Pearl Harbor
Essay Preview: Pearl Harbor
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“Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a day which will live in infamy, the United States of America, was suddenly and deliberately attacked by Naval and Air Forces of the Empire of Japan,” delivered by Franklin D. Roosevelt is regarded as one of the most important speeches given in US History to date. The speech was delivered to the State of the Union marking the United States entrance into the Second World War against Japan and Germany.
The concept of the theatrical feature Pearl Harbor was to replicate the epic battle in 1941 for the 60th anniversary of the infamous event. The film was directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, which stars Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Kate Beckinsale, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Alec Baldwin. The film was released on May 25, 2001 and was shown at a premiere gala in Pearl Harbor, HI aboard the USS John C. Stennis.
Bay recalls during a behind the scenes interview, “I have no idea if we can do this movie. I dont want to do it unless we can do it right and create the world as real as possible.” (2001) The producers and director wanted to create the most accurate account of this great travesty on American soil. They felt that this was an important event in history and that it should be recreated on the big screen so all of those who lived through it, and those who could learn from it would get a better appreciation of what happened that day. The Pentagon saw this film as a way to reflect credit to those who survived that day and to the over 1,100 sailors that perished in the waters of Pearl Harbor. The creators wanted this film to be one that would be remembered as one of the first military action films the encompassed the entire event and maintained it accuracy well.
The filmmakers knew that this was going to be a long and arduous process to create and maintain the full effect of actual events that occurred during the attack of Pearl Harbor. The creators recruited the help of over 70 Pearl Harbor survivors to recount exactly what they saw and how they felt during the attack. 20 vintage aircraft from around the world were flown for some of the aerial footage. The producers also got permission from the Pentagon to use mothballed ships to use as a model for the endeavor of recreating Battleship Row.
Michael Bay and his writing staff took all of the stories and accounts told by the survivors and tried to instill each story into the film somehow. Many of the suggested stories and recollections were used in the film. Bay felt for the movie to be its most compelling that the story of the survivors had to be told in its entirety. This also added to the sense of reality that Bay wanted to convey to the audience.
The film also encompassed another story line that focused away from the actions of the attack on Pearl Harbor and gave the film more than just a Naval attack. The filmmakers had to have more to the story than the initial attack. They added the love triangle between the 3 main characters and added the child to give the story a more dramatic plot. The background of this film was added to give the viewer more clarity of what it took to be a pilot and also to add to the overall effect of the film.
Production of the films intense attack scenes were filmed in the same area the actual attack took place on that fateful day in 1941. Large props and replicas were built to recreate a part of Battleship Row, and more ships were added in postproduction by computer animation. The Pearl Harbor sequence was shot in 6 weeks and was given approval by the Pentagon to use actual US warships present and museum ships to film on. The extras used in the film were actual US Military service members that are on active duty in HI and came from all branches of the Armed Forces. One of the major obstacles in creating this epic story, and to maintain complete accuracy, was the clothing for the entire cast. Clothing that was current during that time was collected world wide and fabricated to ensure complete accuracy. Also 20 vintage planes of the WWII era were used, and several more were added during postproduction.
As the films comes to an end the first aggression against Japanese begins. The Doolittle Raid shows how the US Military attacked the homeland of Japan in light of the attack at Pearl Harbor. During the filming of this sequence 4 vintage B-52 bombers were used to recreate the takeoff of a Navy Carrier. The USS Constellation was used for this endeavor and the footage was shot in a 3-hour window off the coast of Southern California.
The movie opens up as 2 childhood friends from Tennessee play out their dreams of being fighter pilots in the US Military. Later the film progresses with the 2 childhood friends played by Affleck and Hartnett, at flight school performing high-risk aerial maneuvers. Colonel Doolittle reprimands the pilots, and one of them is recruited to join the fight in Britain. It was thought that the pilot was lost at sea, however, later in the film he returns to find his girlfriend has another love which happens to be his best friend. The pilots