazing man as was Gordon Prange.
I respectfully disagree the heroic of VT-8 during that battle is unmatched. I believe those that fought those battles should have it honored.
Nah. Not all. I truly believe some movies are made to tell a story whether fiction or non, and those people will find and shop it to the studio that will let them make it as they want.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
That’s fine but it’s still entertainment. Take it with a grain of salt and enjoy it as such.
I'm with you on this and I have seen both this version and the 1976 version.
I liked this one better--perhaps because it seems more historically accurate to me and because I like reading about the history of the U.S. Navy in WWII. My dad served in the Navy in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and the Pacific during WWII. His service began my interest.
It was a three day battle the movie depicts a one day battle. It states nothing of the diversionary attack on Dutch harbor. Coral Sea sets up Midway and it barely mentions it. The Coral Sea experience allowed our pilots to reverse engineer jap pilots tactics. Also flight ops under Whiskey Jack was twice as other commanders.
Well said. Didn’t know. Still thought the movie was awesome..Can only do so much in a 2 hour movie, but I’m impressed with your historical knowledge. Cudo’s.....
War movies for the most part, don't excite me. Meanwhile, I love the history of war. A dirty secret, I didn't find Saving Private Ryan particularly interesting, except for the initial D-Day landing scene that was hard to watch. But I have watched, and will continue to watch Band of Brothers and The Pacific again and again. I like Docu Dramas or outright documentaries. WWII in HD is great. Vietnam War in HD even better. Ken Burns series on Vietnam War fantastic. Platoon? Sure, okay but would rather watch those docu's. Full Metal Jacket was fantastic until they actually went to war.
I just find the sacrifices, enormity and everything that accompanies it interesting enough, that I really don't need it made into a movie.
I just find the sacrifices, enormity and everything that accompanies it interesting enough, that I really don't need it made into a movie.
I agree. The old one was better.I was really disappointed in the movie. Special effects were OK but it was hard to follow the story. A much better version was the 1976 version with an unbelievable cast:
Patton... one of my favorite movies. Never gets old. Maybe it was because it was my father's idea of a "family" movie. He dragged the whole family, including me (11) and my sisters (10 and 8) to Eastland theater. There we sat, pounding popcorn and Cokes while Patton's tanks were going through "those lousy Hun bastards like crap through a goose". The same year I got a paperback copy of BALL FOUR. Talk about an enlightening summer.
The older war movies tend to take a lot of poetic license with facts. Newer war movies can sometimes be hyper realistic but that's not always a good thing. Probably the most realistic - for entirely different reasons - war movies I've ever seen are Black Hawk Down and Jarhead.
So Jarhead is insanely realistic because it's one of the few war movies that portrays what it is really like to be a young person at war - dumb, craving action, temporarily/permanently forgotten by your loved ones, and subject to the whims of forces much larger than you. But do I want to watch that all the time? No way. Sometimes it's better to tune into a good old good guys vs. bad guys flick. That's what Midway is and there's nothing wrong with taking some creative licenses to make a more enjoyable movie. Hell, that's why we have movies and not just the SITREPs from the bridge of the Lexington and Yorktown.
So Jarhead is insanely realistic because it's one of the few war movies that portrays what it is really like to be a young person at war - dumb, craving action, temporarily/permanently forgotten by your loved ones, and subject to the whims of forces much larger than you. But do I want to watch that all the time? No way. Sometimes it's better to tune into a good old good guys vs. bad guys flick. That's what Midway is and there's nothing wrong with taking some creative licenses to make a more enjoyable movie. Hell, that's why we have movies and not just the SITREPs from the bridge of the Lexington and Yorktown.
Saving Private Ryan was stunning. I went with a few friends and we walked out of the theatre and did not say a single word on our way to our cars.
The opening scene at Normandy had to be the most realistic and war scene ever.
Full disclosure I went to the Naval Academy. One side story is the attack on Dutch Harbor would result in the US capturing a jap zero in tack. It crash landed in peat. Our engineers would reverse engineer the plane and develop the Hellcat which would kick the sh@t out of the jap zero. You know what if you enjoyed the good I am glad.
SPR was crazy emotional for me as well and I had a similar response as you. Beyond the technical masterpiece of Omaha Beach, however, the plot is fairly unrealistic. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved it and I think it's one of the best movies ever made. But if you're looking for technical and story accuracy, Black Hawk Down is probably unrivaled.
I also went to see saving private ryan in the theaters. I dont believe it was opening night but the first few nights anyway. I was shocked that while what i was watching was indeed emotional, it wasnt nearly as emotional as approx. nearly a quarter of the movie theater emptied out in the first 15 or so minutes. Most of which were old enough, at least i assumed at the time, to have fought in ww2. And maybe some of them were really at normandy. I guess living through it once was enough. But as far as movies go, i agree blackhawk down is about as historically accurate as any military movie can get. Some other great ones, we were soldiers and hacksaw ridge.
We Were Soldiers is another one that's well-done all around. Good call.
And as i got way off topic to the original post, ive yet to see the new midway. But the original is phenomenal.
Hamburger Hill. The ending is the actual radio traffic. Listen to it closely. I have met 101 vets that were there and they said that is a great depiction but the hill was steeper.
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Sam Elliot would actually befriend Sergeant Major Basil Plumley. Sergeant Plumley was a true bad a**. He had a CIB with two stars that is a true American hero.
I think he made
Every major jump in WW2. He didn’t suffer fools at all.
I am a vet but I ain’t a vet like my dad 3rd Army 4th Armored 37th Tank Regiment two bronze stars. Me just a simple sub officer. And yes Sam Elliott is a great man and vet.
The 70s made some great military movies.
1976 Midway is a classic with a great cast. Another awesome war movie is " A Bridge to Far" which might have the best cast for movie: Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, Ed Fox, Micheal Caine, James Caan, Elliout Gould. It follows the book by Cornelius Ryan.
Another great war movie but fictional is 'Kelly's Heros', another favorite.
1976 Midway is a classic with a great cast. Another awesome war movie is " A Bridge to Far" which might have the best cast for movie: Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, Ed Fox, Micheal Caine, James Caan, Elliout Gould. It follows the book by Cornelius Ryan.
Another great war movie but fictional is 'Kelly's Heros', another favorite.
Yeah, Black Hawk Down was top notch. Great cast, too.
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