Sunday, September 12, 2010

#92 - Midway


BACKSTORY:


“Midway” was released in 1976 and was meant to be the definitive treatment of the turning point battle in the Pacific in WWII. In some ways it is a dinosaur marking the end days of the epic old school war movies like “The Longest Day”. Similar to that film, it features an all-star cast and tells the story from both the American and enemy perspectives. Unlike “The Longest Day”, it is not based on a book by Cornelius Ryan and thus does not have Ryan’s deft blending of commanders and grunts roles. It also takes it easy on its audience by having the Japanese speak English. The movie was a disappointment at the box office in spite of its revolutionary Sensurround technology that was supposed to make the audience “feel” the battle. (It was one of only 4 movies made with this dead-end technology).

The producers made the decision to make as much use of actual war footage as possible. In addition, combat footage from other war films like “Tora! Tora! Tora!” are used. Admirably, the cinematographer tried to reduce the quality of the modern film to be more seamless with the circa WWII footage. It is an uneasy blend, however. The navy provided the U.S.S. Lexington (commissioned in 1943) which served for both the American and Japanese carrier scenes.

OPENING SCENE:

The movie opens with a written reminder that Midway was the turning point in the Pacific. It posits the theme that battles are a mixture of “planning, courage, error, and chance”. The audience is informed that they will be seeing actual combat footage. We then see the “Doolittle Raiders” taking off and bombing Japan in a seeming example of this. (Actually the footage is from the movie “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo”.)

The first scene is in Hiroshima on April 18, 1942 at the home of Admiral Yamamoto (the great Toshiro Mifune). He sees the raid on Japan as an opportunity to initiate his plan to destroy the American fleet in a decisive battle.

SUMMARY:

Cast members standing by a Hellcat playing a Wildcat
Matt Garth (Charlton Heston) arrives at intelligence headquarters at Pearl Harbor to see if they know where the payback for the Doolittle Raid will come. Intelligence nerd Rochefort tells him “something is stirring”. Garth’s son Tom (Eddie Albert) surprises him with his arrival at Pearl as a naval fighter pilot. The reunion is awkward as they have a dysfunctional relationship probably due to the Garths’ divorce. Tom has fallen in love with a local girl, but because her family is Japanese, they have been interned. Matt growls that he is not a bigot, but Tom’s timing is poor.

Yamamoto goes over his plan. It is very ambitious and accurately reflects the overconfidence and aggressiveness of the Japanese high command at this stage of the war. Some of his subordinates are leery, but he insists they must destroy the American fleet before America’s industrial might kicks in.

At Pearl Harbor, CINC Chester Nimitz (Henry Fonda playing him again after “In Harm’s Way”) gets briefed on the Battle of Coral Sea. The cryptanalysts led by Rochefort have determined the next Japanese target codenamed “AF” in Japanese messages. They concoct a scheme to get the Japanese to reveal that AF is Midway. The movie gives props to the code-breakers that made the victory possible.

Matt Garth meets the Nisei fiance Hiroku who explains that she is not a subversive. Not surprisingly, her parents are opposed to the marriage. In a later scene, Garth visits an intelligence officer and swallows his pride to successfully get the girl and her parents released. He then confronts Tom and cheesily tells him “you better shape up, Tiger or some hot-shot Japanese pilot is going to flame your ass!”  Cringe!

The movie now turns to the battle. It accurately walks through the main events interspersing combat footage with command decisions by both sides. The Japanese bombard Midway Island in a scene with lots of explosions. Meanwhile, both fleets have scout planes out looking for the other. However, the Japanese in their hubris do not think the Americans can be anywhere near. Commander Watanabe argues for a renewed attack on Midway. Adm. Nagumo reluctantly agrees necessitating switching the planes from ship-killing torpedoes to airfield-cratering bombs. In a seemingly screenwriters’ fiction (but in fact based on fact), the last Japanese scout plane discovers the American fleet causing Nagumo to reverse the order.

The American strike force is on its way led by the torpedo bombers. We see actual footage (albeit of later types of planes) blended with close-ups of the actors in front of a screen. The scene concentrates on George Gay who survives the suicide attack to end up bobbing in the middle of the battle. We hear the usual war movie radio chatter. Tom Garth is shot up and badly burned. Nagumo gives props to the American air crews by saying “they sacrifice themselves like samurai”.

a Japanese carrier gets hit
As the last torpedo plane splashes with no hits to show for their sacrifice, the dive bombers arrive above the four Japanese carriers. In moments three models of carriers are in flames. One of the bombers radios “Scratch one flattop!” (Wrong battle – the quote is from Coral Sea) The Hiryu is unhit for no reason since it is plainly visible. (In actuality, it was miles away in a squal.)

