Product: Midway (Collector's Edition) (1976)
Rating: 4.0
THE TURNING POINT OF THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC
The Battles of Midway and Guadalcanal marked the turning point of the War in the Pacific against Japan. As Admiral Yamamoto had prophecied, Japan would raise havoc with the Americans and British for six months, but after that all bets were off. This motion picture gives an interesting, entertaining view of this battle which is one of the most decisive single military engagements in history. The flaws of the film have been noted by others but it is still well worth seeing. I particularly liked the performances by Hal Holbrook as the eccentric genius, Commander Joseph Rochefort who was in charge of the American code-breaking project and Henry Fonda who plays Admiral Chester Nimitz. In a departure from other World War II films about arrogant prima-donnas like Generals George Patton and Douglas MacArthur (not to take away anything from their undoubted talents as military leaders), Nimitz is portrayed here as a cool, mild mannered commander who, in spite of these qualities, is willing to take bold risks and who frankly admits after the battle that simple dumb luck was a major factor in his great triumph. Rochefort is seen as a highly competant man representing the finest tradition of American ingenuity but who has many personal foibles such as first appearing in the film wearing a house robe over his uniform and later expressing joy when told that the Japanese were attacking Midway Island just as he predicted. When given funny looks by the men around him, he just shrugs it off and says "Well, you know what I mean!" I also appreciated the performance of James Shigeta as Admiral Nagumo who was the commander of the Midway force. We see his fatal indecisevness and caution (this was also apparent in his refusal to order a second strike at Pearl Harbor to destroy the harbor facilities which would also come back later to haunt the Japanese). He comments that the Americans "fight like samurai" which was much to the surprise of the Japanese commanders who had developed contempt for the Americans during their early run of easy victories (the same flaw that General Robert E. Lee demonstrated at the Battle of Gettysburg). The film shows the almost suicidal attacks by the American aircraft based on Midway Island in their defense against the Japanese aerial onslaught and the tragic attacks on the Japanese carriers by the American torpedo bombers who were wiped out and whose courage even moved the Japanese who witnessed it. Finally, we witness the almost unbearable tension outlined on the sweat-drenched faces of Admirals Spruance and Fletcher sitting on the bridges of their carriers, listing to the transmissions from their pilots carrying out the attacks on the enemy. Watching this motion picture should give us all a better appreciation for the sacrifices made to ensure the freedoms we enjoy today.