Pearl Harbor is the 2001 epic war film based on the real events of the attack of Pearl Harbor during World War II. The film was made on a budget of $151,000,000 and grossed an estimated $449,220,945 at the box office. Despite doing incredibly well at the box office this film bombed (no pun ... Read review
A big summer blockbuster,Pearl Harboris pitched as a romantic epic, but the story is ... more
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 ...
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December 7th 1941 - A Day Which Will Live In InfamyAs the lives and loves of a generation ... more
are tragically swept into the greatest conflict modern man has ever known - World War II - the events at Pearl Harbor become an extreme test for the strength of t...
December 7th 1941 - A Day Which Will Live In InfamyAn epic blockbuster with astounding ... more
visual effects, Pearl Harbour is another unforgettable motion picture from producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay, the hit making team that brought you Armageddon. Featuring Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale in a tremendous all star-cast. As she lives and loves of a generation are tragically swept into the greatest conflict modern man has ever known - World War II - The Events at Pearl Harbour become a supreme test for the strength of the human spirit. Also starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., Alec Baldwin, Jon Voight and Tom Sizemore, this breathtaking story of love, loss and heroism is a must-see event.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay launch Pearl Harbour on Blu-ray's high ... more
definition disc. Experience the epic blockbusters as never before in this breathtaking new format!When the innocence of a nation is shattered by sudden and devastating act of war, the lives and loves of a generation are swept into the greatest conflict modern man has ever known: World War II. Gasp at astounding visual effects in explosive 1080p, and feel every resounding impact with spectacularly enhanced audio. With a tremendous all-star cast featuring Ben Affleck, Josh Harnett and Kata Beckinsale, this rousing story of love, loss and heroism is a must-see cinematic event with Blu-ray High Definition.
Hans Zimmer's lush and romantic Pearl Harbor album inverts every expectation of what a ... more
World War II epic should sound like. Zimmer previously explored the American Pacific war in The Thin Red Line (1998), though this time he takes a more commercial direction. The programme opens with the power ballad by Faith Hill, "There You'll Be", establishing in the wake of Titanic (1997) this as blockbuster mixing romance with maritime disaster hoping for a share of the success that came Celine Dion's way. The eight orchestral cues concentrate on romance and the pity of war, ranging from noble melancholy to an elevated spiritual purity. The choral writing incorporated into "December 7th" continues a direction Zimmer explored with Hannibal (2001), where he similarly underlined the heart rather than the horror. Only during "War" do the snare drums finally arrive for a rousing slice of patriotic and exciting action with the military sensibility continued into the valedictory "Heart of a Volunteer". The heavily processed orchestra is familiar from Zimmer's Gladiator (2000), the composer continuing his knack of delivering an instantly memorable theme which retains interest through numerous moods and variations. Augmented by wistful piano and ethereal choir, Pearl Harbor is melodic and accessible and has every chance of being the most popular instrumental soundtrack of 2001. --Gary S Dalkin
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The epic blockbuster with its astounding visual effects and tremendous all-star cast, ... more
featuring Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale, is an unforgettable motion picture that captures the innocence of a nation instantly shattered by a sudden and devastating act of warfare. As the lives and loves of a generation are tragically swept into the greatest conflict modern man has ever known - World War 2 - the events at Pearl Harbor become a supreme test for the strength of the human spirit.
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Advantages: Great special effects Disadvantages: Doesn't stay true to the actual events, love story is way too sensationalised
Pearl Harbor is the 2001 epic war film based on the real events of the attack of Pearl Harbor during World War II. The film was made on a budget of $151,000,000 and grossed an estimated $449,220,945 at the box office. Despite doing incredibly well at the box office this film bombed (no pun intended) with the critics, largely because of the sheer inaccuracy of the movie from everything to how the bombs drop to the lead characters taking down numerous ... ...has received more critism for Pearl Harbor than any other film in his career. He has however been involved in some fantastic films (directing or producing) such as: Transformers 1 & 2, Bad Boys and Armageddon. Jerry Bruckheimer produces along with Michael Bay. Bruckheimer has been involved with: Enemy Of The State, Coyote Ugly, Black Hawk Down and Pirates Of The Caribbean.
