What I learned from the Midway Movie

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Encircled

Nowt wrong with being a professional Northerner!

warspite1

Aye, 'appen as maybe [;)]

[Anachro]

Just saw this thread. Most of the criticism in the OP post strikes me as petty, but par for the course of any Hollywood war movie. I'm less interested in that than I am in how the movie does as a cohesive, if simplistic, depiction of the battle itself.

[TOMLABEL]

ORIGINAL: Big B
Seriously guys, We all know that this is the of era comic book action, ...and for the people on this forum to comment on a modern movie about WW2 - is like university professors commenting on Jr High School papers...it's pretty low hanging fruit.

I seriously want to ask at this point - "does anyone really think you're going to see movies like 'A Bridge Too Far' or 'The Longest Day' again?" ...

...
I'm just happy that Midway was even made, and pretty much straight up told a big story.

Enough of my rant.

Well said, B. I enjoyed the Midway movie and was surprised as well that it was even considered. I was impressed by the CGI work on the ship details, etc. It was well done.
I think you are spot on with your comments here.

TOMLABEL

[rkr1958]

Here's a movie I highly recommend. Not "based on a true story" but is a "true story".

Against the Sun.

[fcooke]

Seems interesting - where did that TBD ditch?

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: TOMLABEL

ORIGINAL: Big B
Seriously guys, We all know that this is the of era comic book action, ...and for the people on this forum to comment on a modern movie about WW2 - is like university professors commenting on Jr High School papers...it's pretty low hanging fruit.

I seriously want to ask at this point - "does anyone really think you're going to see movies like 'A Bridge Too Far' or 'The Longest Day' again?" ...

...
I'm just happy that Midway was even made, and pretty much straight up told a big story.

Enough of my rant.

Well said, B. I enjoyed the Midway movie and was surprised as well that it was even considered. I was impressed by the CGI work on the ship details, etc. It was well done.
I think you are spot on with your comments here.

TOMLABEL

I finally saw it.

Movies made in Hollywood don't have to be badly made films with poor film-making decisions. War films made in Hollywood today don't have to be action films. Somehow the genre of action has been applied to historical war films. War action can be done seriously and somewhat accurately and still be entertaining, make money and win awards (Saving Private Ryan, Dunkirk).

My problem with this film is exactly what I thought it would be. It has nothing to do with the generation of viewers, but more with poor decision making. To see the innaccuracies during battle scenes that were completely superfluous to the enjoyment of an average young viewer is where I just say it's bad film making.

I'm sorry but I do expect more and know it's possible. We will see other good WW2 films, and they will be more accurate. My view is they will be more authentic and more powerful, popular and award-winning as well.

[rkr1958]

ORIGINAL: fcooke

Seems interesting - where did that TBD ditch?

They ditched in the South Pacific. They survived for 34-days and traveled over 1000 miles in their tiny life raft. They eventually reached land in the Pukapuka atoll. Here's a picture of the (actual) crew shortly after "rescue".

Bombardier Tony Pastula, pilot Harold Dixon, and radioman Gene Aldrich (left to right),
Read more at https://www.airspacemag.com/military-av ... v7L7QoV.99

[rkr1958]

Check out BOM's November newsletter. http://www.midway42.org/Backissues/2019/20191101.aspx

It includes a reference to WITP-AE.

War in The Pacific by Matrix

I have both versions of the game (the basic game and the Admiral’s Edition), and have to admit I’ve only the Admiral’s Edition once or twice as it is rather intimidating because of all the additional information the player is bombarded with during the game. Also, while the former does not include some information for simplification and game playability, the latter seems to add more into the game. Also, the older edition no longer plays on Windows 7 or 10, but the Admiral’s Edition has been adapted for use on both

[dr.hal]

I've just seen this thread so I'm a bit late for an input. However in relation to war films in general one thing is certain, they are expensive and there is a driving need to make a profit (which is certainly understandable). But realism/historical accuracy is not necessarily the enemy of profit. Back in the 70s with Tora Tora Tora (TTT), the producers made an extraordinary effort to obtain realism as well as suspense (thus audience draw, thus profit). Now TTT didn't make much of a profit as I recall, however my point is that it CAN be done. Back then the film used t-13 trainers, I believe, to "act" as certain aircraft which was understandable an acceptable compromise rather than build replica aircraft. However today we have computer graphics that can replicate ANYTHING and it costs as much to replicate a Devastator, SBD or Zero as it does to do a t-13. So today, more so than in the 70s, films can make accurate and historical graphics at the same cost as making very inaccurate graphics. Additionally, most films hire "expert advisors" such as ex-military officers, historians, etc. Hiring knowledgeable ones is about the same cost as hiring bad ones (another illustration that comes to mind is the TV series "Pacific" in which the USMC movie actors in the Guadalcanal scenes were using Springfield bolt action rifles, which is a small thing but ACCURATE rather than going with a more familiar weapon such as the M-1). It just takes a bit more effort. YET, in modern war films I don't see this effort being made. I've not seen Midway and I'm not sure I'm going to. However one thing that would draw this movie viewer in a heartbeat is if I read in this thread or other reviews, that the movie was historically accurate to fault! If movie makers can get the eyelids of a T-Rex to look so "realistic" for it's Jurassic series then I think they could do the same for a Kate or SBD......

[geofflambert]

ORIGINAL: Big B


I seriously want to ask at this point - "does anyone really think you're going to see movies like 'A Bridge Too Far' or 'The Longest Day' again?"

General Gavin was terribly miscast with Ryan O'Neal. That still burns me.

[BBfanboy]

Tora Tora Tora may not have made much profit at the time, but it has been on TV so many times there must be tremendous residuals paid to the film's owners.