Pearl Harbor is a 2001 American romantic war drama film directed by Michael Bay, produced by Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer and written by Randall Wallace. It stars Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Josh Hartnett, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Tom Sizemore, Jon Voight, Colm Feore, and Alec Baldwin. The film presented a heavily fictionalized version of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, focusing on a love story set amid the lead up to the attack, its aftermath, and the Doolittle Raid.
Plot[]
In 1923 Tennessee, two best friends, Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker, play together in the back of an old biplane, pretending to be soldiers fighting the German Empire in World War I.
In January 1941, with World War II raging, Danny and Rafe are both first lieutenants under the command of Major Jimmy Doolittle. Doolittle informs Rafe that he has been accepted into the Eagle Squadron (an RAF outfit for American pilots during the Battle of Britain). A nurse named Evelyn Johnson passes Rafe's medical exam despite his dyslexia, and the two strike up a relationship. Four weeks later, Rafe and Evelyn, now deeply in love, enjoy an evening of dancing at a nightclub and later a jaunt in the New York harbor in a borrowed police boat. Rafe shocks Evelyn by saying that he has joined the Eagle Squadron and is leaving the next day. During a mission to intercept a Luftwaffe bombing raid, Rafe is shot down over the English Channel and is presumed killed in action. Evelyn mourns his death and turns to Danny, which spurs a new romance between the two. Meanwhile, Japan prepares to attack the US fleet for cutting off their oil supply.
On the night of December 6, Evelyn is shocked to discover Rafe standing outside her door, having survived his downing and spending the ensuing months trapped in Nazi-occupied France. Rafe, in turn, discovers Danny's romance with Evelyn and leaves for the Hula bar, where he is welcomed back by his overjoyed fellow pilots. Danny finds a drunken Rafe in the bar with the intention of making things right, but the two get into a fight. They drive away, avoiding being put in the brig when the military police arrive at the bar. The two later fall asleep in Danny's car.
Next morning, on December 7, the Imperial Japanese Navy begins its attack on Pearl Harbor. The US Pacific Fleet suffers severe damage in the surprise attack, and most of the defending airfields are obliterated before they are able to launch fighters to defend the harbor. Rafe and Danny manage to take off in P-40 fighter planes, and are able to shoot down several of the attacking planes. They later assist in the rescue of the crew of the capsized USS Oklahoma, but are too late to save the crew of the sinking USS Arizona.
The next day, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his Day of Infamy Speech to the nation and requests the US Congress declare a state of war with the Empire of Japan. The survivors attend a memorial service to honor the numerous dead. Later, Danny and Rafe are both assigned to travel stateside under newly promoted Lt. Colonel Doolittle for a secret mission. Before they leave, Evelyn reveals to Rafe that she is pregnant with Danny's child and intends to stay with Danny for the child's sake, but she reassures him that he is the one she will always truly love.
Upon their arrival in California, Danny and Rafe are both promoted to Captain and awarded the Silver Star, and volunteer for a secret mission under Doolittle. During the next three months, Rafe, Danny and other pilots train with specially modified B-25 Mitchell bombers. In April, the raiders are sent toward Japan on board USS Hornet. Their mission: bomb Tokyo, after doing so they will land in allied China. The mission is successful, except at the end Rafe's and Danny's planes crash. They are held at gunpoint by Japanese soldiers. A gunfight ensues, and Danny is mortally wounded shielding Rafe before the group are rescued by Chinese soldiers. Rafe tearfully reveals to Danny that Evelyn is pregnant with Danny's child; with his dying breaths, Danny tells Rafe that it is his child now. After the war, Rafe and Evelyn, now married, visit Danny's grave with Evelyn's son, named Danny after his biological father. Rafe then asks his stepson if he would like to go flying, and they fly off into the sunset in the old biplane that Rafe's father once owned.
Cast[]
Fictional characters[]
- Ben Affleck as the First Lieutenant (later Captain) Rafe McCawley, a USAAC combat pilot and one of the three protagonists. He is childhood friends with Danny Walker.
- Jesse James as young Rafe McCawley.
- Josh Hartnett as First Lieutenant (later Captain) Daniel "Danny" Walker, a USAAC combat pilot and Rafe's lifelong best friend, one of the three protagonists.
- Reiley McClendon as young Danny Walker.
- Kate Beckinsale as Lieutenant Evelyn Johnson, a nurse and Rafe and Danny's mutual love interest, one of the three protagonists.