Ben Affleck and the gorgeous Josh Hartnett are of course the ... more
Pearl Harbor is the 2001 epic war film based on the real events of the attack of Pearl Harbor during World War II. The film was made on a budget of $151,000,000 and grossed an estimated $449,220,945 at the box office. Despite doing incredibly well at the box office this film bombed (no pun intended) with the critics, largely because of the sheer inaccuracy of the movie from everything to how the bombs drop to the lead characters taking down numerous planes while in the air, not to mention the love story between the three main characters. The film is rated 15 and runs for approximately 183 minutes.
Michael Bay directs the film, he’s a director that many people love to hate and has received more critism for Pearl Harbor than any other film in his career. He has however been involved in some fantastic films (directing or producing) such as: Transformers 1 & 2, Bad Boys and Armageddon. Jerry Bruckheimer produces along with Michael Bay. Bruckheimer has been involved with: Enemy Of The State, Coyote Ugly, Black Hawk Down and Pirates Of The Caribbean.
Ben Affleck and the gorgeous Josh Hartnett are of course the main stars of the film, Ben Affleck is famous for his hit or miss movies. He’s been in great movies such as Armageddon and The Sum Of All Fears but then he’s probably more famous for his diabolical roles in Gigli, Daredevil and Jersey Girl. Josh Hartnett, although not as well known as his co-star but probably with a better success rate than him, he’s starred in: Black Hawk Down, 40 Days & 40 Nights and Lucky Number Slevin. Kate Beckinsale (Underworld) plays the love interest for the two men. Other stars include: Jennifer Garner, Cuba Gooding Jr, Jon Voight and Alec Baldwin.
Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) and Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett) have been friends since childhood. Both their Father’s were in World War 1 so they know first hand how war can affect you, despite that all they’ve ever wanted to do is become pilots and in their 20’s they establish that dream. When Rafe is ordered to England to fight in the ongoing war he leaves behind best friend Danny and loving girlfriend Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale). His plane is shot down and he is pronounced missing in action. When the news reaches Danny and Evelyn they hold a small funeral for him, assuming he’s dead. The two of them support each other throughout their trauma and a friendship soon turns to love.
When Rafe miraculously returns home unharmed, he thinks that Evelyn will be waiting for him, however he comes home to see the woman he loves in a relationship with his best friend. The two men fight that night before fleeing after interference. By the morning they hear planes overhead, they assume it’s just the army practising but they soon discover it’s actually the Japanese coming to bomb them in a surprise attack that one man had predicted by was not listened to. Danny and Rafe go off to fight the Japanese not knowing if they will come back alive to see Evelyn again…
Pearl Harbor is a film that I’ve seen numerous times before although sometimes I never make it through to the end due to it’s colossal running time of 3 hours. Despite that it is a film that I do enjoy when I see it although some bits I tend to fast forward in order to get back to the actual story at hand. I think this film tried to do what Titanic did by taking true events and adding a fictional love story in the hope of attracting a wide audience and becoming a mega hit like Kate and Leo made Titanic. Unfortunately the love triangle between Danny, Evelyn and Rafe is no Jack and Rose!
First of all I think that the film should have been shortened a lot, this film has become renowned for it’s 40 minute action scene during the attack on Pearl Harbor and although this was gripping it can be a bit uncomfortable to watch at times. This of course being the aim of the film to show people how devastating war can be but I do think that maybe it would have been shortened so as not to alienate the audience that have come to see the love aspect of the film as opposed to the people that want to witness a war film that rings true to the events of December 7th 1941.
I think this film is a relative failure in both aspects, despite being enjoyable I think that the love story is a bit incomprehensible and the action doesn’t accurately mirror the real events that occurred on the morning of December 7th. I think that the love story went a bit too far in my eyes and had no real substance to it, the way that Evelyn swayed from Rafe to Danny and then back and forth made all credibility for the love triangle completely dissolve. It almost seems like Evelyn doesn’t care about either men she just wants to be with someone whether it be Danny or Rafe. By the end of the film you’ve completely lost all compassion for the story, if you’ve seen the ending you’ll know what I mean.
