Midway

Rating:
Summary: LESS THAN MEDIOCRE
Review: I was in the US Navy, and I found this movie absurdly unrealistic. First of all, no one as old as Charlton Heston was ever involved in actual battles in WW2. His acting, as usual, was lousy, his age betrayed the film. I find elder actors degrading the heroes of WW2 repugnant. I gave this video away to the local Goodwill store.

Rating:
Summary: midway
Review: One of the best war movies i've seen and i think i've seen just about all of them. i have also seen a different version of this movie that runs about 90 minutes longer, same cast, but there is extra footage including coral sea which led up to midway. that's the tape i'd really love to find.

Rating:
Summary: Heston is magnificent!
Review: As anyone whom has read my reviews (regarding the films starring Charlton Heston) know is that, I do consider him to be one of the greatest actors ever to grace the white screen. This picture, i.e., Midway VHS ~ Charlton Heston is no different. Heston is as powerful, spellbinding and awesome in his interpretation as he ever was in his other movie, e.g., Ben-Hur. In fact, he alone, is able to life this movie from being adequate. The other actors lack the fire, repose and engaging performance that Heston gives in this World War II adaptation. The only thing that bothers me is the stupid inclusion of his son being in love with the Japanese girl; but I suppose this was the awful beginning of adding Political Correctness into the movies and by doing so, apologizing for the internment. This is a weak reason and in my opinion, movies and politics should not mix; in fact, it would have been even better if they had solely focused on combat and in these scenes, they could have had a more compelling side story.

Rating:
Summary: excellent in a way
Review: I REALLY ENJOYED THIS MOVIE BUT I HAVE TO SAY I WAS DISSAPOINTED WHEN THEY CUT OUT THE CORAL SEA SCENE. I FEEL THAT IS A MAJOR PART OF THE FUTURE BATTLE AS WELL AS IN THE MOVIE.I THINK THEY SHOULD INCLUDE THIS IN THE VHS AND DVD VERSIONS.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good, different from TV Version
Review: The video is grat, and has very good picture and sound quality. However, although I own the video, I also took the time to tape the TV Version of the movie. The TV Version contains a Coral Sea Battle, but all of the dialogue is rehashed from the later battle scenes, and the scene with the Squadron Commander is just redubbed. There's also a Susan Sullivan / Charlton Heston love interest and a discussion between Yamamoto and a young pilot about the war. A lot of language considered offensive is either deleted or redubbed, and where a drop of blood is shed is alos deleted. Get both.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good history
Review: As someone who has always been interested in the history of WWII I am impressed with the way this movie takes pains to stress the factors that played important parts in this turning point battle. - the critical nature of the efforts of the navy's intelligence section, without which neither Midway nor the Coral Sea battles would have happened; - the courage displayed by the commanders; Adm. Nimitz to order the attack at all, risking everything against great odds; Adm. Spruance launching his entire attack force at long range (which was a critical decision in the timing of the battle); - the courage of the pilots attacking in suicidal conditions; - the importance of the sacrifice made by the virtual annihilation of the American torpedo squadrons, in clearing the way for the dive bombers. - the importance of the Japanese commanders indecisiveness in trying to decide between targets (Midway Island or fleet action) and ordnance (bombs or torpedoes). - as well as little, often overlooked, things such as the problems the US had with the quality of their torpedoes (which failed more often than they worked), the Herculean effort it took to have the Yorktown repaired in time for the battle, and the serendipitous circumstances leading to the replacement of Adm. Halsey with Adm. Spruance. My only criticism of the history shown is the frequent inclusion of scenes of Kamikazi style attacks on US ships, which in 1942 was a very rare occurrence and, to the best of my knowledge, did not happen at all in either battle depicted. I do understand that this is not a historical documentary, however, I don't think that adding these sequences improved the picture at all. Overall, the movie is well worth seeing for anyone who is interested in WWII.

