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| Pearl Harbor | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Michael Bay |
| Written by | Randall Wallace |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | John Schwartzman |
| Edited by | |
| Music by | Hans Zimmer |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 183 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Languages |
|
| Budget | $140 million[2][3] |
| Box office | $449.2 million[2] |
Pearl Harbor is a 2001 Americanromanticwardrama film directed byMichael Bay, produced by Bay andJerry Bruckheimer and written byRandall Wallace. StarringBen Affleck,Josh Hartnett,Kate Beckinsale,Cuba Gooding Jr.,Tom Sizemore,Jon Voight,Colm Feore, andAlec Baldwin, the film features a heavily fictionalized version of theattack on Pearl Harbor, focusing on alove triangle set amidst the lead up to the attack, its aftermath, and theDoolittle Raid.
The film was produced byTouchstone Pictures andJerry Bruckheimer Films and released byBuena Vista Pictures Distribution on May 25, 2001, and was a box office success, grossing $59 million in its opening weekend and $449.2 million worldwide, becomingthe sixth highest-grossing film of 2001.[2] It received generally negative reviews from critics, although there was praise for the visual effects, action sequences, and music score. The film was nominated for fourAcademy Awards, winning in the category ofBest Sound Editing. It was also nominated for sixGolden Raspberry Awards, includingWorst Picture.
InTennessee in 1923, best friends Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker play together in the back of abiplane owned by Rafe's father, pretending to be combat airmen.
By 1941, Danny and Rafe are first lieutenants in the US Army Air Force under the command of MajorJimmy Doolittle. The United States is not yet inWorld War II and Rafe volunteers for theEagle Squadron (anRAF unit for American volunteer pilots during theBattle of Britain). Nurse Evelyn Johnson signs off Rafe's medical exam despite hisdyslexia, and the two strike up a relationship. Four weeks later, Rafe and Evelyn, now deeply in love, enjoy an evening of dancing at a nightclub and later a jaunt in the New York harbor in a borrowed police boat. Rafe shocks Evelyn by saying that he has joined the Eagle Squadron and is leaving the next day. During a mission to intercept aLuftwaffe bombing raid, Rafe is shot down over the English Channel and is presumed killed in action. Danny and Evelyn mourn Rafe's death together, which spurs a new romance between the two.
On the night of December 6, Evelyn is shocked to discover Rafe standing outside her door, having survived his drowning and the ensuing months trapped in Nazi-occupied France. Rafe, in turn, discovers Danny's romance with Evelyn and leaves for the Hula bar, where he is welcomed back by his overjoyed fellow pilots. Danny finds a drunken Rafe in the bar with the intention of reconciling, but the two get into a fight. They drive away, avoiding being put in the brig when the military police arrive at the bar. The two fall asleep in Danny's car.
Next morning, on December 7, theImperial Japanese Navyattacks Pearl Harbor. The US Pacific Fleet is severely damaged in the surprise attack, and most of the defending airfields are destroyed before they can launch fighters to defend the harbor. Rafe and Danny take off inP-40 fighter planes and shoot down several attackingZeros. They later assist in the rescue of the crew of the capsizedUSS Oklahoma, but are too late to save the crew of theUSS Arizona.
The next day, PresidentFranklin Delano Roosevelt delivers hisDay of Infamy Speech and requests the US Congress declare war on theEmpire of Japan. Danny and Rafe are assigned to travel to the continental US with Doolittle. Before they leave, Evelyn reveals to Rafe she is pregnant with Danny's child. Evelyn reassures Rafe she loved him in the past and will love him her whole life, but says she is ready to give Danny her "whole heart" and have their family together. Danny and Rafe receive promotions to captain andSilver Stars for their actions at Pearl Harbor, and they volunteer for a secret mission organized by Doolittle. They spend three months training with other pilots for ultra-short takeoffs with specially modifiedB-25 Mitchell bombers. In April, the group departs aboardUSS Hornet and their mission tobomb Tokyo is revealed.
The mission is successful, but Rafe's and Danny's planes run out of fuel and crash in Japanese-occupied China. Danny is mortally wounded in a gunfight with Japanese soldiers before the group is rescued by Chinese troops. Rafe tearfully reveals to Danny, "you're going to be a father"; with his last breath, Danny replies, "No, you are."
Rafe and Evelyn marry after the war and visit Danny's grave with Evelyn's son, named Danny after his biological father. Rafe takes his family flying into the sunset in Rafe's father's old biplane.