The Americans return with Tom in a lot of distress. He crash lands on the carrier deck, but survives. The filmmakers use famous footage of a Hellcat crashing. (Tom was supposed to be in a Wildcat and the actual pilot walked away from the crash.)

There’s still that one Japanese carrier out there and planes from it have hit the Yorktown so another strike force is organized. One of the hits is by a kamikaze in a cool shot of the plane coming right at the bridge. Pilots are needed for the strike force and guess who volunteers? If you guessed Charleton Heston, you have obviously seen some war movies. Heck you have seen some movies, period.

Garth leads the attack on the Hiryu, but he misses. Just kidding. His bomb lands smack in the middle of the deck causing the model to catch fire. Like son, like father, Matt has plane problems and crashes, but burns on return. He’s a martyr!

THE FINAL SCENE:
Back at Pearl, Tom is put in an ambulance. Hiroku is there, but oddly shows no emotion. Nimitz wonders “were we better or just luckier?”

RATINGS:

Realism - 8

Action - 7

Acting - 8

Accuracy - 9

Plot - 7

Overall - 7



WOULD CHICKS DIG IT?

Doubtful. The tacked on love story does not overcome the fact that most of the movie is old white guys playing army (or in this case navy).

ACCURACY:

The movie is commendably accurate. If you want to learn about the Battle of Midway and do not want to read, it is a good tutorial. The main facts and chronology are factual. The actors portraying real historical figures get the personalities right. The little things like the AF code-breaking gambit are incorporated with good effect and show the filmmakers cared about getting things right. The Japanese point of view is shown with sympathy. They are not demonized like in a 1940’s or 1950’s movie. In fact, the characters are portrayed as able and intelligent, which is what they were. Their hubris brings them down.

The love story involving the Issei parents and the Nisei daughter manages to bring the unfortunate mistreatment of Japanese-Americans into the film. Although the internment policy has nothing directly to do with the Battle of Midway, I can forgive the makers for reminding us that we were not perfect as a country in WWII. However, although it is a fact that Japanese-Americans were put in internment camps in America, very few of the families were interned in Hawaii and those that were were segregated by sex (unlike Horoku’s parents).

The most obvious inaccuracies in the movie have to do with the combat footage. Any person knowledgeable of WWII aircraft will notice planes that did not fight in the Battle of Midway. For instance, there are numerous times when F6F Hellcats are portraying F4F Wildcats. Tom Garth takes off in a Wildcat and crashes in a Hellcat. Heck, there are even some British and German planes in dogfight scenes that were shot for the movie “The Battle of Britain”. Also, the U.S.S. Lexington is not the right class of carrier. With that said, I do not think your average viewer cares and the makers deserve credit for trying to use as much real footage as possible.

Some experts quibble about the kamikaze hitting the bridge. The fact is kamikaze attacks were not policy at the time of the Battle of Midway. However, there were examples of individual Japanese pilots deciding to crash into the enemy earlier in the war. Usually it was when their plane was crippled. There is no evidence this happened in the battle. It’s the coolest visual in the movie so let’s cut it some slack.

When I saw “Midway” in a theater in 1976, I can remember leaving the theater outraged that the movie concluded without reference to the sinking of the Yorktown. It seemed an attempt to make the victory perfect instead of great. For me this cancelled out a lot of the fairness of the movie. Looking back, I may have been too historically fanatical, but I still think it was a flawed decision by the filmmakers to not mar the feel-good ending.

CRITIQUE:

“Midway” begs to be compared to its sisters “The Longest Day” (1962), “Tora! Tora! Tora!” (1970), and “A Bridge Too Far” (1977). They are all epics with all-star casts. Each looks at both sides of the battle. Each wants to be the definitive account of an historical event and they succeed. They all concentrate on command decisions. The most obvious comparison is to “Bridge” (#94). They are only one year apart. They each concentrate mainly on leadership characters, although “Bridges” has its Dohun representing the average Joe and “Midway” has Gay. “Bridge” forgoes the fictional main character and the cheesy love story. It has more lusty action scenes which could be because its more visceral to witness boots on the ground than planes in the air. I will have to watch “Tora!” again to compare it to “Midway”, but I feel “Bridge” is a better movie than “Midway”.

As far as “The Longest Day”, no comparison. It amazes me that while “Midway” owes its existence to the granddaddy of all-star battle epics, it ignores the formula that made “Longest” special. “The Longest Day” has the generals, but also the privates so you get the full spectrum. Most of the enlisted men are portrayed by second tier actors, but they hold their own with the John Waynes. Remember Red Buttons’ character? It also has some humor. There is no humor in “Midway” and the bit players are pretty bad. Eddie Albert as Tom Garth is cringe-worthy. TLD did not build its plot around a fictional character, either.

