Dig. Bits has Pearl Harbor: Vista Series review up... (1 Viewer)

[Alex Larman]

Great idea, Jon. I wasn't going to pick the DVD up, but you've made me think it's a comedy, which is enough for me! Roll on Ronald's review!!!

 

[Jon Robertson]

I think there is a great deal of irony in the actual attack sequence itself - it reminded me of David Lynch, for some reason?

Am I alone in my thinking?

 

[Alex Larman]

Jon- I've heard that Bay throws in a reference to Ingmar Bergman's Cries and Whispers early on. Is this true?

 

[Jon Robertson]

Sort of. There's the same feeling of longing.

I still think it's closest to some of David Lynch's work, for a pastiche of the all-American psyche.

 

[Andrew_Sch]

BUT LORD OF THE RINGS SUCKED COMPAIRED TO BLACK HAWK DOWN.

Ummm...I don't really see how there is any comparison here. What does the Battle of Mogudishu(sp?) have to do with a fantasy novel? These are two movies that had completely different agendas, and both accomplished them very well: one to show an accurate depiction of modern war, and one to adapt a great fantasy novel to the big screen. Comparing these two is like comparing apples and oranges (sorry for the cliche, couldn't think of a better comparison.)

Wait a minute, re-reading this post, I'm thinking Kevin might have been joking. If so, then I might look like a bit of a moron right now.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

There are people who are just not into fantasy movies
That's fine
LOTR is a much better film than Pearl Harbor, and I'm a huge Michael Bay fan. As I said in my review, PH obviously germinated from Bay's desire to shoot the battle, and they built a plot around that that was VERY studio. "Let's make Titanic in WW2!" Bay said fine, because he got to shoot his battle.
They should have just shot the battle in IMAX Though then they wouldn't have made their money back :frowning:
One thing no one can rag on about Bay, since The Rock, he has vowed to never shoot Super35 again

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I heard from someone who supposedly got his copy early from a B&M that they cut out or atleast shortened some of the romance between Evelyn and Danny. Can you confirm this?

It's not true. One minor scene got trimmed, but that's it. There's no way they could remove the romance without making huge changes elsewhere - it's a crucial component of the story.

Overall, the DC makes VERY small variations. More gore, more profanity, a couple small trims, a couple minor additions. If you didn't like the theatrical version, you won't like this one...

 

[Dan Huey]

What happened? I remember the buzz awhile back saying there were going to be major changes to the film, especially the romance. These were spoken by people who were actually working on the project. Did they decide to not do it?

 

[Julian Lalor]

Does no-one else watch Pearl Harbor as a very funny pastiche of wartime romance films? As a straight drama, it's appaling, but Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer are far too intelligent to not have realised how silly it is, not to mention Ben Affleck (I can't wait to hear his commentary track!).

As much as I want to agree with you, I really do think Bay was dead serious with this film. He saw it as his "Titanic". I have little doubt he thought he was going to win an Oscar for this when he was making it. Bay is a fine action director, but his talents as a director of drama has never been strong. The film is indeed funny, but I don't think any of its humour is intentional.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

The only problem was the the commentaries are done AFTER Sept. 11th, so they spend a lot of time reflecting on the parallels. The resto of it Affleck and Hartnett rip it a new one. Baldwin seems to think that the critics didn't give it a fair shake. Bruckheimer pretty much stays away from opinions and sticks to the facts

 

[Timothy Alexander]

You gotta love Affleck for always talkin shit about his own movies though.

 

[Tim Glover]

Jeff, I really appreciate your review not being about bashing the film, instead concentrating on the plethora of extras. It's clear you weren't a huge fan of PH, but left snide remarks off. Thanks from the ones who really like it. Wish dvdfile.com would use your writing style!
Liking PH doesn't make me any less of a film lover, more of an idiot, or discount other great films. Yes it's sappy at times, some of the romantic scenes could have been played down a bit, etc...but I loved it anyway. Something in the way it was filmed, the beautiful score, KATE BECKINSALE etc....just got me. My list of loved movies is deep and comes from all types too. BTW, I loved Fellowship of the Ring too! And Dude, Where's My Car?, Hitchcocks's Masterpiece-Notorious, and What About Bob?....

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Well, I think Bill and I have always shared the same philosophy, and so do the people at DVDAngle where I used to write. You review the DVD, not the movie.
As I said in my review, once things start exploding, Bay's at his best and I love it

 

[Kami]

at the LOTR vs. Pearl Harbor.
I only have one thing to say:
LOTR 5-discer is going to whoop the living crap out of Pearl Harbor!!

 

[Jeff Kleist]

It will be very close. There is no finer, more balanced SE out on the market IMO than Pearl Harbor

LOTR has the edge that it's a better movie, but it will be very close in terms of supplements

 

[Damin J Toell]

The way people take sides over movies, you'd think they were the ones who actually made them.

DJ

 

[Larry P]

There are people who are just not into fantasy movies

Actually, fantasy movies are my favorite. Willow is "high fantasy" and is in my top ten all time favorites. I think that film far easier captured the spirit of Tolkein then Peter Jackson's joyless horror movie did.


And for people critcizing Pearl Harbor because it featured a sappy romance, and should have been exclusivly about the military drama, then I guess you have the same complaints about Gone With the Wind or any number of vintage films that followed this formula? Titanic did not invent the genre of setting a romance against the backdrop of a famous historical event.

This film was an obvious homage to those old films, right down to the music. Maybe people didn't like the character's naivite; but I think it made it clear that the US was a very naive place at the time.