- Tom Sizemore as Sergeant Earl Sistern, the lead aircraft mechanic at Wheeler Airfield.
- Jaime King as Betty Bayer, a nurse at Tripler Army Hospital and colleague of Evelyn's.
- Catherine Kellner as Barbara, a nurse at Tripler Army Hospital and colleague of Evelyn's.
- Jennifer Garner as Sandra, a nurse at Tripler Army Hospital and colleague of Evelyn's.
- William Lee Scott as First Lieutenant Billy Thompson, a USAAC combat pilot stationed at Wheeler Airfield.
- Ewen Bremner as First Lieutenant Red Winkle, a USAAC combat pilot stationed at Wheeler Airfield.
- Greg Zola as First Lieutenant Anthony Fusco, a USAAC combat pilot stationed at Wheeler Airfield.
- Michael Shannon as First Lieutenant Gooz Wood, a USAAC combat pilot stationed at Wheeler Airfield.
- Matt Davis as Second Lieutenant Joe McKinnon, a USAAC combat pilot stationed at Wheeler Airfield.
- Dan Aykroyd as Captain Harold Thurman, a US Naval Intelligence officer overseeing the monitoring of Japanese espionage efforts. He is a fictionalized composite of several real-world individuals.
- Kim Coates as Lieutenant Jack Richards, a United States Naval Aviator who participates in the Doolittle Raid.
- Sara Rue as Martha, a nurse at Tripler Army Hospital and colleague of Evelyn's.
- Tony Curran as Ian, a Royal Air Force combat pilot in Eagle Squadron.
- Nicholas Farrell as a Royal Air Force Squadron leader and combat pilot commanding the Eagle Squadron.
- William Fichtner as Mr. Walker, Danny's father.
- Steve Rankin as Mr. McCawley, Rafe's father.
- John Fujioka as General Nishikura, head of the Japanese Supreme War Council. He is a fictionalized composite of several real-world individuals.
- Leland Orser as Major Jackson, a USAAC officer injured during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
- Ted McGinley as Major Newman, a US Army officer.
- Andrew Bryniarski as Joe, a crewmember and amateur boxer aboard the USS West Virginia.
- Brandon Lozano as Baby Danny McCawley, Danny and Evelyn's son.
- Eric Christian Olsen as a B-25 gunner to McCawley.
- Sean Faris as a B-25 gunner to Walker.
Historical characters[]
Although not intended to be an entirely accurate depiction of events, the film includes portrayals of several historical figures:
- Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Petty Officer Second Class Doris "Dorie" Miller, a messman aboard the USS West Virginia who manned anti-aircraft guns during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
- Jon Voight as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the President of the United States.
- Colm Feore as Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, the commander-in-chief of the United States Fleet and the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
- Mako Iwamatsu as Kaigun Taishō (Admiral) Isoroku Yamamoto, Fleet Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy and mastermind of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
- Alec Baldwin as Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) Jimmy Doolittle, USAF commander and leader of the Doolittle Raid.
- Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Kaigun Chūsa (Commander) Minoru Genda, lead planner of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
- Scott Wilson as General George Marshall, the US Army's Chief of Staff.
- Graham Beckel as Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, a US Naval commander who later succeeded Kimmel's as the Pacific Fleet's Commander-in-Chief.
- Tom Everett as Frank Knox, Secretary of the Navy.
- Tomas Arana as Rear-Admiral Frank J. 'Jack' Fletcher, Commander Cruiser Division Four.
- Peter Firth as Captain Mervyn S. Bennion, commanding officer of the USS West Virginia.
- Glenn Morshower as Vice Admiral William F. 'Bull' Halsey Jr., commander of Carrier Division 2 and the Aircraft Battle Force.
- Yuji Okumoto as Kaigun-Daii (Lieutenant) Zenji Abe, bomber pilot in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
- Madison Mason as Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, commander of Cruiser Division Five.
- Michael Shamus Wiles as Captain Marc Andrew "Pete" Mitscher, captain of the USS Hornet.
- Seth Sakai as Takeo Yoshikawa, a Japanese spy.
