Midway movie question...

muddyboots · **Posted:** Sat Jul 11, 2009 11:21 am

>blink<

Jerry O'Neill · **Posted:** Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:13 am

Owen Miller wrote:

Some years ago, when the early planning was going on for the
upcoming Speilburg/Hanks production of "The Pacific", extensive
interviews were conducted with the late Capt & Mrs Bob Elder.

Elder was in VB-3 for Midway and went on to a stellar USN career.
The movie angle, at that time, was that the Elders would be the
"love interest" in the film. They met, fell in love, courted, etc.
between Pearl Harbor and Midway. Imagine a love story being
told that REALLY happened.....

From what I have read about the completed movie it begins with
Guadalcanal. I guess that means they didn't include the Elder story.
How you can have a movie purporting to be about the Pacific
Campaign without focusing on Midway is a mystery to me. I am
still looking forward to the production, but not as much.........

I believe the story line in the HBO Series "The Pacific" deals with three Marine Corps soldiers as they progress through the war and it's campaigns, hence it would have little to do with the Battle of Midway unless they were stationed on Midway during the attack.
Jerry

SHAEF1944 · **Posted:** Mon Jul 13, 2009 1:13 am

Bill, back to your original question .... I think the fuselage " rising sun " emblem on the movie planes is a Hollywood rendering / artistic license of the Kikusui " Floating Chrysanthemum " emblem that can be found unofficially painted on some Japanese aircraft. See pic below ( on tail ). The Kikusui was the battle emblem / flag of a 14th century samurai. Late in the war, the " Floating Chrysanthemum " name was adopted by the Special Attack units, which used another, different single petal chrysanthemum emblem.

AviaS199 · **Posted:** Mon Jul 13, 2009 1:22 am

fotobass wrote:

Yeah, but how many of you punk kids are old enough to have seen it in the theatre in Sensurround?

Oh, I remember! The 'splosions were pretty cool in Sensurround. Almost made up for the rest of the film.

Yeah, the use of stock footage, both from TTT and other films, was pretty obvious. You'd have thought Ed Wood was in charge of collecting all that footage.

As bad as the love story between the whiney son and the Japanese-American girlfriend was, there was an even more boring love story between Heston and Susan Sullivan that was cut from the movie. But the producers stuck it back in to the expanded TV version.

Something I learned just a few months ago. You remember the scenes with the Douglas Devastators? They're actually the TTT "Kates" repainted in Navy Blue. From a production/logistics point of view, it was a smart move.

Chris Brame · **Posted:** Mon Jul 13, 2009 2:27 am

I wondered about that footage for years and assumed it was from the Japanese film I Bombed Pearl Harbor until I got a copy and it wasn't there.
I found the real source one night while watching TCM - it's the 1943 Wallace Beery film Salute to the Marines.

And yes, I was one of the lucky ones to see Midway in Sensurround as well - in the Mount Prospect Cinema in Mount Prospect, Illinois while my mom and my brothers were seeing some forgotten "family" film next door. She said they were feeling every explosion almost as strongly as I did! :lol:

the330thbg · **Joined:** Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:06 pm **Posts:** 2713

Lynn Allen wrote:

fotobass wrote:

Yeah, but how many of you punk kids are old enough to have seen it in the theatre in Sensurround?

Back in my day they didn't have the fancy speakers, kind of like the one you knocked off the pole at the drive in......

Lynn

Hey.., those 'Drive-In' speakers worked great in my CJ-7!!!

Steve Nelson · **Posted:** Mon Jul 13, 2009 11:05 am

Quote:

You remember the scenes with the Douglas Devastators? They're actually the TTT "Kates" repainted in Navy Blue. From a production/logistics point of view, it was a smart move.

Actually, I think it was the "War and Remembrance" miniseries that used the repainted TTT Kates. A fairly credible effort, as I recall. I'm not sure if any flying aircraft were repainted for "Midway," except maybe a PBY or two. I believe the few original aircraft shots were done with "off the shelf" warbirds rented by the production company, or were studio process shots done with actors in a cockpit in front of a movie screen showing stock/recycled footage.

The story I heard (no idea if it's true) is that the production spent so much money on big name actors that there was no budget left for original flying scenes or special effects, so they were forced to scrounge whatever existing footage they could find.

SN

Jerry O'Neill · **Posted:** Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:31 pm

Steve Nelson wrote:

Quote:

You remember the scenes with the Douglas Devastators? They're actually the TTT "Kates" repainted in Navy Blue. From a production/logistics point of view, it was a smart move.

