Director Michael Bay (ARMAGEDDON, THE ROCK) uses a tragic romantic triangle to set the stage for the infamous Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in this epic tale of love, loss, and... more
This review already contains more than 120 words. As a Ciao member you could earn up to £5 with this review.
essentially a frame for an impressive depiction of the Japanese attack on that "day of infamy", deploying all the modelwork, CGI, stunts and special effects necessary to trump previous screen re-enactments inTora! Tora! Tora!andFrom Here to Eternity. At heart, it's anotherTop Gun-style exercise in heroically sublimated homosexuality as Rafe (Ben Affleck) and Dan (Josh Hartnett), lifelong buddies, fall out over a ridiculous contrivance that allows both decently to fallin love with a nurse (Kate Beckinsale) but forget all their differences when the fighting starts--as expected, their big climax comes in each other's arms, with Kate left behind as one wounded buddy extracts a promise from the other to look after his unborn child.Historical snippets are interleaved, with Mako and Jon Voigt stiff under the prosthetics asAdmiral Yamamoto and Franklin Roosevelt, and a lot of detail is given about things like the wooden rudders on the new Japanese torpedoes, the chaos in the understaffed hospital as the heroine is forced to make lipstick triage marks on wounded men's foreheads and the terrible effects of strafing. A surprisingly bright little performance from Dan Aykroyd (a sole reminder of1941) as an intelligence analyst is balanced by an insufferably smug one from Cuba Gooding Jr as a token black supporting hero. It's the first film of the George W Bush era: aggressive and dumb as a rock, utterly uninterested in period--no one in this WWII-era army smokes, swears or uses racial abuse (Gooding's boxing opponent sneers at him because he's a cook)--and awkwardly straddles a dignified treatment of the Japanese and America's actual spasm of hatred after the attack (one soldier refuses to be treated by a Japanese doctor, but that's it). When Pearl Harbour is bombed, we see endangered dogs, drowning men and dead women, but when Tokyo gets blasted in payback only buildings are destroyed and in long-shot. Michael Bay (Armageddon) remains a jittery director, a great second-unit man who can't deal with people or stories. It borrows fromTitanicandSaving Private Ryan, but tidies the war of the latter up so it can still haul in a broad audience and therefore misses the real tragic sense of the former.--Kim NewmanOn the DVD: Considering there are two discs in the special edition of this special effects homage, the second DVD is woefully short of extras. There is a 45-minute featurette on the highs and lows of bringing Michael Bay's magnum opus to the screen which, along with the usual interviews with cast and crew, features the more compelling eyewitness testimony bringing the events of December 7, 1941 to life. The irony of the second disc focussing on the research and quest for historical accuracy is a little difficult to swallow, considering that the film islittle more than a paper thin, overly romanticised muddle of history and fantasy, but for those wanting to experience the real events on that fateful day rather than the Hollywood version, this is an excellent antidote. The movie has been THX digitally mastered for superior sound and picture quality improving those big-bang special effects and is presented in anamorphic widescreen with 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Unlike the Region 1 release, there's no DTS track but the 5.1 Dolby Digital sound is more than up to the challenge of the effects laden assault, with different elements of the Japanese attack rumbling between the speakers and making you feel you're in the thick of things. --Kristen Bowditch
essentially a frame for an impressive depiction of the Japanese attack on that "day of infamy", deploying all the modelwork, CGI, stunts and special effects necessary to trump previous screen re-enactments in Tora! Tora! Tora! and From Here to Eternity. At heart, it's another Top Gun-style exercise in heroically sublimated homosexuality as Rafe (Ben Affleck) and Dan (Josh Hartnett), lifelong buddies, fall out over a ridiculous contrivance that allows both decently to fallin love with a nurse (Kate Beckinsale) but forget all their differences when the fighting starts--as expected, their big climax comes in each other's arms, with Kate left behind as one wounded buddy extracts a promise from the other to look after his unborn child. Historical snippets are interleaved, with Mako and Jon Voigt stiff under the prosthetics asAdmiral Yamamoto and Franklin Roosevelt, and a lot of detail is given about things like the wooden rudders on the new Japanese torpedoes, the chaos in the understaffed