Post by Zone Fighter on Dec 19, 2006 20:16:29 GMT -8
Midway (1976)
directed by Jack Smight
produced by Walter Mirisch
written by Donald S. Sanford
music by John Williams
starring
Charleston Heston as Captain Matthew Garth
Henry Fonda as Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
guest stars
James Coburn as Captain Vinton Maddox
Glenn Ford as Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance
Hal Holbrook as Commander Joseph Rochefort
Toshiro Mifune as Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (dubbed by Paul Frees)
Robert Mitchum as Vice Admiral William F. 'Bull' Halsey Jr.
Cliff Robertson as Commander Carl Jessop
Robert Wagner as Lt. Commander Ernest L. Blake
also starring
Robert Webber as Rear Admiral Frank J. 'Jack' Fletcher
Ed Nelson as Rear Admiral as Harry Pearson
James Shigeta as Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo
Christina Kokubo as Miss Haruko Sakura
Edward Albert as Ensign Thomas Garth
"The battle of Midway sounded its furious thunder in June 1942, just six months after the attack on Peal Harbor. Midway interweaves the dramatic personal stories of the men who fought the courageous battle that was to be the Pacific turning point for the United States. The all-star cast and breakthrough war footage cover the Battle of Midway with powerful reality and epic sweep".
-- from the DVD case
Like most movies about WII Midway mixes fact and fiction, Charleston Heston's character for example is fictional. The movie uses actual WWII footage, filmed by the US Navy, because it would have been too expensive to try to recreate every battle scene. Several scenes are actually taken from Tora, Tora, Tora (1970).
Charlston Heston served in the Air Force.
Henry Fonda served in the Navy under Admiral Nimitz.
Glen Ford serve as a Naval Reserve Captain during the battle of midway. He was actually under the command of the Rear Admiral Spruance. Glen Ford also served in the Marines.
Robert Webber was a Marine during WWII.
Edward Albert is the son of Eddie Albert.
Jack Smight joined the Army Aircorps at age 17 and was a navigator on B-24 bombers during the war.
Toshiro Mifune was my favorite Japanese actor. He took the role of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto very seriously, having authentic unforms made in Japan. Looking at the map used in the film he said, through his translator, that it was wrong and helped to create a more accurate map. He gave director Jack Smight a samurai sword.
Paul Frees who dubbed the voice of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, since Toshiro Mifune did not speak English, was at Normanday on D-Day. Among his many voice roles were the Pillsbury Doughboy and Boris Badenov.
Midway was the second film in Sensurround. I remember seeing Midway in a theater and feeling the rumbling. The other Sensurround films are Earthquake, Rollercoaster (which I don't think I've seen) and the theatrical release of the original Battlestar Gallactica. Sensurround has been superceeded by 5.1 surround sound. Unlike Earthquake I don't think Midway is hurt by not having Sensurround. I do think it works better on the large screen though.
The DVD includes
Orginal Featurette
Documentary with new interviews with producer, director, editor and Charleston Heston
Featurette on composer John Williams
Featurette on Sensurround Sound
Production photographs and portraits with score by John Williams
Additional scenes, exclusively shot for the network television version
Theatrical Trailer
Production Notes
Cast and Filmmakers
directed by Jack Smight
produced by Walter Mirisch
written by Donald S. Sanford
music by John Williams
starring
Charleston Heston as Captain Matthew Garth
Henry Fonda as Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
guest stars
James Coburn as Captain Vinton Maddox
Glenn Ford as Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance
Hal Holbrook as Commander Joseph Rochefort
Toshiro Mifune as Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (dubbed by Paul Frees)
Robert Mitchum as Vice Admiral William F. 'Bull' Halsey Jr.
Cliff Robertson as Commander Carl Jessop
Robert Wagner as Lt. Commander Ernest L. Blake
also starring
Robert Webber as Rear Admiral Frank J. 'Jack' Fletcher
Ed Nelson as Rear Admiral as Harry Pearson
James Shigeta as Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo
Christina Kokubo as Miss Haruko Sakura
Edward Albert as Ensign Thomas Garth
"The battle of Midway sounded its furious thunder in June 1942, just six months after the attack on Peal Harbor. Midway interweaves the dramatic personal stories of the men who fought the courageous battle that was to be the Pacific turning point for the United States. The all-star cast and breakthrough war footage cover the Battle of Midway with powerful reality and epic sweep".
-- from the DVD case
Like most movies about WII Midway mixes fact and fiction, Charleston Heston's character for example is fictional. The movie uses actual WWII footage, filmed by the US Navy, because it would have been too expensive to try to recreate every battle scene. Several scenes are actually taken from Tora, Tora, Tora (1970).
Charlston Heston served in the Air Force.
Henry Fonda served in the Navy under Admiral Nimitz.
Glen Ford serve as a Naval Reserve Captain during the battle of midway. He was actually under the command of the Rear Admiral Spruance. Glen Ford also served in the Marines.
Robert Webber was a Marine during WWII.
Edward Albert is the son of Eddie Albert.
Jack Smight joined the Army Aircorps at age 17 and was a navigator on B-24 bombers during the war.
Toshiro Mifune was my favorite Japanese actor. He took the role of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto very seriously, having authentic unforms made in Japan. Looking at the map used in the film he said, through his translator, that it was wrong and helped to create a more accurate map. He gave director Jack Smight a samurai sword.
Paul Frees who dubbed the voice of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, since Toshiro Mifune did not speak English, was at Normanday on D-Day. Among his many voice roles were the Pillsbury Doughboy and Boris Badenov.
Midway was the second film in Sensurround. I remember seeing Midway in a theater and feeling the rumbling. The other Sensurround films are Earthquake, Rollercoaster (which I don't think I've seen) and the theatrical release of the original Battlestar Gallactica. Sensurround has been superceeded by 5.1 surround sound. Unlike Earthquake I don't think Midway is hurt by not having Sensurround. I do think it works better on the large screen though.
The DVD includes
Orginal Featurette
Documentary with new interviews with producer, director, editor and Charleston Heston
Featurette on composer John Williams
Featurette on Sensurround Sound
Production photographs and portraits with score by John Williams
Additional scenes, exclusively shot for the network television version
Theatrical Trailer
Production Notes
Cast and Filmmakers