An Angry Historian & Writer

Rating: Null/10 (16 July 2001)

As a professional historian and published author I find it impossible to avoid throwing in a few comments about this film. I finally went to see it this weekend (July 14th) long after the hoopla surrounding its release, and yes I did go primed as a critic due to what I heard from students who take my course on WWII.
I left the theater feeling angry, angry over the fact that the film could have been far more effective, entertaining, and revealing simply by being respectful of the history of that fateful day. Of course I understand the need for profit in film. I've had several books optioned for the screen, and whether I am writing fiction or history, I of course have an eye on the bottom line. And yet I would like to think that when it comes to certain subjects, that these subjects would be approached with the respect they deserve. Pearl Harbor, D-Day, Gettysburg, the deaths of Kennedy, King and Lincoln are sacred moments in our history and when done on film should at least be treated with some respect. I am not asking for a somber documentary, or even a high tech remake of "Tora Tora Tora," but I was hoping for a bit more than the trivia dished out with an obvious eye towards marketing to the 18 year old female audience. I can not fathom why second rate directors and production teams feel compelled to trash over history in favor of improbable fiction, when so often the real stories are far more compelling. Spielberg did this beautifully in both Schindler and Private Ryan. The real history was respected, the fiction blended in with skill and grace, creating films that are the highest level of entertainment, while at the same time being films worthy of historical respect. I use both in my classes, and the most successful class I've ever taught involved bringing in four D-Day vets and opening the class with the first fifteen minutes of Private Ryan. I would never dream of insulting my class, or veterans, with the use of Pearl Harbor. Of course I could carry on about the absurd plot lines, (come on, the guy would of gotten a telegram out the day he got out of France), the technical screw ups (1980s frigates as targets, flying in the wrong direction when the B-25s head to China. . .the sun is setting behind them. . . and the planes did not bomb as a group, and why did Affleck get on a train in New York to go to England when the Queen Mary was sitting in the harbor) but I think the issue runs far deeper. It is an issue of all the lost potentials of this film. Sure, go ahead and create fictional characters in a real setting, some of the best books ever about history are actually historical fiction, but what was lost was the potentials of the real stories. Forty five minutes less of poorly written romance replaced with a rich cast of supporting actors playing real roles could have transformed the film. When the "Oklahoma" rolled over hundreds of men were trapped inside. They touched on it in the film, but what a lost moment for a real character, the boxer who fought Dorie for example, with just a couple dozen lines of writing to develope him out and we could have better felt the horror of it. Yes we did see Dorie, but it was sensed that the role was almost an obligatory salute to diversity, rather than a heart felt introduction to the gallant role played not just by African Americans but also Latinos and Filipinos serving that day. How frustrating---all the lost stories that could have been brought to life. The Japanese side deserved far more, instead it was reduced to a few attempts at imitating Kurosawa's "Ran" with the outdoor sets and banners. I did like the dialogue of the pilot writing to his father, but damn it, here was a chance to create a real character, a pilot with a family, willing to die for his country, and then indeed he does die, shot down in the raid. If we had followed his perspective for just a few minutes the raiders would have been far more than soulless killing machines. The only human touch I felt for the Japanese side was the gunner waving the children off, a genuine act which did reveal at least some humanity on a side that fought brilliantly even if it was for a cause that was wrong. As an historian yet again I left a theater frustrated at what could have been, and angered how a crucial moment in our history was reduced to trivia. I must repeat that there are certain moments in history which are sacred to a people and should be handled as such when someone wishes to make money off of them. This film trashed the memory of that day of infamy, and tragically another twenty years must now pass before someone attempts to do it right. Unfortunately those brave few survivors of that day will no longer be with us to see it. I just hope that the next "historical" film that comes out does in some small way truly connect to the real history, and in so doing both the producers and the public will profit from the result.