Rating:
Summary: Midway is midway between TV docudrama and full documentary.
Review: Thirsting for more information on the Pacific theater in WWII, I bought this dvd. If you can, see THE WORLD AT WAR VHS Set (not yet on dvd) for a very good "101" on World War II and VICTORY AT SEA for your graduate work. This will give you the necessary background for this major naval engagement. It would seem that this victory was won by the side that made the fewest mistakes rather than by military genius.

The clarity of the dvd is at best fair. Color saturation is no better than the VHS and the sound seems uneven. What the hey, war films will sell no matter what the format.

Taylor, I am sorry, Charlton Heaston (that's Moses to those WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE candidates!) does...well, what he usually does (especially at the end) as the peripheral focal point of the picture. The picture follows the events leading to the carrier faceoff at Midway. Actual war footage and U.S. Navy installation/vessel support, is mixed with scenes from TORA TORA TORA (recommended). Together, they give the viewer an unbelievable sense of amazement at how the American Fleet won this battle and how events as minor as one observation plane having takeoff difficulties could effect its outcome. The underlying relationship between a naval family of father, son and his Japanese interred lover deals more with the prejudice of war rather than the events (a little more info on the internment would have elevated the storyline).

This dvd is interesting for the historian but at 2 hours and one minute length is mediocre docudrama for everyone else.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but pales as a docudrama next to Tora, Tora, Tora!
Review: I enjoyed "Midway" as a docudrama. It covers much of what happened during what many consider to be the turning point of WWII in the Pacific. This is the first encounter where the Japanese Imperial Fleet really took it on the chin -- though both navies came out of the scrap badly mauled. The US, however, had the greater industrial resources and was able to rebound more quickly.

"Midway" pales, though, when compared to "Tora, Tora, Tora!" Another period docudrama. The equipment, bases shown, etc., were second best to what was used and shown in "Tora x3." I also wish that the producers had the Japanese characters speaking Japanese with English subtitles, as in "Tora..."

Another reviewer commented on the lack of Heston's son's romantic interest with a ni-sei (2nd generation Japanese) woman, in this version. Why was it cut? Who knows. It did add an interesting slant to the storyline in the original. Perhaps it was pulled because those scenes portray the USA at one of its low points -- the internment of Americans of Japanese ancestry.

To the movie's credit, the sections about intelligence gathering, good and lucky guessing, and the eventual result of that intelligence work was admirably displayed.

I enjoy this show, though I will typically pull "Tora..." off of the shelf before this one.

On an aside, this film tries to match up with other epic WWII movies like "Tora...," "The Longest Day," "The Great Escape," etc., in that they all host a large number of well known actors (and some not so well known). Midway is a step below the others listed though (thus the 4 star rating). In Midway it's fun though, to see who you can spot. For example, keep an eye out for a then relatively unknown Tom Selleck as a soldier on the ground at Midway Island.

Well worth 4 stars, but not a 5-star offering. WWII buffs will definitely enjoy this show.

Happy viewing.

Alan Holyoak

Rating:
Summary: A brilliant war time classic!
Review: There are very few movies which will have you supporting either side of the nations involved (it's only a film afterall) but Midway will have you in Matt Gogh's cockpit dropping those final torpedos on the Japanese carrier. Although the movie is a little long winded during the opening scenes, the majority is well worth waiting for. I would agree that not all details of the battle were accurate but what war movie boasts a perfect score in that category? none. If you like Naval and or Airforce war films then youll love 'Midway'

Rating:
Summary: Some Details Innaccurate
Review: I agree with all of the others. The Battle of Coral Sea should have been included. There were some errors in actual facts about the battle. In the video, the four Japanese carriers were heavily damaged, while in the actual battle, they, I believe, were sunk. Another, nit picking detail, is in the flick, the Japanese carrier 'Akagi' the island superstructure was like all other aircraft carriers; it was on the starboard side of the ship. In actuality, the Akagi was the one carrier whose superstructure was on the port side.

The one criticism about footage from 'Tora Tora Tora' doesn't fly with me. Using that footage and some of the same Japanese actors actually ties the two flicks together.