Midway

original title:
Midway
other titles:
(Schlacht von Midway)
country / year of production:
USA / 1976
original length:
132 min. , color
premiere:
18 June 1976
genre:
history film
based on:
director:
Jack Smight
film script:
Donald S. Sanford
producer:
Walter Mirisch
cinematographer:
Harry Stradling Jr.
editor:
Robert Swink , Frank J. Urioste
composer:
John Williams
cast (role):
Charlton Heston (Captain Matthew Garth) , Edward Albert (Lieutenant Thomas Garth) , Henry Fonda (Admiral Chester W. Nimitz) , James Coburn (Captain Vinton Maddox) , Glenn Ford (Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance) , Charlton Heston , Edward Albert , Henry Fonda , James Coburn , Glenn Ford
more:
Christina Kokubo (Miss Haruko Sakura) , Robert Mitchum (Admiral William F. 'Bull' Halsey, Jr.) , (Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto) , Robert Wagner (Lieutenant Commander Ernest L. Blake) , Hal Holbrook (Commander Joseph Rochefort) , Robert Mitchum , Christina Kokubo , Robert Wagner , Hal Holbrook
plot synopsis:
June 1942: the Americans and the Japanese have built up their fleets in the Pacific. With their carrier force the Japanese attempt to occupy Midway island and lure the American fleet to destruction. Three American aircraft carriers and numerous escort ships are sent to confront the enemy. On both sides much dependents on locating the enemy with scout planes on time. In the end the Japanese carrier force is completely destroyed ans the way is paved for the American offensives to reconquer the Pacific isles. Even if the focus of the action is on the historic personalities, such as the admirals Nimitz and Yamamoto, there is enough time for a little love story. Ensign Garth, son of navy captain Matt Garth falls in love with Haruko Sakura, a Hawaiian girl of Japanese decent.
keywords:
authenticity , sea-battle , war in the sky , aircraft carrier
war:
Second World War (1939-1945)
literature:
Tag Gallagher/ John Ford. "`Midway´. The War Documentaries". In: Film Comment 11 (1975), 5, 40-46.
remarks:
The Battle of Midway is considered to be the turning point of the Second World War on the Pacific theatre. The US-Forces ended a series of defeats and destroyed the Japanese invasion fleet.

In order to enhance the sound of the film`s special effects a specail system called Sensurround was used. Some of the battle scenes have been borrowed from actual newsreel footage.

Like "The Longest Day" and "Tora! Tora! Tora!" aims at reconstructing the historical events as correctly as possible, presenting both the American and the Japanese side.
availability:
VHS, DVD