Actually, I think it was the "War and Remembrance" miniseries that used the repainted TTT Kates. A fairly credible effort, as I recall. I'm not sure if any flying aircraft were repainted for "Midway," except maybe a PBY or two. I believe the few original aircraft shots were done with "off the shelf" warbirds rented by the production company, or were studio process shots done with actors in a cockpit in front of a movie screen showing stock/recycled footage.

The story I heard (no idea if it's true) is that the production spent so much money on big name actors that there was no budget left for original flying scenes or special effects, so they were forced to scrounge whatever existing footage they could find.

SN

I think the FM-2's used were Rudy Frasca's and Burchinal's (now with Howard Pardue) and were not painted at all for the film.
They look funny in two different schemes.
Jerry

Tom Crawford · **Posted:** Mon Jul 13, 2009 6:25 pm

During the first part of the movie when Heston is driving himself (I would have thought he should have had a driver) in a jeep to naval intelligence. The Jeep is marked with a number and "U.S.A." on the hood. I've always thought this should have been "U.S.N." This movie is a continuing list of errors.. I watch it just to re-see all the errors.. Tom

Jerry O'Neill · **Posted:** Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:18 pm

Tom Crawford wrote:

During the first part of the movie when Heston is driving himself (I would have thought he should have had a driver) in a jeep to naval intelligence. The Jeep is marked with a number and "U.S.A." on the hood. I've always thought this should have been "U.S.N." This movie is a continuing list of errors.. I watch it just to re-see all the errors.. Tom

Also the jeep has a one piece glass windshield. Not a WWII mod.
Jerry

mustangdriver · **Posted:** Mon Jul 13, 2009 10:14 pm

SHAEF1944 wrote:

Bill, back to your original question .... I think the fuselage " rising sun " emblem on the movie planes is a Hollywood rendering / artistic license of the Kikusui " Floating Chrysanthemum " emblem that can be found unofficially painted on some Japanese aircraft. See pic below ( on tail ). The Kikusui was the battle emblem / flag of a 14th century samurai. Late in the war, the " Floating Chrysanthemum " name was adopted by the Special Attack units, which used another, different single petal chrysanthemum emblem.

Hey is that the Tokyo wing of the CAF with that logo on the tail? :twisted:

Sorry. I had to say it

Steve Nelson · **Posted:** Mon Jul 13, 2009 10:16 pm

Now that's funny, I don't care who you are!! :lol:

Kevin G · **Posted:** Mon Jul 13, 2009 10:42 pm

Jerry O'Neill wrote:

I believe the story line in the HBO Series "The Pacific" deals with three Marine Corps soldiers as they progress through the war and it's campaigns, hence it would have little to do with the Battle of Midway unless they were stationed on Midway during the attack.
Jerry

From what rumors I have heard and the trailer, I would say that's correct. I don't understand how Spielberg and Hanks could give such short shrift to the naval war. Unless they are planning The Pacific Part 2?

Now to get sort of back on topic, just watched the National Geographic DVD Battle for Midway. Included footage from John Ford's movie shot during the Japanese attack on the atoll, a few great SBD, TBD and TBM shots, and underwater footage of the Yorktown. Awesome.

tom d. friedman · **Posted:** Mon Jul 13, 2009 11:12 pm

mustangdriver wrote:

SHAEF1944 wrote:

Bill, back to your original question .... I think the fuselage " rising sun " emblem on the movie planes is a Hollywood rendering / artistic license of the Kikusui " Floating Chrysanthemum " emblem that can be found unofficially painted on some Japanese aircraft. See pic below ( on tail ). The Kikusui was the battle emblem / flag of a 14th century samurai. Late in the war, the " Floating Chrysanthemum " name was adopted by the Special Attack units, which used another, different single petal chrysanthemum emblem.

Hey is that the Tokyo wing of the CAF with that logo on the tail? :twisted:

Sorry. I had to say it

that pic is from a suicide commando raid that went bust. the premise of the story is they made a wheels up landing, de-plane, & kill & destroy everything / everybody possible. pic has been published in numerous books.

the330thbg · **Joined:** Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:06 pm **Posts:** 2713

mustangdriver wrote:

SHAEF1944 wrote:

Hey is that the Tokyo wing of the CAF with that logo on the tail? Sorry. I had to say it

Impossible.., it is not large enough

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Midway movie question...

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