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Pearl Harbor (Vista Series Director's Cut)

Pearl Harbor (Vista Series Director's Cut)

List Price: $39.99
Your Price: $35.99
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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Disney's version of Pearl Harbor
Review: This wasn't as bad a film as some critics have said it to be. However, it's still not a great picture.

On the plus side, the attack scene on Pearl Harbor is nothing more than spectacular! Industrial Light and Magic really did a great job here. Also spectacular was Dolittle's suicide air raid mission on Tokyo. Jon Voight, playing President Franklin D. Roosevelt, I thought did an outstanding job.

On the minus side, the romance story. It' pretty lame. It tries so hard to be a romantic epic like "Titanic" and it just lacks the emotional punch that movie had. Corny dialog and tear-jerker music also help to bring this movie down.

On another issue, one of my main concerns was historical accuracy. Remember this was a major event in the 20th century. It ranked 3rd just behind man landing on the moon and the bombing of Hiroshima. I would have hated for the filmmakers to change history in order to make this more of a popcorn movie. Well, eventhough there were some minor changes, history was pretty much left in tact. The only disappointing thing for me was, I felt that they should have gone much deeper as to reasons why Japan attacked Pearl Harbor much like in "Tora Tora Tora". But again this movie was not about strategy. It was a love story. The attack just happened to interrupt it.

Overall, it was an OK movie. As mentioned earlier the film's saving grace as was the attack scene, which unfortunately doesn't take place until nearly an hour into the movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: pearl harbor the greates movie ever
Review: First of all, that movie was the best movie I have seen so far out of every moive i have ever seen. All of the critics that said the movie was bad it diseverd 2 stars and and grade adverage of c, well or wrong.What made it good was the love story that made you wonder who will kate fall for and who will "evilen" end up with " danny" or "rafe?"and the battle seen was incredible. Everything was authentic and seemed so real and definitely kept you at the end of your seat.It sure kept myself in suspense when rafe almost died. The movie was so sad i cried a lot you know because of rafe loosing evaline and when danny diend i cried so hard. The fact that those japanese soldier did that made me sick and i just enjoyed that movie so much.There was a great choice of acters definitely. John Voigt was just amazing. Ben affleck is so gorgious along with josh hartne, those two's gorgiousness would make it worth it. Great job Michael Bay, Randall Wallace, and Jerry Bruckheimer.IT WAS WONDERFUL! Be proud it was the best movie on earth. I LOVE YOU BEN AND JOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Pleasantly surpised
Review: Didn't know what to think about this movie going in. I figured it had something for everyone - some epic romance for the ladies and some action for the fellas. And I figured that all Americans, young and old, male and female, should appreciate it for its historical message. Reconciling all of these elements in one flick was a challenge that I wasn't sure could be accomplished. But Pearl Harbor pulled it off with aplomb. Sure, there were some historical liberties taken, but I have the History Channel and countless books to steer me straight in that regard. After all, the true story of Dec 7 1941 wasn't about tactics and strategy and heroism - we simply got our butts kicked. There were few heroes - mostly just survivors and martyrs. The heroes came later. The real story of the attack was about the impact it had on the psyche of all Americans - perhaps no other event in the history of this great country so quickly unified our people and mobilized the populace to action. In that sense, I don't think the movie could have been historically significant or effective without some human emotional element. Truthfully, I enjoyed the drama of the movie as well and this is a big concession from someone who who only went to see the bombing scenes. Besides, Kate Beckinsale is hot in a pasty white English girl next door kinda way. Go see it. Also, take your kids to see it - nobody gets naked and it isn't as gory as, say, Saving Pvt Ryan; our youth should know why their grandfathers fought (and died) in the war lest we forget.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Pearl Harbor
Review: So, I've just walked in the house from a crowded first showing of "Pearl Harbor", and as is my want, I am reporting in, an array of feelings and observations, but, read the end before you decide my real take on this flick.

No one in Hollywood has ever heard a real gun fired. I know many of you have, and you know how damn loud a 45 is and can easily imagine how loud a 50 cal machine gun is, and 4 50's in a plane...

Mitchell Field is on Long Island, in New York. There are NO MOUNTAINS on Long Island, hell, there ain't many hills......

The single most treacherous point about the attack on Pearl Harbor was that the ambassador delived the ultimatium 55 minutes AFTER the bombing was reported to the White House, and because of that screw up in timing, an attack that was an act of war, became an unexpected surprise attack and was seen for all time as an act of trechery, even though it wasn't planned that way.....

The commander of that attack had been educated in the States, Harvard, and once he became aware of the timing problem, he was filled with dread, because he knew nothing would infuriate America more than a sneak attack. It must have been a very, very bad moment when he found out, like time had stopped, as his comments show...

In the 40's all our war films had charcaters we could see events through, to personalize things that were very recent, and in people's memories, and indeed, we were not accustomed to the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel.....etc.......

The great flim makers knew that a block buster is filled with cameos by stars in little roles, that get the audience to nudge each other when they come on (The most recent example: JFK, where almost every part was a recognizeable star, ie: John Candy had bit part he played in a BIG way.)

The actual attack came in two waves that lasted for two hours...

