"Pearl Harbore" Filming the B-25 Carrier Launch

[Chris Brame]

To quote then-Secretary of State Cordell Hull, "Never...have I seen a document so filled with infamous falsehoods and distortions..."

[Fouga23]

I've seen it. wanted my wasted time back. This movie was total crap and historically totally inaccurate!

[Steve Nelson]

I got into an argument with a (female) co-worker about the Film Whose Title Shall Not Be Uttered when it first came out. She loved it, of course. When I started to say just how historically and technically inaccurate it was, she replied "but it was a love story" as if that excused making a steaming pile of...well. When I pressed the issue, she said "well, did the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor?" I said "Yeah, but.." and she cut me off saying "well, then the movie's close enough."

Cameron's "Titanic" also centered on a smarmy love story, but at least he took the time to put it in a technically and historically accurate context. I usually watch that one up until they head out to sea, then skip the next hour-and-a-half, and pick it back up during the "sketch" scene. They hit the iceberg shortly after that, and things finally get interesting.

SN

[mustangdriver]

It is not a documentary. It is a movie. YOu guys no Independence Day wasn't real too right. Could the movie had been great? Sure. Did they screw a bunch of stuff up to us the warbird guys? Sure. But most people don't notice that the B-25's were J models and not B models, and so on. Where in the hell were they suppossed to get B models anyway? What is there one? And it is unrestored. It sparked conversation among friends of mine who don't give a rats ass about planes, or history, and that is what it was meant to do. Give today's generation a taste of what that was like. My friends couldn't tell you what year Pearl Harbor was bombed,what war it was in, and had no idea about the Doolittle Raid at all. After the film, it got their noses into some books(what we should be using to educate ourselves). We had movie night at my place, and watched Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, and then one night watched Midway,and so on. It sparked conversation and you know what? It got a few of my friends actually into warbirds.

[gary1954]

I Promise......I only paid attention to the flight scenes, eben the puter generated stuff.
Most of use guys are fortunate to be able to stap on a bit of history and bore holes in the sky.....you luckie duckies you.
I have only been fortunate to climb into a Warbird once in my life and go for a ride, and when I sat in that B-25, I was, and am still...amazed

[rwdfresno]

It is not a documentary. It is a movie. YOu guys no Independence Day wasn't real too right. Could the movie had been great? Sure. Did they screw a bunch of stuff up to us the warbird guys? Sure. But most people don't notice that the B-25's were J models and not B models, and so on. Where in the heck were they suppossed to get B models anyway? What is there one? And it is unrestored. It sparked conversation among friends of mine who don't give a rats ass about planes, or history, and that is what it was meant to do. Give today's generation a taste of what that was like. My friends couldn't tell you what year Pearl Harbor was bombed,what war it was in, and had no idea about the Doolittle Raid at all. After the film, it got their noses into some books(what we should be using to educate ourselves). We had movie night at my place, and watched Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, and then one night watched Midway,and so on. It sparked conversation and you know what? It got a few of my friends actually into warbirds.

While I agree that it is "just a movie" I don't agree really that there is much giving a taste of what things were like. I think that had the movie just been a Movie about Pearl Harbor and they would have cut the Doolittle part it may have been a bit more passable. Looking at the movie from an entertainment standpoint I can look past the crappy CGI, the missile cruisers in the Harbor, the inaccurate use of the "walkie talkie" the inaccurate aircraft versions, even the inaccurate portrayals of historical figures, but I think that some of the inaccuracies borderline insulting the intelligence of the average viewer. For instance why do all the dog fights have to be 10 feet off the ground. That just seems LAME for even the average viewer. I will admit that I enjoyed the portion of the movie where the were sort of "living it up" 40's retro style in Hawaii I thought that was sort of a cool.

The historical accuracies that I just can not get past, which I actually think parts ways with the notion that "well at least it gives the common ignorant viewer an idea about WWII" and that begins with the Doolittle Raid. I think it is borderline irresponsible to teach people that The Doolittle Raiders were Battle of Britain Flying, Pearl Harbor dog fighting, Pearl Harbor people rescuing, love triangling, people who don't even exist. I think artistic license is sort of abused when you modify real, historically significant, specific events. For instance I think it works in Saving Private Ryan where we are talking a fictional story surrounding D-Day. I think it does not work in Pearl Harbor. I think it was along the lines of creating a fictional character called Champ, put him in a movie and make him be the first guy to break the sound barrier, then the first person in space, the first person to walk on the moon and then it ends with him dying in the Challenger explosion. I mean where do you draw the line. How about making him survive the Challenger accident and then make him become president after that.

I can excuse things that don't modify specific historically significant events. I would have been happier with the story if the pilots at Pearl Harbor were flying P-51Ds, and driving 1949 Chevys if they would have just made the historical events a bit more accurate.

