Battle of Midway (1976)
"Midway" (original title)

A dramatization of the battle that turned out to be the turning point of the Pacific Theatre of World War II.

Director:

Jack Smight

Writer:

Donald S. Sanford

Stars:

Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, James Coburn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlton Heston	...	Captain Matt Garth
Henry Fonda	...	Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
James Coburn	...	Captain Vinton Maddox
Glenn Ford	...	Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance
Hal Holbrook	...	Commander 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
Biff McGuire	...	Captain Miles Browning

Storyline

The summer of 1942 brought Naval stalemate to the Pacific as the American and Japanese fleets stood at even numbers each waiting for the other to begin a renewed offensive. "Midway" tells the story of this historic June battle where a Japanese carrier force, in an attempt to occupy Midway island and lure the American fleet to destruction, was meet valiently by US forces operating off of three aircraft carriers and numerous escort ships. It was the first battle in which naval air power was extensivly used, and at its conclusion the Japanese Carrier force had been completly destroyed which lead the way for the US 1943 and 44 offensives which would eventually bring the Pacific War to a close.

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Plot Keywords:

battle | pacific | midway | midway island | aircraft carrier | 

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Taglines:

The glory, the suspense, the spectacular drama of the men who won the most decisive naval battle in U.S. history.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 June 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Battle of Midway

Filming Locations:

Naval Air Station Point Mugu, Point Mugu, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 2,046,974 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mirisch Corporation, The, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

Sensurround (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (archive footage) Black and White (archive footage) Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The clip showing "Tom Garth's" plane crashing and breaking in two is one of the most used crash sequences from WWII. In the actual crash, the pilot was hardly even shaken up and immediately climbed out on his own.

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Goofs

Several Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters appear in the movie. This type did not see combat until 1943, the year after this movie takes place.

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Quotes

Captain Vinton Maddox: Admiral, these enemy radio intercepts that your intelligence unit has been accumulating...
Admiral Nimitz: Very detailed, aren't they?
Captain Vinton Maddox: Too damned detailed, Admiral. Do you remember what happened just before December 7th?
Admiral Nimitz: The Japanese flooded the airwaves with fake messages.
Captain Vinton Maddox: Yes. These could be carbon copies. Washington's convinced that Yamamoto's feeding this stuff to you in order to cover his real intentions.
Admiral Nimitz: Very definite possibility.
Captain Vinton Maddox: Well then, sir, how can you still insist...
Admiral Nimitz: Because it is my judgement ...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in Sneak Previews: The Best of 1976 (1977)

User Reviews

A good movie about how grand battles are won and lost

I remember reading that this movie was made primarily because they had excessive footage from when they shot "Tora! Tora! Tora! and some of the shot looks like they did came from that film. But this film also includes old actual shots taken by service men and news people.

The movie is based on the American victory off Midway Island. The movie was made 30 years after WWII and a couple of years after Vietnam, so it doesn't have a jingoistic feel to it. It has more of a matter of fact feel to it, more a docudrama than propaganda.

The movie is different from most war movies because it shows how Grand battles are won and lost. There isn't much individual heroism from ordinary soldiers shown. Instead we see how commanders, in this case admirals make decisions and take risks usually based on sketchy information. They put their reputations on line, along with the safety of their men, and the security of their nations. We see how the outcome of a battle can hinged on risky decisions or sometimes on indecision. We see how commanders have to sweat out their decisions as History hangs on the balance. Yes! History! This battle after all is considered the turning point of the War in the Pacific.

In this movie decisions are made on what certain letters mean, whether enemy carriers are where they are supposed to be. If viewers give it the appropriate attention, they will see that this movie plays like a giant chess match. The outcome determined by gutsy moves and bad decisions, sometimes indecision.

The movie boasts an impressive cast which include, Henry Fonda, Glenn Ford, Robert Mitchum, Cliff Robertson, Charlton Heston and they all do fine jobs. They play the typical Grand characters in epic movies, they move the story along but has no personal stories themselves. The one personal story belongs to Edward Albert, who plays Heston's son. He's not very convincing and playing opposite a pro like Mr. Heston, he comes across as being weak almost amateurish.

The movie is good but far from great. I love how the filmmakers remained true to the events. But the special effects looked cheap and the use of actual combat footage feels inappropriate and even exploitive. Nevertheless I think it's a good film not to be missed by Military History buffs.