Being British I'm not familiar with the history of the ship that this film is based on, but have taken time to do a little research. Clearly many elements of the film are true to the life of USS Franklin and the men who sailed on her, even down to the orchestra.
The original film taken during the attack is very impactive and one cannot imagine the hell the men on board endured and knowing many were dying horribly.
I found the film to be actually quite understated unlike many gung ho war films and indeed it has the feel of a documentary. It was easy to become invested in the characters and to care about what would happen to them. It was obvious that aside from the professional actors the majority of those on screen were navy men, adding additional realism.
As an ensemble film it gives opportunity for some of the actors in smaller roles to have their moment of stardom and many lived up to it, a few going on to bigger careers e.g. Claude Akins.
The film is one of the few that I've seen Richard Boone in a sympathetic role. William Bendix is William Bendix but I am always happy to see him as he always adds to a film.
The only aspect of the film I didn't like was the voice over, I don't think it added anything and was distracting on occasions.
I would have liked to know what happened to the some of the characters e.g the USNavy flier and his side kick and what happened to the dog?
Hard to call it an enjoyable film knowing it was based on reality but it is very watchable.
The original film taken during the attack is very impactive and one cannot imagine the hell the men on board endured and knowing many were dying horribly.
I found the film to be actually quite understated unlike many gung ho war films and indeed it has the feel of a documentary. It was easy to become invested in the characters and to care about what would happen to them. It was obvious that aside from the professional actors the majority of those on screen were navy men, adding additional realism.
As an ensemble film it gives opportunity for some of the actors in smaller roles to have their moment of stardom and many lived up to it, a few going on to bigger careers e.g. Claude Akins.
The film is one of the few that I've seen Richard Boone in a sympathetic role. William Bendix is William Bendix but I am always happy to see him as he always adds to a film.
The only aspect of the film I didn't like was the voice over, I don't think it added anything and was distracting on occasions.
I would have liked to know what happened to the some of the characters e.g the USNavy flier and his side kick and what happened to the dog?
Hard to call it an enjoyable film knowing it was based on reality but it is very watchable.