This is not to say the movie is bad. It works hard to be accurate. It is fair to the Japanese. The score by John Williams is not overly patriotic. It tells the story of an important event in history in a more interesting way than a documentary would. You get to see lots of actual combat footage. Best of all - Charlton Heston dies.

35 comments:

  1. I enjoyed this review, especially the parts about the aircraft that has been used. A fair depiction of the Japanese is a good thing. Is it as well done as in Tora, Tora, Tora? Do you know the movie Go for Broke about Nisei soldiers in WWII in France. I read a review on amazon.co.uk.Sounded like something to discoveer.

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  2. Thanks. I plan on doing a "Dueling Movies - Battle of Britain vs. Tora! Tora! Tora!" in the near future and will probably reference "Midway" in it. But for now I will say that Tora is better than Midway mainly because it does not have the lame subplot and the acting is better. It is the gold standard for non-CGI air combat. "Midway" used a lot of footage from it.
    I have not seen "Go for Broke" in decades. I recall it as your standard 1940s war film. Nothing to get excited about. BTW I think they were in Italy.

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  3. You are right, they were in Italy, I muddled it up. Curious to see if you think Battle of Britain is better, I always thought it was hard to top.

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  4. Thank you for this review. I had to watch the movie for my American history class, in which I had to write a review paper on how accurate the film was. A very helpful review. Thank you. Aside from this, for an optional extra credit in my history class, I plan on writing a paper on "Downfall," and the accuracy portrayed in that film.

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  5. Read Walter Lord's book on Midway when i was 10 or 11 and saw this film when i was 12 in a drive-in. Even at 12, I was very disapointed with all the grainy stock footage. If you compare Tora Tora Tora and battle of Britain please give them extra marks for their SPFX work. Agree about the Yorktown. Reading the book in the wee hours of the night i was choked up from Lord's descriptions of the great ship dying. Geaorge Gay was my favorite Midway survivor-interviewee from lord's book. I was glad to see him get some screen time in the movie, despite mostly being seen in long shots.

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  6. I read that book too. This is one of my favorite battles and I love covering it in my American History classes. I love the fact that five minutes turned the war around and the role pure luck played in the outcome. Considering you usually have one shot at a battle like this (unless you are Stalingrad), the movie could have been worse but should have been better.

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  7. Great review. I am pretty much in agreement with you on all points. This could have been one of my favorite war movies of all time but that insipid love story and the acting of Albert and Kokubo nearly ruined it. Come to think of it, Heston was pretty lame as well. Wish they'd have written the story around the marines on Midway or the seamen on the carriers.

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  8. I was stationed on USS Lexington when filming was done in Pensacola FL and Gulf of Mexico. Had a blast, even came in close contact with Mr Heston.When film was released we were given private showing,once again had great time. Viewed film as entertainment.

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  9. I watched "Midway" last night and the most concise thing I can say about it is this movie doesn't know what it wants to be.

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  10. Can't wait to see Roland Emmerich's take on this, just like how how Christopher Nolan did his own take on Dunkirk. Two films with the same title again.

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  11. Are you going to review Roland Emmerich's film of the same name when it comes out?

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  12. Yes. I'll be doing a Now Showing review. I won't be going into the theater with high hopes, however.

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    1. They just released the trailer for it. So far, it looks terrible and inaccurate. Plus, the Dunkirk like style is just shameful (and I LOVED Dunkirk).

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    2. I'm not so sure about it, given Emmerich is directing it, and the dogfight scenes in the trailer look unconvincing.

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  13. I have seen the trailer and the movie is going to SUCK! I don't respect Emmerich and the trailer reminds me he made the atrocious "Independence Day". I'm still going to see it.

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    1. I completely share your view. It's too bad - modern special effects could create a very realistic and compelling depiction of the battle that could support a strong underlying story. It looks like those effects will instead be used to create a cartoonish spectacle offered for the sake of ... cartoonish spectacle.

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  17. I actually don't like the movie. Having the Japanese speaking English ruins it for me, plus the shameless use of stock footage from other better war films like "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and "Battle of Britain", is just too obvious.

    On the other hand, I am surprised that many of the characters, especially the Japanese, were real people and not fictional names. Besides, it still looks better then the upcoming Emmerich's Midway.

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  18. I have no problems with your take. I agree that having the Japanese speak English was a mistake. It didn't hurt "The Longest Day" which "Midway" was clearly hoping to emulate. Assuming the audience is stupid and lazy is never a good route for a war movie.