The action, despite all the critism it received for being unrealistic was absolutely fantastic and extremely gripping, you know that the characters are fake but you really feel for them and you find yourself becoming very involved in the action and it really makes you think about how awful war is and it makes you thankful that you didn’t have to grow up in that sort of environment. The special effects are fantastic and you can tell that an amazing amount of effect was put into them. I do however think it’s a shame that they put so much effort into the special effects but not into staying true to the actual events. This was where the film received a lot of critism and I think that with a film like this it’s going to be a very sensitive subject for a lot of people and if you don’t get the most important aspect of it right, this being the actual attack then you should expect to receive a lot of negative critique.
This is an extremely long film and when films are this long you expect them to drag a bit and this one is no exception, it has those moments where you just want it to hurry up and finish and this is where I find myself fast forwarding or scene skipping. This is fine if you’ve seen it as many times as I have but if this is your first watch then I think you should stick with it. As I mentioned earlier I think this film could have been a lot shorter and it’s far from faultless however it’s an enjoyable film that will keep you hooked.
Despite all it’s letdowns I do think that this is an enjoyable war epic and seeing as though war films are probably the films that I avoid most out of any genre it did well at holding my attention all the way through. If you can look passed all it’s failures then I think you’ll enjoy this film, however you shouldn’t go into it expecting anything resembling Titanic as this doesn’t even come close.
The DVD is currently available from play.com for £5.99, not too expensive but considering it’s quite an old film I was expecting it to be a couple of pounds cheaper. Still, if you haven’t seen this before and you’re not sure whether you’ll like it then you’re not going to be losing out on much are you?
The special features include: Journey to the Screen - The Making of Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor: The Japanese Perspective Faith Hill Music Video: 'There You'll Be' Theatrical Trailer Interactive Menu Scene Access
...for the US Pacific fleet, Pearl Harbour undergoes a surprise bombing attack by the Japanese, did they declare war. After sixty years, Hollywood heavyweight, Jerry Bruckheimer (Armageddon, Top Gun, Bad Company, The Rock, Bad Boys 1 & 2, Beverly Hills Cop, Gone In 60 Seconds... the list goes on) decided to make a big blockbuster adaptation of this horrific tradegy and huge loss of life.
The script, penned by Randall Walace - "Braveheart" was placed ... ...showcase of effects laden eyecandy, Pearl Harbour stars Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale, plus an impressive supporting cast in a "breathtaking story of love, loss and heroism" (not my words).
After the obligitory opening credits, we are on a farm in 1924 with two young boys Rafe and Danny. Both boys depend on one another and are therefore best friends. Rafe is dyslexic and Danny is vulnerable, especially to the likes of his burnt ...
DarkMark 05.05.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)
Advantages: Great action scenes Disadvantages: Not as good as it thinks it is
...Both are based in Pearl Harbor, about as far as you can get from the war, according to Rafe, but we get to see some of the political intrigue and military manoeuvring between America and Japan. The Japanese believe war is inevitable and plan a huge surprise attack on the massed fleets of the Navy. The tension builds as we realise our heroes are caught up in one of the darkest days in American history. And then Rafe turns up, alive and well. That's ... ...coherency after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The film should have quickly wrapped up the love story and got out of there but unfortunately it goes on (and on) for a lengthy sequence detailing the American 'retaliation'. This is where the gung-ho, jingoistic patriotism gets the better of the story. The ultimate response to Pearl Harbor was, of course, the horror of Hiroshima, but this couldn't be tied into our heroes' stories. Not content with fighting ...
Crazy-Christian 14.06.2001 (21.09.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)
Advantages: The action sequences and special effects Disadvantages: Corny, stilted, sloppy, sentimental clap trap
...the latest great war epic, Pearl Harbour, at the weekend, that has been advertising itself all over the place as THE definitive film about the event that catapulted the USA into the Second World War, and which changed forever the course of world history.
This film actually lasted about an hour more than the actual attack itself, which was all over in a little under two hours.
