UHD Review Midway – UHD Review (1 Viewer)

[Larry Carlson]

God, I love this forum. There are so many nice and knowledgeable people here. I feel like I’m reading mail from friends.

 

[Sam Posten]

God, I love this forum. There are so many nice and knowledgeable people here. I feel like I’m reading mail from friends.

This releases tomorrow. I will incorporate a few additional changes based on feedback tonight.

 

[Sam Posten]

Any buyers?

 

[RolandL]

I rented this and watched last night. I thought it was good and liked how they try to be as real as to what really happened.

I'm listening to the audio commentary now. Not the worst but pretty close to it. He's mostly saying "you know' most of the time, and just telling us what we are seeing on the screen.

Great that Redbox rentals have all the extras. Watch the movie when you rent it, extras the next day and then return the disc. Easy for me as I'm now retired.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I rented this and watched last night. I thought it was good and liked how they try to be as real as to what really happened.

I'm listening to the audio commentary now. Not the worst but pretty close to it. He's mostly saying "you know' most of the time, and just telling us what we are seeing on the screen.

Compared to other Emmerich commentaries, this one is good. Yes, he still relies on "like kind of you know" an awful lot, and he does narrate the movie at times, but I think he covers a lot of ground.

It's not a great commentary in the abstract, but it's maybe the best I've heard from Emmerich!

 

[RolandL]

Watched the other extras and they are great!

 

[Jeffrey D]

Hmmmm- do I want to blind buy this one, or not?

 

[Tino]

Hmmmm- do I want to blind buy this one, or not?

If you are a WWII action film fan I would say yes. Otherwise..........??

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Hmmmm- do I want to blind buy this one, or not?

I'd vote no. It's a pretty lousy movie!

 

[Mike Robertson]

Watched Midway for the second time last night. Enjoyed it a little more. Had time to take in more of the details. Not the greatest war film ever, but definitely not the worst. No regrets buying the 4K disc. However, one of the details missing that really bothered me was the complete lack of any mention or depiction of the fighter aircraft of the Navy and Marine Corps. No F4F Wildcats on the carrier or Marine Wildcats and obsolete Brewester Buffaloes flying from Midway. The Marines pilots from Midway were pretty much decimated by the Japanese fighter escort. I know the dive bomber pilots pressed their attacks against intense antiaircraft fire to deliver their bombs. However, it wasn't as hard as it could have been if not for the sacrifices made by others. Was any mention made this in the commentary? Have not had time to listen. I know it was mentioned that he did not have the budget he wanted. Just wondered if he would have fleshed out the story a bit more had he been able.

 

[john a hunter]

Enjoyed this more than I thought I would given the director.
Some of the flying sequences are really well done and it kept my attention all the way through.
Made me get out the mini series of Pacific from 2010 no less.
Superb picture and a sound mix as good if not better than many current releases.
Only seen the first episode but the acting alone is on a different level than Midway.
Am sure I will enjoy the rest if enjoy is the right word given the subject matter.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Reading this makes me want to go searching for “Victory at Sea.” BTW, if I buy the digital, are the extras included?

 

[LeoA]

And now the history geek has to have a few words. The reason the loss of those four carriers was so important was that Japan did not have the industrial capacity to replace them. If memory serves me they had a total of nine before the battle. So nearly half their carrier force was lost in this one battle. And the Pacific War at sea was going going to be a carrier fight.

Even more crippling in the long run was the near complete loss of their experienced aircrews from these four carriers. From then on out, American pilots tended to be going up against inexperienced and poorly trained carrier pilots instead of skilled veterans.

So much so that just a little over two years later, four more Japanese carriers with only a fraction of their intended complement of aircraft and even fewer pilots, were only worth being used as a decoy in a last ditch attempt to stop the American landing at Leyte.

The US Third Fleet took the bait and gave chase when we located their carriers since they were well aware of what carrier airpower could do. This led to the last two major engagements between American and Japanese surface ships in the war, as two other Japanese fleets attempted to sneak through and attack the landing beaches.

The first was the famous Battle off Samar where only 3 small destroyers, 4 even smaller destroyer escorts and a half dozen American escort carriers equipped for attacking ground targets rather than ships (nicknamed baby flattops or jeep carriers due to their diminutive size) were between the beaches and a Japanese task force of four battleships (Including the Yamato), 8 cruisers, and 11 destroyers.

Yet these small ships fought so valiantly, some at point blank ranges, that the Japanese fleet turned and ran away thinking these were just the forward elements of a much larger American fleet. Three of their cruisers were lost (Including one from a lucky hit from the 5" stern gun of an escort carrier), at a severe cost in American lives and with 5 of 13 American ships lost.

Then there was the Battle of Surigao Strait a few hours later. A Japanese force of two battleships, a cruiser, and a handful of destroyers attempted to sneak through from the south to join the main force that had already turned and ran away. But we were prepared here and six old prewar American battleships (Most of which were veterans of the attack on Pearl Harbor, including two that had been sunk) and a heavy force of cruisers and destroyers were laying in wait.