hospital as the heroine is forced to make lipstick triage marks on wounded men's foreheads and the terrible effects of strafing. A surprisingly bright little performance from Dan Aykroyd (a sole reminder of 1941) as an intelligence analyst is balanced by an insufferably smug one from Cuba Gooding Jr as a token black supporting hero. It's the first film of the George W Bush era: aggressive and dumb as a rock, utterly uninterested in period--no one in this WWII-era army smokes, swears or uses racial abuse (Gooding's boxing opponent sneers at him because he's a cook)--and awkwardly straddles a dignified treatment of the Japanese and America's actual spasm of hatred after the attack (one soldier refuses to be treated by a Japanese doctor, but that's it). When Pearl Harbour is bombed, we see endangered dogs, drowning men and dead women, but when Tokyo gets blasted in payback only buildings are destroyed and in long-shot. Michael Bay (Armageddon) remains a jittery director, a great second-unit man who can't deal with people or stories. It borrows from Titanic and Saving Private Ryan, but tidies the war of the latter up so it can still haul in a broad audience and therefore misses the real tragic sense of the former.--Kim NewmanOn the DVD: Considering there are two discs in the special edition of this special effects homage, the second DVD is woefully short of extras. There is a 45-minute featurette on the highs and lows of bringing Michael Bay's magnum opus to the screen which, along with the usual interviews with cast and crew, features the more compelling eyewitness testimony bringing the events of December 7, 1941 to life. The irony of the second disc focussing on the research and quest for historical accuracy is a little difficult to swallow, considering that the film is little more than a paper thin, overly romanticised muddle of history and fantasy, but for those wanting to experience the real events on that fateful day rather than the Hollywood version, this is an excellent antidote. The movie has been THX digitally mastered for superior sound and picture quality improving those big-bang special effects and is presented in anamorphic widescreen with 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Unlike the Region 1 release, there's no DTS track but the 5.1 Dolby Digital sound is more than up to the challenge of the effects laden assault, with different elements of the Japanese attack rumbling between the speakers and making you feel you're in the thick of things. -- Kristen Bowditch
...An excellent action thriller. I would recommend this film to anyone who has any interest in Second World War films. All my life, I have enjoyed staying at home on a saturday morning, and relaxing in front of a nice film like 'The Longest Day' (shown recently) or 'The Great Escape'. Any Second World War film is automatically going to be good before you even watch it! I was not disappointed at all by PearlHarbor, and thought that it was of excellent quality.
The special effects are excellent, and allow the viewer to relax and it almost feels as though you are actually there.
Apparently, this film has the second biggest budget of all time. Personally, I would recommend that you go see it at your local cinema, and enjoy the film.
Thank you
Goodbye...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Expensive film, what a waste Disadvantages: To American
...The first 2 hours of this film could provide enough cheese to feed the mouse population of this world. The love story is appallingly predictable with lines that should not be broadcast in a public place. As you would expect a film with such a large budget contains some amazing special effects but these last about 30 minutes and do not make up for the main story line. As is the norm these days the film is filled with American patriotism which, although sickening, isn t too bad in the right film (for example "Saving Private Ryan"). It really does not fit into this situation well at all though. It is impossible to escape the fact that Pearl Harbour was an American failure and any kind of "Biggin up the US of A" is totally out of place. At least Kate Beckinsale looks damned fine in it....
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Actor(s): Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Jon Voight, Alec Baldwin, Tom Sizemore, Ewen Bremner, Josh Hartnett
Director(s): Michael Bay
Genre: Drama
Classification: 12 years and over
Production Year: 2001
Consumer Advice: Contains scenes of intense battle action and trauma
Video Category: Feature Film
Country Of Origin: United States of America
Plot: The life and times of a group of people who find themselves caught-up in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and in the aftermath of the bombing, America's involvement in the Second World War.
