Wow, great stories of meeting some fantastic men.

Gunny456 said:

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For it's time and the technology that was available it was not that bad. What i hated the most about Pearl Harbor was the totally un- authentic engine sounds of the aircraft.

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Maybe it's too early, but which movie are you talking about? Midway or PH? Midway, despite its misuse of archival footage and all that non-sense with the Japanese girlfriend, remains one of my favorite WWII movies. It got the general story pretty much right, and it was pretty well paced and did show us lots of naval action.

Pearl Harbor screwed up so much with the story of December 7; despite its many problems, I still enjoy watching it for the aerial stuff, starting with that great shot of 4 real Spitfires climbing above the white cliffs of Dover. The Aichi D3A1 dive bombers (Val) were not at all correct - it still boggles my mind, in this day and age of CGI, that Hollywood cannot simply go down to the local hobby shop, pick up a Hasegawa Val model, and accurately depict the elliptical wings on that dive bomber (the wings actually resemble the Spitfire's wings to a certain degree). The movie did butcher the story, though, implying (a) that there was only one Japanese attack on PH and (b) that Doolittle's B-25s attacked only one target in Japan.

I mean Midway in its time was not that bad. I still watch it when it comes on. PH..not so much. Once was enough for me.

I've only seen bits and pieces of the movie Pearl Harbor.

One of those was where the female love interest somehow snuck into headquarters in Hawaii during the midst of the Doolittle Raid. Then she was able to listen, with the HQ staff, to the air-to-air radios between planes 3,900 miles away.

Yeah. Totally believable.

Gunny456 said:

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Wow....that is cool. I know what you mean. I missed a lot of opportunities at the shows as well.

Met Paul Tibbets and bought him a drink at the O Club at the CAF Hedaquarters in the late 1970's. All I got is the memory.

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12th AF HQ '55 Ramstein, Germany - Maj. Chuck Yeager and I -1stLT - had breakfast together many times ! He was on one side of the room and I was on the other side !

FWIW, the writers/producers/whatever are talking to experts (we'll see if they listen or not).

Here's one example: Battle of Midway Roundtable

You can look at previous months in 2018 to see some of the stuff they are asking.

Supposedly they're even about the correct BuNos to put on the rudders of aircraft...

I just hope they have a scene that does Thach's division's fight over Dai Ichi Kido Butai the credit it deserves.

thach said:

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FWIW, the writers/producers/whatever are talking to experts (we'll see if they listen or not).

Here's one example: Battle of Midway Roundtable

You can look at previous months in 2018 to see some of the stuff they are asking.

Supposedly they're even about the correct BuNos to put on the rudders of aircraft...

I just hope they have a scene that does Thach's division's fight over Dai Ichi Kido Butai the credit it deserves.

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If they are going to the level of detail of bureau numbers, then that gives me hope that they'll actually get the correct aircraft, i.e. feature TBD-1 Devastators as comprising the doomed squadron, Torpedo Squadron 8. Of course, they'll have to utilize some kind of visual effect technology for that as there are no Devastators remaining that are in flying condition.

Maybe they can do some CGI with the TBD-1s that were found by Lady Lex!

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

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Gunny456 said:

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For it's time and the technology that was available it was not that bad. What i hated the most about Pearl Harbor was the totally un- authentic engine sounds of the aircraft.

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Maybe it's too early, but which movie are you talking about? Midway or PH? Midway, despite its misuse of archival footage and all that non-sense with the Japanese girlfriend, remains one of my favorite WWII movies. It got the general story pretty much right, and it was pretty well paced and did show us lots of naval action.

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CincoRanch,

I am right there with you on the 1976 movie "Midway". It is under-rated. For such a complex battle's beginning and the Japanese plan, they actually do a great job conveying how it unfolds. The Doolittle raid is used to underscore the desire to finish off the American carriers missed at Pearl Harbor, and they go from there. (While Yamamoto had already planned Midway when Doolittle attacked, it did help him win arguments with the Army on timetable and urgency). Nimitz's famous order "principle of calculated risk" is quoted. This is a Hollywood movie remember--- it does more than a credible job. The love interest was probably inevitable, and a product of the 70's but harmless. The Wiliams soundtrack is fantastic --- it captures the feel perfectly, foreshadowing what would be given to all in Star Wars the next year. I remember all that vividly. Its weakest points all ironically come after the dive-bombing -- they just rush the attack on Yorktown and the events after, and of course plenty of invented scenes. Trivia: many complain about re-used archival footage of Essex-class carriers, etc. But what is not realized is they didn't spend much on the Japanese side either--those shots too, were lifted from a Japanese movie of the time--with their usual high quality of model work. Another trivia: when `Midway' 76 showed Rocherfort's and Ultra's role and code-breaking in the victory

Now this,

Quote:

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Pearl Harbor screwed up so much with the story of December 7; despite its many problems, I still enjoy watching it for the aerial stuff, starting with that great shot of 4 real Spitfires climbing above the white cliffs of Dover. The Aichi D3A1 dive bombers (Val) were not at all correct - it still boggles my mind, in this day and age of CGI, that Hollywood cannot simply go down to the local hobby shop, pick up a Hasegawa Val model, and accurately depict the elliptical wings on that dive bomber (the wings actually resemble the Spitfire's wings to a certain degree). The movie did butcher the story, though, implying (a) that there was only one Japanese attack on PH and (b) that Doolittle's B-25s attacked only one target in Japan.

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Leaving aside comparisons to the earlier and grander approach of ToraToraTora, this movie was such a let-down compared to what you were expecting in the anniversary year of 2001. It had alot more `wrong' in the technical visual sense than `Midway' when you allow for the 76' one having to scimp on effects. It was entertaining enough, but had many cringe-worthy moments. At least it did show Oklahoma's capsize and didn't focus only on Arizona. It also had some good soundtrack moments too -- and I did like the style they did for the morning launch of the attack waves. But again, nothing on ToraToraTora's of the same scene.

On the new Midway movie, there has been some very slight input suggestions. But I would not expect focus on Japanese revelations. Its not adapting anyone's book -- its seeking to capture a tone. The accuracy intent (hopefully) refers more at least to the type of aircraft that will be shown by CGI and Nimitz HQ, the flagships, etc. I would really like to see the difficulty of a torpedo run drop by a plane or the sheer vertical of a true dive-bomber attack done well rather than the `lobbed bomb' type of imagery, along with something of the blow by blow of the dive-bombed carriers and then Yorktown's fight.

thach,

I am also hoping some of how the `Thach Weave' got its name is shown. That we can hope for.

I WISH they would do something like the TV version of Midway that used to be played back in the '80s, with all the extra Coral Sea storyline. Somewhere at my mom's & dad's is a worn out VHS with all four hours or so of that version of Midway.

And titan, that would be great! Maybe something like Thach and Lovelace talking about how to teach the weave to his VF-42 cadre before leaving P.H., T.H., then Lovelace being killed in the deck crash on Yorktown, distracting Thach. Then maybe a flashback to Thach's home in Coronado with matchsticks after they leave Yorktown, and then a return to Thach's division over Dai Ichi Kido Butai getting jumped, and then the line astern portion of the dogfight, then Thach ordering Dibbs to go out wide and start the beam defense position like he had taught him and staving off hordes of angry Japanese Zeroes. Unfortunately, his division couldn't save VT-3, but they would dish it out!

Then right before the credits, have something about Thach's battle over the Japanese fleet being one of the greatest combat flights in the history of air combat, and how it shaped air combat to this day (although altered over time).

One can dream!