Production[]
The proposed budget of $208 million that Bay and Bruckheimer wanted was an area of contention with Disney executives, since a great deal of the budget was to be expended on production aspects. Also controversial was the effort to change the film's rating from R to PG-13. Bay initially wanted to graphically portray the horrors of war and was not interested in primarily marketing the final product to a teen and young adult audience. However, even though he wanted to make an R-rated movie, Bay admitted that the problem was that young children would not be able to see it, and he felt that they should. As such, when he was ordered by Disney to make a PG-13 movie, he didn't argue. As a compromise, he was allowed to release an R-rated Director's Cut on DVD later on in 2002. Budget fights continued throughout the planning of the film, with Bay "walking" on several occasions. Dick Cook, chairman of Disney at the time, said "I think Pearl Harbor was one of the most difficult shoots of modern history."
In order to recreate the atmosphere of pre-war Pearl Harbor, the producers staged the film in Hawaii and used current naval facilities. Many active duty military members stationed in Hawaii and members of the local population served as extras during the filming. The set at Rosarito Beach in the Mexican state of Baja California was used for scale model work as required. Formerly the set of Titanic (1997), Rosarito was the ideal location to recreate the death throes of the battleships in the Pearl Harbor attack. A large-scale model of the bow section of USS Oklahoma mounted on the world's largest gimbal produced an authentic rolling and submerging of the doomed battleship. Production Engineer Nigel Phelps stated that the sequence of the ship rolling out of the water and slapping down would involve one of the "biggest set elements" to be staged. Matched with computer generated imagery, the action had to reflect precision and accuracy throughout.
The vessel most seen in the movie was USS Lexington, representing both USS Hornet and a Japanese carrier. All aircraft take-offs during the movie were filmed on board the Lexington, a museum ship in Corpus Christi, Texas. The aircraft on display were removed for filming and were replaced with film aircraft as well as World War II anti-aircraft turrets. Other ships used in filler scenes included USS Hornet, and USS Constellation during filming for the carrier sequences. Filming was also done on board the museum battleship USS Texas located near Houston, Texas.
Home media[]
- Main article: Pearl Harbor (video)
Pearl Harbor was released on DVD on December 4, 2001, three days before the actual 60th anniversary of the attack.
A two-disc Commemorative 60th Anniversary Edition was released on December 4, 2003. This release included the feature on disc one, and on disc two, Journey to the Screen, a 47-minute documentary on the monumental production of the film, Unsung Heroes of Pearl Harbor, a 50-minute documentary on little-known heroes of the attack, a Faith Hill music video, and theatrical trailers.
A Pearl Harbor DVD giftset that includes the Commemorative Edition two-disc set, National Geographic's "Beyond the Movie" feature, and a dual-sided map was released concurrently on December 4, 2001.
A deluxe Vista Series director's cut of the film was released on July 2, 2002. The extended cut of the film included the insertion of additional gore, Doolittle addressing the pilots before the raid, and the removal of a campfire scene; it runs at 184 minutes compared to the 183 minutes of the theatrical cut. This elaborate package includes four discs of film and bonus features, a replication of Roosevelt's speech, collectible promotional postcard posters, and a carrying case that resembles a historic photo album. The bonus features include all the features included on the commemorative edition, plus additional footage, including three audio commentaries: 1)Director and film historian, 2)Cast, and 3)Technical staff, features including The Surprise Attack—a multi-angle breakdown of the film's most exciting sequence (30 minutes) --includes video intro by Michael Bay, Multiple video tracks that include pre-visualization and final sequence, Commentaries from veterans, Pearl Harbor Historic Timeline - a set-top interactive feature produced by documentarian Charles Kiselyak (30 Minutes), Soldier's Boot Camp - This segment follows the actors as they take preparation for their roles to an extreme (30 Minutes)), One Hour Over Tokyo - The History Channel's documentary, Super-8 Montage - A collection of unseen super-8 footage shot for potential use in the movie by Michael Bay's Visual Assistant, Mark Palansky, Deconstructing Destruction - an in-depth conversation among filmmakers with interactive industrial light and magic sequences, and Nurse Ruth Erickson interview. Whereas the theatrical cut was rated "PG-13", the director's cut was rated "R".
On December 19, 2007 a 65th Anniversary Commemorative Edition Blu-ray was released.
Reception[]
Pearl Harbor received mostly negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 24% based on 194 reviews, with an average rating of 4.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Pearl Harbor tries to be the Titanic of war movies, but it's just a tedious romance filled with laughably bad dialogue. The 40-minute action sequence is spectacular, though." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 44 out of 100 based on 35 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
External links[]
- Pearl Harbor at IMDb
- Pearl Harbor at Box Office Mojo
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