Release details
DVD Region: Region 2 (Europe)
Studio(s): WALT DISNEY STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINM; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Languages
Main Language: English
Technical information
Special Features: Collector's Edition Steelbook
Sound: Dolby Digital
Award information
OSCAR: Best Visual Effects 2002 (John Frazier, Eric Brevig)
DVD Description
Director Michael Bay (ARMAGEDDON, THE ROCK) uses a tragic romantic triangle to set the stage for the infamous Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in this epic tale of love, loss, and patriotism. When Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale), a beautiful Navy nurse, meets dashing ace Army fighter pilot Rafe (Ben Affleck), the two fall madly in love, only to be separated abruptly when he is called upon to help fight the war in Europe. Unforeseen circumstances lead Evelyn into the arms of Danny (Josh Hartnett), another fighter pilot and Rafe's best friend since childhood. In the meantime, the Japanese military is planning the surprise early morning raid on Hawaii that will pull the United States into World War II. Spectacular special effects vividly recreate the attack in devastating detail as bombs explode, torpedoes shoot through the water, and bullets fly, shaking tranquil Pearl Harbor to its core. Bay deftly captures the patriotism and the loss of innocence of the young men and women who were suddenly thrust into the war. Cuba Gooding, Jr., Jon Voight, Alec Baldwin and Mako also star in this tribute to both the fallen and the survivors of one of the most horrific tragedies ever to occur on American soil.
Advantages: many, especially the special-effects Disadvantages: if you want to understand the suffering and horror of war, forget it
...This can be called a big entertainment. I recommend PEARLHARBOR to people who enjoyed a movie like last year's "The Patriot". This is a fiction which is set against the backdrop of that terrible December day, when the Japanese attacked the American's navy at PearlHarbor.
There are aspects of the film which are arch, to say the least (including one unintentionally hysterical line spoken by Kate Beckinsale's Evelyn), but as a popcorn movie, it really cannot be beat. The aerial sequences are smashing (literally) and the photography is warm and inclusive. Sound effects are especially excellent, visceral even. The bomber of the harbor is covered incredibly without without being overdone or cheapened. If the film drives some people to read more about the actual events depicted, it will be a service to history and to the memory of those who...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Good Action Scenes with Quailty Graphics Disadvantages: Not enough Action Scenes, Too Much Romance
...I just went to see PearlHarbor. This Film is nothing like the critics said it was. The Film contains too much love scenes in it and not enough action. This might seem a bit bias towards action films but this film is no War film its more like a Romance meets Saving Private Ryan. Even though the Graphics of the Planes and the Authenticity of thm was spectacular.
In the whole film there is only 2 Action Scenes. The First lasts for about 2 Minutes and the Second lasts for about 10 Minutes and this ends up with yet another love scene. The Actors were good but the roles they played were disappointing. You either like this film or you don’t personally I though that it was disappointing for the amount of money it was made for. You are more likely to enjoy Saving Private Ryan or The Thin Red Line than this Romanced War Film....
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Great characters and film Disadvantages: Too long (3 hours)
...Most people say that pearlharbor is pretty boring and just full of bombs. I definately do not agree. I saw it the first day it came out and found it amazing. It has great sound affects and the characters are incredible.
Rafe (Ben Affleck) and Danny (Josh Hartnett) are two best friends who love to fly. Rafe falls in love with a nurse called Evelyn (Kate Beckinsdale). Then Rafe is sent away to fight the war in England. When his plane crashes everyone believes he's dead. After months in morning Evelyn decides to put the past behind her, so dhe goes out with Danny. Soon she finds that she has fallen in love with him. It turns out that Rafe is not dead and comes back, when he finds out about Danny and Evelyn he gets very angry and starts a fight with Danny.
suddenly PearlHarbor on the coast of Hawai is attacked by the Japanese. It leaves...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
![Pearl Harbor DVD (2 Disc Set) [2001]](http://picnic.ciao.com/uk/65511475.jpg)
This product has not yet been reviewed. 
09.06.2001
11.07.2001
05.06.2001
06.06.2001
09.06.2001