You don't put A Baldwin in anything Patriotic....Willlis......that's who should have had that role.....

And if you're going to spend $135 million on a movie, you spend enough on FDR's makeup so you can't see where it's glued to John Voight's face.

Old fashioned experience...this is where a MOVIE studio like Fox or MGM would have made a difference.

But...

The theme song to MST 3000 states not to worry about all these things and sit back and enjoy it for what it is, and if you keep that in mind, you will absolutely love this film.

Indeed, go see it again now that you know where it's coming from, and you will really enjoy it....

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A poor look at World War II
Review: The only thing good about this movie is the attack on Pearl Harbor. It showed the terror of it all, but besides that, this is a really poor movie. The filmakers needed to check their facts, because they're wrong. And this "love triangle"...is stupid. It could've been alot more.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A stunning achievement in cinematography and FX
Review: First of all, let me make one thing perfectly clear. PEARL HARBOR is a screen novel based on, but not limited to, the actual facts of the occurrence. It's the story of three fictional characters, two Army pilots and the woman they both love, who get caught up in the devastation rained down upon PEARL HARBOR on December 7, 1941. As a novel, historical accuracy and perspective will suffer at the hands of Hollywood screenwriters. So, if you want a true rendering of the incidents of that infamous day, and an understanding of how the U.S. and Japan came to collide there, then read one of the many books on the subject. Or, if you want to stay in the visual mode, see 1970's TORA! TORA! TORA! The film PEARL HARBOR is a piece of Tinseltown entertainment fluff. One should not see it expecting anything more.

For the past several months, the trailers for PEARL HARBOR have been one of the best parts of my movie-going experiences. On a purely cinematic level, every scene of the preview was astoundingly good, with visual images - many that are computer generated - that are positively exquisite in their execution. The whole movie does not disappoint on that level, and I'm awarding 4 (and a half) stars for that achievement alone. I cannot remember such an overindulgence in eye candy since that other amour and disaster epic, TITANIC, with which PH will be compared by myself and others.

Why not 5 stars? The acting my the main characters is adequate, but not memorable. Ben Affleck, as Rafe, and Josh Hartnett, as Danny, are the two best friends who grow up together sharing a love of flying. By 1941, they've become Army pilots who share a love for Kate Beckinsale, a Navy nurse. There will be the inevitable comparison with the DiCaprio-Winslet romance in TITANIC. For my money, either one of the Rafe or Danny characters is more appealing as a Man's Man than Leonardo's Jack. And Beckinsale's Evelyn is much more an intelligent and substantive character than Winslet's spoiled-little-rich-girl Rose. (Indeed, some of the best scenes are with Evelyn as she struggles to cope with the chaos that descends on the naval base's hospital during and after the Japanese assault.) However, in TITANIC's defense, its love affair was better done, and with more "chemistry". Certainly, some editing of the PH love triangle would have vastly improved the finished reels. (Some may argue that PH would've been a better war film with no love interest at all, like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN or DAS BOOT, but that would be expecting too much. An action film with only blow-'em-up Guy Stuff wouldn't necessarily appeal to the female audience.) Lastly, in the category of less-than-sparkling role playing, Alec Baldwin was positively wooden. I wouldn't have followed his Jimmy Doolittle persona across the road, much less on a suicide bombing raid of Tokyo.

The best performance by an actor was John Voight's FDR, albeit too brief. His portrayal of the President during his post-attack meeting with his war chiefs was one of the best dramatic moments of the film.

Finally, there's that element of PEARL HARBOR that's almost intangible to describe, but present nevertheless, though foreign audiences may likely not feel it. Admittedly, the primary goal of the film's producers was to make money. However, as release was scheduled for America's Memorial Day, there must have been the intent to honor that generation of Americans that experienced first hand the horrors of PEARL HARBOR in particular, and the Pacific war against Japan in general, yet fought on to prevail in the end. I came out of the theater immensely proud of those men and women. A true Memorial Day salute.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: pearl harbor
Review: pearl harbor is the best movie ever! it is action and romance and even a little bit of comedy. it does a great job of portraying history. it has good looking guys such as Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett. if anyone doesn't like this movie, they have bad taste. it's the best!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Movie Since Titanic
Review: This is a great movie. I'm going to go see it again in a few days. Tear jerker yet even guys would like it because of the war scenes. Josh Hartnett does a wonderful job. So do the rest of the cast members. It is a wonderful portayal.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The good movie of the year.
Review: The movie Pearl Harbor was good movie to go and see. Some people did not like this movie and I still do not know why. But this was a good movie yes it has a love triangle between tow young polite and a young girl. Just like any other guy Ben acts dumb he gets extra shots that he does not need so he can be near the girl that he likes. But still she turns him down, but she passes him so he will not get his wings taken away. This movie was very good. I think that everyone should go and see it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Action with a Sappy Love Story
Review: I saw PEARL HARBOR on opening day. I waited in line for more than three hours to go see it. While I was not in any way disappointed with the film, I felt that the love story was just too phony. The battle scenes were incredible and are worth the price of admission alone. This is not a bad movie in any way, but it could of been handled or written differently to incorporate a more believable love story. Overall a really good film!


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