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  19. Where are the Grumman Avengers? The most successful torpedo bombers of WW2 that came into service 1942. The U.S. torpedo bombers in the movie looked more like the Japanese version.
    Very disappointing for a good movie.

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  20. There were a few Avengers that flew from Midway, but it was not fully in service with the carriers, so the movie is accurate in portraying the Devastators.

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  21. It's no wonder that this film is pretty much forgotten, though it probably may have received attention thanks to the new one. This film made extensive use of footage from several other better movies (1970’s Tora Tora Tora, 1944’s Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, and 1960’s Hawai Middouei daikaikusen: Taiheiyo no arashi), along with archival footage- too much of it. The film also makes little to no mention of the Midway air group’s attacks, and shoehorns a clichĂ© love story into the plot. A for-TV version produced even more soap-opera storylines with another love sub-plot between Garth and a woman who attempts to get him to settle down. Adding insult to injury is the fact that the Japanese actors are speaking English, which certainly interferes with the audience’s suspension of disbelief.

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  22. There was something about Shigeta's Nagumo that's dare I say it - was moving. Even if it is cringey to hear him speak in English, he delivers great lines like "Fifteen brave crews...they sacrifice themselves like Samurai, these Americans" - as if seeing the Americans he is fighting as being no different than his own Japanese crews. I actually felt awful for him in his last scene where the Akagi is bombed. Where he is told, "Admiral, you must transfer your flag. The cruiser Nagara is close by," and he can barley get the words out, "Advise Admiral Yamaguchi", you actually see in that moment, that he knows Japan has lost the war. Of course, the film does remind the viewer that Japan has to lose the war for its own good.

    That being said, his last scene confuses me. Is Nagumo meant to be injured in the sequence or just stunned? Because as far as I know, he suffered no injuries in the battle, though he obviously had to have sustained scrapes and bruises by hard knocks while being tossed about the bombing Akagi as the explosions went off around him. The buffeting he would had to have encountered on the attacked ship (especially the sight of his own flagship and two of his other carriers being wrecked within a few minutes) undoubtedly would have dazed him and left him in hardly a condition to exert even his remaining confidence in victory. I have read Walter Lord's book on Midway, and according to accounts, after the bombing, he was standing near the compass looking in a trance-like daze, and reluctant to leave the Akagi, just replying, “It is not time yet".

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    1. I would think maybe he had suffered a concussion. This might explain his agreeing not to go down with the ship. I have to believe if he was unaffected, he would have chosen to die.

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    2. During the bombing of the Akagi, Nagumo would have experienced hard knocks while being tossed about the carrier as the explosions went off around him. The buffeting he encountered during the bombing, as well as the loss of two of his carriers would have left him in no condition to exert even his remaining confidence in victory. As Nagumo began to grasp the enormity of what had happened, he appears to have gone in a state of shock. Witnesses saw Nagumo standing near the ship’s compass looking out at the flames on his flagship and two other carriers in a trance-like daze. Despite being asked to abandon ship, Nagumo didn’t move and was reluctant to leave the Akagi, just muttering, “It's not time yet,”. Nagumo's chief of staff, Rear Admiral RyÅ«nosuke Kusaka, was able to dissuade him to leave the critically damaged Akagi. Nagumo, with a barely perceptible nod, with tears in his eyes, agreed to go.

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  23. Even if the romantic subplot were removed this movie would be slow. Maybe the pacing was deliberate and meant to add a sense of realism to events, or maybe I've become too acclimated to modern action-fests. Still, The Longest Day and even A Bride Too Far didn't seem to drag like this, even though both had their share of quiet moments and extended scenes. I wonder if this film might benefit from a fan edit.

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    1. It is clear to me that Midway's plot was designed to lure in a female audience. The same thinking that led to Pearl Harbor. PH is an inferior movie, but you have to admire its commitment to bring in the ladies.

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  24. Similar to Isoroku Yamamoto's sleeping giant quote from the 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora!, there is no evidence that Nagumo made the sacrifice themselves like samurai statement.

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  25. I was interested in the portrayal of Japanese Admiral Nagumo in the three war movies — “Tora! Tora! Tora!, and both Midway features. He’s generally depicted as an old, cautious, perhaps overly guarded commander, which he was. The 1976 film is the most sympathetic. It accurately portrays Nagumo’s communication problems and shows his demoralising when the Akagi blew up.

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  26. https://archive.org/details/midway-exetended-version

    Someone has uploaded the long lost TV cut.

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  27. https://rumble.com/vu94ok-midway-1976-tv-cut.html

    Also here

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