History's last battleship vs. battleship action occurred that night, with American forces "crossing the T" at the exit of the strait, able to bring all their radar directed guns to bear while the Japanese ships could only use their forward turrets. I believe only a Japanese destroyer ultimately escaped the Philippines from this engagement.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Even more crippling in the long run was the near complete loss of their experienced aircrews from these four carriers. From then on out, American pilots tended to be going up against inexperienced and poorly trained carrier pilots instead of skilled veterans.

So much so that just a little over two years later, four more Japanese carriers with only a fraction of their intended complement of aircraft and even fewer pilots, were only worth being used as a decoy in a last ditch attempt to stop the American landing at Leyte.

The US Third Fleet took the bait and gave chase when we located their carriers since they were well aware of what carrier airpower could do. This led to the last two major engagements between American and Japanese surface ships in the war, as two other Japanese fleets attempted to sneak through and attack the landing beaches.

The first was the famous Battle off Samar where only 3 small destroyers, 4 even smaller destroyer escorts and a half dozen American escort carriers equipped for attacking ground targets rather than ships (nicknamed baby flattops or jeep carriers due to their diminutive size) were between the beaches and a Japanese task force of four battleships (Including the Yamato), 8 cruisers, and 11 destroyers.

Yet these small ships fought so valiantly, some at point blank ranges, that the Japanese fleet turned and ran away thinking these were just the forward elements of a much larger American fleet. Three of their cruisers were lost (Including one from a lucky hit from the 5" stern gun of an escort carrier), at a severe cost in American lives and with 5 of 13 American ships lost.

Then there was the Battle of Surigao Strait a few hours later. A Japanese force of two battleships, a cruiser, and a handful of destroyers attempted to sneak through from the south to join the main force that had already turned and ran away. But we were prepared here and six old prewar American battleships (Most of which were veterans of the attack on Pearl Harbor, including two that had been sunk) and a heavy force of cruisers and destroyers were laying in wait.

History's last battleship vs. battleship action occurred that night, with American forces "crossing the T" at the exit of the strait, able to bring all their radar directed guns to bear while the Japanese ships could only use their forward turrets. I believe only a Japanese destroyer ultimately escaped the Philippines from this engagement.

Yeah, Sprague saved Halsey's ass for being fooled by the Japanese.

 

[Sam Posten]

I'd vote no. It's a pretty lousy movie!

Everyone else: thanks for the great input.

 

[skylark68]

Yeah, Sprague saved Halsey's ass for being fooled by the Japanese.

Reminds me of the quote from Hunt from Red October. Sean Connery when talking about Alec Baldwin's character's book about Admiral Halsey... "...Halsey acted foolishly!"

 

[Dee Zee]

Enjoyed this more than I thought I would given the director.
Some of the flying sequences are really well done and it kept my attention all the way through.
Made me get out the mini series of Pacific from 2010 no less.
Superb picture and a sound mix as good if not better than many current releases.
Only seen the first episode but the acting alone is on a different level than Midway.
Am sure I will enjoy the rest if enjoy is the right word given the subject matter.

The Pacific is a great series. Watched it twice already. Looking forward to Midway.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

View attachment 72420

Everyone else: thanks for the great input.

Gee, sorry that I called a lousy movie lousy!

 

[Johnny Angell]

Gee, sorry that I called a lousy movie lousy!

Colin, it's just that you dislike soooo much, I just don't trust your opinion. I'll bet I'm not alone. I think that's the cause for Sam's post. BTW, just because you think it's lousy, doesn't make it true.

 

[Rick Thompson]

Hmmmm- do I want to blind buy this one, or not?

I bought it and don't plan to keep it. Once I can see people again, I'll give it away. Three reasons.

One is historical, namely that it has the wrong admiral in command of U.S. forces. It was not Raymond Spruance; it was Frank Jack Fletcher, who was erased from the battle in this movie. There were actually two task forces involved, one commanded by Spruance and one by Fletcher, with Fletcher in overall command. It was Fletcher who made one of the key decisions, possibly THE key decision, that won the battle -- namely to keep the two task forces apart. As a result, the Japanese only found Fletcher's task force, which was built around the Yorktown. They never sighted the other, with Hornet and Enterprise. By contrast, the Japanese put all their carrier eggs in one basket with disastrous results. It was only after Yorktown was taken out of the battle that the famous message took place. Spruance asked for Fletcher's orders, and Fletcher replied, "None. Will conform to your movements." Reason: Both remaining carriers were in Spruance's untouched and unnoticed force. Fletcher's logic was unassailable. By that time also, the "famous five minutes" where three Japanese carriers were sunk, had already taken place.

Second reason: Yamamoto is quoted saying "All we have done is awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." That's the quote that famously ended TORA, TORA, TORA and was a total fabrication by that film's director, Richard Fleischer. (Fleischer admitted that he needed something to end the film, and he wrote that line.) It is a sentiment Yamamoto would have agreed with -- he was incensed when he learned the Japanese message had been delivered after the attack -- but he never said it. (My source on the "never said it" is Donald Goldstein, co-author of "At Dawn We Slept.")

The last reason is cast. Woody Harrelson gives me the creeps, possibly because in most of his films he's played creepy characters. Consequently, I didn't believe him for a minute as Nimitz.