Midway (1976)

Note des utilisateurs:

6.5/10   

Réalisateur:

Jack Smight

Scénariste:

Donald S. Sanford (written by)

Release Date:

18 juin 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drame | History | War

Accroche:

The glory, the suspense, the spectacular drama of the men who won the most decisive naval battle in U.S. history.

Plot:

A dramatization of the battle that turned out to be the turning point of the Pacific Theatre of World War II.

Plot Keywords:

Battle | Pacific | Midway | Midway Island | Aircraft Carrier

Avis des utilisateurs:

inspiring, in a way

US TV Schedule:

Fri. July 10

8:15 AM

AMC

Ensemble

Charlton Heston	...	Captain Matt Garth
Henry Fonda	...	Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
James Coburn	...	Captain Vinton Maddox
Glenn Ford	...	Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance
Hal Holbrook	...	Commander Joseph Rochefort
Toshirô Mifune	...	Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (as Toshiro Mifune)
Robert Mitchum	...	Admiral William F. Halsey
Cliff Robertson	...	Commander Carl Jessop
Robert Wagner	...	Lieutenant Commander Ernest L. Blake
Robert Webber	...	Rear Admiral Frank J. 'Jack' Fletcher
Ed Nelson	...	Admiral Harry Pearson
James Shigeta	...	Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo
Christina Kokubo	...	Haruko Sakura
Monte Markham	...	Commander Max Leslie
Biff McGuire	...	Captain Miles Browning

Autre(s) titre(s):

Battle of Midway (Philippines: English title) (UK)
The Battle of Midway (USA) (video title)
La bataille de Midway (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]

Durée:

132 min

Pays:

USA

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Couleur (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Son:

Sensurround (Westrex Recording System)

Classification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Norway:16 (1977) | USA:PG | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG | Iceland:12

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

Lake Castaic, California, USA

Company:

Mirisch Corporation, The

Anecdotes:

This was the second film to be presented in "Sensurround", a special low-frequency bass speaker setup consisting of four huge speakers loaned by distributors to select theatres showing the film. This system was employed only during certain sequences of the film, and was so powerful that it actually cracked plaster at some movie theaters. "Sensurround" was employed in only three other films released by Universal: Earthquake (1974), Rollercoaster (1977), and the theatrical release of Battlestar Galactica (1978) (TV).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Tom Garth takes off from the aircraft carrier to attack the Japanese, he's taking off in an F4F Wildcat, but when he returns from the attack, burned and shot up, he lands in an F6F Hellcat.

Guillemet:

Captain Garth: Can I ask you something personal? Very personal?
Commander Rochefort: Sure.
Captain Garth: You know, it really stinks down here. How often do some of your people take a bath?
Commander Rochefort: Bath? Hell, I don't know. What *day* is it?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Making of 'Midway' (2001) (V)

inspiring, in a way

I can't help but agree with most of the other comments: the sloppy production values, the scenes "borrowed" from better movies, the countless anachronisms, the distracting subplot about Lt. Garth and his Japanese girlfriend, and so on. But for me, this movie has two strong points in its favor. One, when they get around to the actual battle, they follow the history with surprising accuracy. (The "Pearl Harbor" makers could have learned something from this one.) So the movie's hard to follow? So was the actual battle! Personally, I think they did a pretty good job of keeping the flow coherent while still remaining faithful to its source material.

The second thing in its favor is that, from the moment I first saw it in the theater as a 10 year old, it ignited in me a passion for the Battle of Midway that remains to this day. I can't think of any other movie that even comes close to getting me as hooked on its subject as this one. Maybe it's a good thing I first saw it when I was young, when I was much less discerning about production values, etc. That way, I could concentrate on the story itself.

If you have even the slightest interest in military history or even in important historical events in general, do yourself a favor. Watch "Midway" to get an overview of the event (fast-forward over the love-story scenes if you like), then go read "Incredible Victory" by Walter Lord (which is a better book than the one for which he is most famous, "A Night to Remember"). You won't be sorry.