Pearl Harbor (2001)

Director:

Michael Bay

Writer (WGA):

Randall Wallace (written by)

Release Date:

25 May 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Romance | War

Tagline:

It takes a moment to change history. It takes love to change lives.

Plot:

Pearl Harbor follows the story of two best friends, Rafe and Danny, and their love lives as they go off to join the war.

Plot Keywords:

Pearl Harbor | Friend | Best Friend | Nurse | Pilot

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 10 wins & 34 nominations

Cast

Ben Affleck	...	Capt. Rafe McCawley
Josh Hartnett	...	Capt. Danny Walker
Kate Beckinsale	...	Nurse Lt. Evelyn Johnson
Cuba Gooding Jr.	...	Petty Officer Doris Miller
Jon Voight	...	President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Alec Baldwin	...	Lt. Col. James Doolittle
Tom Sizemore	...	Sgt. Earl Sistern
William Lee Scott	...	Lt. Billy Thompson
Greg Zola	...	Lt. Anthony Fusco
Ewen Bremner	...	Lt. Red Winkle
Jaime King	...	Nurse Betty Bayer (as James King)
Catherine Kellner	...	Nurse Barbara
Jennifer Garner	...	Nurse Sandra
Sara Rue	...	Nurse Martha
Michael Shannon	...	Lt. Gooz Wood

Also Known As:

Pearl Harbour (UK) (promotional title)
Tennessee (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sustained intense war sequences, images of wounded, brief sensuality and some language.

Runtime:

183 min | USA:184 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-8 (one 70 mm print for Tokyo Dome, Japan) | DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

Taiwan:PG-12 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Alberta) | Iceland:12 | Malaysia:U | Brazil:12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:MA (director's cut) | Australia:M | Chile:TE | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 (f) (w) | Germany:16 (f) (director's cut) | Hong Kong:IIA | India:U | Ireland:12PG (original rating) | Ireland:12 (video rating) | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M (original rating) | New Zealand:R16 (director's cut) | Norway:15 | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | Sweden:15 (director's cut) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | USA:R (director's cut)

Filming Locations:

Angel's Gate Park - 3601 Gaffey Street, San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

The takeoff sequence for Doolittle's Raid was filmed onboard the USS Constellation CV-64 off the coast of San Diego, CA, and the USS Lexington Museum CV-16 in Corpus Christi, TX.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Doolittle raid is loaded with errors. First, the 16 bombers are shown flying together at somewhat high altitude and in formation on the way to Japan, whereas each plane actually flew the mission as a single sortie at very low altitude to avoid radar detection. Next, the Japanese targets are shown to suffer very heavy bombing damage, whereas very little damage was actually done (the psychological damage to the Japanese, however, was considerable). Finally, Japanese land and air defense forces are shown to offer heavy resistance to the American bombers during the attack, whereas the bombers were not detected before the attack and were unopposed during the attack.

Quotes:

Gooz: Be careful with the lady folk... they cloud the mind.
Danny: Thanks Gooz.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Stargate: Atlantis: Midway (#4.17)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Jumpin' at the Woodside

Someone get me a pair of scissors!

What a great film this could have been! The recreation of the attack on Pearl Harbor is some of the best film-making ever - an extraordinary and moving sequence made utterly believable by state of the art special effects. It ranks up there with the opening sequence from "Saving Private Ryan" and the sinking of the "Titanic" as one of the most harrowing "disaster" sequences filmed in recent years. But like both those other two films, PEARL HARBOR is desperately in need of a decent script to frame the disaster sequence.

Okay - I could almost accept the hokey old love triangle romantic plot - certainly the stars are great to look at - but the dialogue really sucked: "I don't think I'll ever look at another sunset without thinking of you". Please! And all those hero shots from the ground, and the slow motion love bits, and the soppy music, and the eternal sunsets...

But what this film really needed was an editor! The climax of the film is the attack on Pearl Harbor - an American defeat. But it seems the film-makers decided that the American audience wouldn't be satisfied with this - and so the movie grinds on and on for another hour or so dramatising a revenge attack on Japan. And we're supposed to believe that this attack was fought by the very same guys who were on the ground in Hawaii. I mean we all know that America won the war in the end, so did we really need this long epilogue?

Personally I'd cut out all the Roosevelt and the Japanese high command scenes and concentrate on the experiences of the people on the ground at Pearl Harbor. The Japanese stuff was all completely unbelievable anyway. The sad loss would be the superb performance of Jon Voight as Roosevelt - but maybe they could make another film about him. I'd also end the film after the attack at Pearl Harbor, as the survivors pick up the pieces. So why not have a shorter Director's Cut - a novel concept - that makes this film the great film it could have been. If you like I'll lend the scissors!