Yawn!!! After a very short period of time I found myself wishing that ... ...trap has to do with Pearl Harbour is a question you will probably ask yourself about a dozen times, as your senses are numbed and your popcorn and Coke begin to run out.
~ ~ The action, when it finally comes, is unquestionably brilliant.
The film made heavy use of computer generated special effects for the action sequences, and the technique is very effective.
You are suddenly woken up from the stupor that you have fallen into, as thousands of ...
the_mad_cabbie 13.06.2001 (14.06.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)
Advantages: Half an hour of some of the best scenes and special effects in a film Disadvantages: The Love triangle, The hour and a half build up
...film, based on events at Pearl Harbor, that brought the Americans into the war. But back track to before the war we first meet our two main characters as kids, Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett) and Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck). Who the first time we see them have been flying a crop dusting plane at only 9 years old. We then fast-forward and find them in the Air Force together. Rafe falls in love with a nurse, Evelyn Johnson (Kate Beckinsale), whom he is ... ...who is then reassigned to Pearl Harbour, where conveniently Danny happens to be serving. Rafe goes missing during a dogfight with the Germans and the news throws Danny and Evelyn together. But he’s not really lost and returns a few weeks later, around about the same time the entire Japanese fleet has disappeared and are planning an attack on Pearl Harbor. So with both ace pilots now in the same place it only seems right that the attack should ...
Andy.mack 10.09.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)
Advantages: good SFX Disadvantages: cliched, hardly based on facts. bad portrayal of characters
...with the actual review:
Pearl Harbour stars Ben Afleck, Josh Harnett, and Kate Beckinsale who play the three main characters that this film focuses upon. Based very very loosely on the actual event that drew USA into WWII it, like many other hollywood films, uses this premise and attaches in a love triangle to pull in the punters. Before I get too deeply into this, it would be a good thing to remember that this is a love story first, and a war movie ... ...Japanese have set sail for Pearl Harbour – where Danny and Evelyn have been posted. The night before the first attack, Evelyn finds that Rafe has not been killed but has returned home, only to find out what has happened. Before anything can be properly sorted out, the attack on Pearl Harbour commences…
The film takes a while to get started. Those of you who want to watch this for the action will have to wait over 2 hours before the attack ...
cool_bob 28.06.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)
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Advantages: Historically accurate, covers both political and military side of the conflict, no pansy romantics. Disadvantages: Doesn't have the big-budget explosions.
'Tora! Tora! Tora!' was released back in 1970, and has recently been re-released on DVD to coincide with the release of the acclaimed 'PearlHarbor'. Both films dramatise the events of 7th December 1941, when the Japanese attacked the American Pacific Fleet stationed at PearlHarbor. As the opinion title suggests, I consider this original film to be superior to the big-budget Hollywood re-make.
Since both films essentially cover the same subject I will concentrate on the differences between the two, which essentially boils down to their attitude and style. 'Tora!' was made using two seperate production units, one in Japan, one in America. In doing so it was the first film ever to use Japanese historical documents about World War II, and it shows. It shows the events from both the American and Japanese perspectives, in particular ...
Advantages: funny in parts, good extras Disadvantages: some very dull sections
of the movie. There are bits where you follow the band around and you watch them…meet people. No jokes, no worthwhile dialogue, just Spinal Tap talking to record executives. When you are watching a comedy film and you don’t laugh for 15 minutes, you know that something has gone wrong.
In a film like this, storyline is not that important. Which is positive generalization for this film, because the storyline is so corny and run of the mill that it wouldn’t be out of place in a Disney movie. In fact, there are only two real plot points – member of band and manager leave, member of band returns. That’s it. If you had this plot in a serious film, you would be very disappointed. Lucky it’s a comedy then.
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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
DVD
Studio(s)
Touchstone Home Video; Technicolor Distribution Services, WALT DISNEY STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINM; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Journey To The Scene The Making Of Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor The Japanese Perspective, Faith Hill Music Video There You ll Be, Theatrical Trailer, Collector's Edition Steelbook
Aspect Ratio
2.35 Wide Screen, 16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English Turkish
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.
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