Ryan

[Jerry O'Neill]

Studio Exec: "We need a movie as big as "Titanic. Anybody got any ideas?"

M. Bay: " Well, I can do "Titanic" one better!"

Studio Exec.: "How?"

M. Bay: "Well in "Titanic", they only sunk one ship and had one babe, right?"

Studio Exec.: "So?"

M. Bay: "Well, in my movie, we're gonna sink a whole bunch of ships and have a whole bunch of babes!!!"

Studio Exec.: "Wow, that's brilliant! What's the story about?"

M. Bay: Who cares? (laughing) As long as it's got babes and expolsions it's gotta do better than "Titanic!' Heck, we could call it "Taranto" or "Pearl Harbor" and no one would even care!"

Studio Exec.: (laughing) "Michael, you right! Here's 150 million. Go ahead and make it, but don't cut any corners and start adding real history to it. That'll ruin the box office reciepts!"



Does that sound like a plausible conversation?
Jerry

[Michel C-GNCJ]

Guys, come on ! Read my lips: M O V I E !!! Not documentary, movie !

My wife loved it and since, she has begun interrupting me before I name any plane and tries to get it right. She even enjoyed the warbird flight line in Oshkosh and was having fun naming the planes !

That got her interrested in my passion, it's not nothing...

Hollywood ALWAYS screws things up for show. I'm in the fire protection sprinklers business. I cannot count how many times they pictured all the sprinklers going off at one in movies, which is total crap ! It just does not work that way... But they don't care, it's show biz ! My wife was in forensics. You would not beleive how this line of work is now taken for granted with people saying, hey, why can't you do this or that, I saw it done on CSI ! Again, it's show biz, only show biz....

But, it does make some people ask questions about fire sprinklers, so it's not all bad, just like Pearl Harbour and other movies make people interrested in aircrafts and warbirds.

Now, if it was falsely portrayed in a documentary, then I would be real angry and all . In a movie ? Oh well...

[gary1954]

Michael.....You are truly blessed having a wife that likes airplanes... My EX- wife thought they were noisy and smelled...

[Mudge]

Well...I gotta' brag on Mrs. Mudge a bit. She's learned about guns (and I mean LEARNED) at gun shows. She even has a CCW and carries a Colt Defender (that's a .45 troops.)
She has learned about airplanes from airshows and museums.
She loves both guns and airplanes.
I figure she's a keeper.

Mudge the fortunate

[gary1954]

Yes, I gotta brag too about mine now...she's still learning about aircraft, and like yours, she knows how to shoot. Will not let me part with any of our weapons....Now, If I can just convince her that I "need" a Vintage Airplane.....

[Jet Mech]

gary1954, you got one thing right, when you said "EX" didn't like, you kept the warbird and got rid of the deadbird.....

[Mudge]

gary1954, you got one thing right, when you said "EX" didn't like, you kept the warbird and got rid of the deadbird.....

Now that there's funny. I don't care who ya' are.

Mudge the BTDT

I met Michael Bay at a party once, .... my personal opinion ... yep he took the money and ran ... It must have been so embarrassing for all the veterans who gathering at Pearl Harbor for the premiere, I hear this particular movie was one of the real reasons Ben Afleck's acting career tanked.

Being close to Hollywood, I have met several in the industry. Bay is one of Hollywood's most successful and popular directors and producers, why? because he makes bucket loads of $$$$$$$$$$$$$ for the studio's, he and Hollywood could care less about historical accuracy, they are only interested in making $$$$$$$$$$$$$, ... In Hollywood, you don't make money, you don't work, ..... how does Hollywood make bucket loads of money? .... KIDS!!!!!!!! .... kids want brain overload, kids want transformers attacking Pearl Harbor, kids want death, distruction and mayhem on a scale that even Adolf Hitler couldn't imagine, kids want CGI up the poop shute .... , the more CGI, the more money .... Google the top 5 grossing movies of all time .... See my point? ... "Saving Private Ryan" was a great movie, well acted, directed etc, but not a great money maker, it probably wouldn't have been made without Speilberg and Hanks being involved. ..... Business 101 .... find something that appeals to kids and you'll be a $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$are over night. The richest guy in Santa Barbara is Tye Warner, he's buying up everything here, he owns all the good golf courses here, ...... who is Tye Warner? .... Mr. Beany Baby!!!! ..... the stupid little dolls!!!! ....

Last edited by Hellcat on Wed Jan 09, 2008 8:01 pm, edited 2 times in total.

[DiggerWW2]

What about Josh Fartnet??
His "Career" sank faster than the Titanic!! ...

As the Old Saying goes "It takes just as much time & effort to do it right... than it does to do it wrong"
.... unless Hollywood's involved...
Digger