Although not intended to be an entirely accurate depiction of events, the film includes portrayals of several historical figures:
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The proposed budget of $208 million thatMichael Bay andJerry Bruckheimer wanted was an area of contention withWalt Disney Studios executives, since a great deal of the budget was to be expended on production aspects. The budget was eventually reduced to $140 million.[2] Even at the reduced budget, Disney managed to get many of the crew and others todefer some of their pay until the film grossed in the region of $140 million. This included the director of photography, the editor, production designer and lighting director and their departments deferring around $5 to $10 million as well asPanavision,Technicolor andIndustrial Light & Magic also agreeing to deferrals. Bay also deferred his salary but he and Bruckheimer were the only ones to receive profit participation.[4]
Also controversial was the effort to change the film's rating from R to PG-13. Bay initially wanted to graphically portray the horrors of war and was not interested in primarily marketing the final product to a teen and young adult audience. However, even though he wanted to make an R-rated movie, Bay admitted that the problem was that young children would not be able to see it, and he felt that they should. As such, when he was ordered by Disney to make a PG-13 film, he did not argue. As a compromise, he was allowed to release an R-rated Director's Cut on DVD later on in 2002. Budget fights continued throughout the planning of the film, with Bay "walking" on several occasions.Dick Cook, chairman of Disney at the time, said "I thinkPearl Harbor was one of the most difficult shoots of modern history."[5]
In order to recreate the atmosphere of pre-war Pearl Harbor, the producers staged the film in Hawaii and used current naval facilities. Many active duty military members stationed in Hawaii and members of the local population served as extras during the filming. The set atRosarito Beach in theMexican state ofBaja California was used for scale model work as required. Formerly the set ofTitanic (1997), Rosarito was the ideal location to recreate the death throes of the battleships in the Pearl Harbor attack. A large-scale model of the bow section ofUSS Oklahoma mounted on the world's largestgimbal produced an authentic rolling and submerging of the doomed battleship. Production EngineerNigel Phelps stated that the sequence of ship rolling out of the water and slapping down would involve one of the "biggest set elements" to be staged. Matched with computer generated imagery, the action had to reflect precision and accuracy throughout.[6] Production was due to commence April 8, 2000 for 85 days.[4]
Michael Fassbender read for the part of Rafe. Fassbender later said that Disney sent him a "really nice note" telling him that he did not get the part.[7]Charlize Theron turned down a role in the film so that she could star inSweet November.[8]
The vessel most seen in the movie wasUSSLexington, representing both USSHornet and a Japanese carrier. All aircraft take-offs during the movie were filmed on board theLexington, amuseum ship inCorpus Christi, Texas. The aircraft on display were removed for filming and were replaced with film aircraft as well as World War II anti-aircraft turrets. Other ships used in filler scenes includedUSS Hornet,[9] andUSS Constellation during filming for the carrier sequences. Filming was also done on board the museum battleshipUSS Texas located near Houston, Texas. TheNaval Historical Center of the United States army was involved in the production of the film, the Center suggested changing the depiction of Doolittle who they considered to be written as "a boorish, oafish guy", this recommendation was accepted.[10]
The teaser trailer premiered in June 2000 in front ofThe Patriot's theatrical screenings.[11] Disney premiered the film at Pearl Harbor itself, aboard the active nuclear aircraft carrierUSS John C. Stennis, which made a six-day trip from San Diego to serve as "the world's largest and most expensive outdoor theater". More than 2,000 people attended the premiere on theStennis, which had special grandstand seating and one of the world's largest movie screens assembled on the flight deck.[12] The guests included various Hawaii political leaders, most of the lead actors from the film, and over 500 news media from around the world that Disney flew in to cover the event. The party was estimated to have cost Disney $5 million.[13]
During its opening weekend,Pearl Harbor generated a total of $59 million, then made $75.1 million during its first four days.[14] At the time, it achieved the second-highestMemorial Day weekend gross, behindThe Lost World: Jurassic Park.[15] The film also had the fourth-highest opening weekend, after the latter film,The Mummy Returns andStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.[16] For 15 years, it would have the highest opening weekend for aBen Affleck film until 2016 whenBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice surpassed it.[17] When the film was released, it topped the box office, knocking outShrek.[14] It earned $30 million during its second weekend while staying at the number one spot ahead of the latter film,Moulin Rouge! andThe Animal.[18] This was the most recent film to top the box office for multiple weeks until that August whenAmerican Pie 2 became the next one to do so.[19] The film would then drop into third place behindSwordfish andShrek, making $14.9 million and beating out fourth place newcomerEvolution.[20]
In Japan, the film opened on 424 screens and grossed $7.2 million in its opening weekend (including $1.6 million in previews), a record forBuena Vista International in Japan, and the sixth highest opening of all-time.[21] Meanwhile,Pearl Harbor generated a three-day gross of $4.5 million in the United Kingdom, becoming the country's fourth-highest June opening weekend, behindBatman & Robin,The Matrix andThe Mummy.[22] It had a record opening in China, grossing $3.9 million in 6 days.[23] The film also made $2.5 million in Mexico, making it the fifth-highest opening for a live-action film in the country, trailingThe Phantom Menace,The Mummy Returns,Mission: Impossible 2 andGodzilla.[24] Making $870,000, it was Argentina's second-highest opening of 2001, afterHannibal.[24]
Pearl Harbor grossed $198,542,554 at the US and Canadian box office and $250,678,391 overseas for a worldwide total of $449,220,945, making this thesixth-highest-grossing film of 2001.[2] It is also the third-highest-grossing romantic drama film of all time, as of January 2013, behindTitanic andGhost.[25]
Pearl Harbor was released onVHS andDVD on December 4, 2001 byBuena Vista Home Entertainment (under the Touchstone Home Video label).[26][27] Both home video versions areTHX certified, featuring a historical documentary and a music video, while also having the film split into two parts.[28] The VHS release has two separate cassettes and comes with widescreen and fullscreen versions.[28] As for the DVD release, it includes two separate discs that feature the first and second halves of the film, along withDolby Headphone andDTS audio tracks.[28][29] In its first week, the film sold more than 7 million units and made more than $130 million in retail sales.[26]
On July 2, 2002, Buena Vista Home Entertainment released the film on an R-rated four-disc Director's Cut DVD, which included about a minute of additional footage.[30][31] This release also features three audio commentaries.[30] The first one has Michael Bay andJeanine Basinger, which was recorded 250 hours after theSeptember 11 attacks.[32]
At the 5th Annual DVD awards,Pearl Harbor won the Best Audio Presentation category, tying withStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.[33]
OnRotten Tomatoes,Pearl Harbor holds an approval rating of 24% based on 194 reviews, with an average rating of 4.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Pearl Harbor tries to be theTitanic of war movies, but it's just a tedious romance filled with laughably bad dialogue. The 40-minute action sequence is spectacular though."[34] OnMetacritic, the film has a score of 44 out of 100 based on 35 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[35] Audiences surveyed byCinemaScore gave the film a grade "A−" on scale of A to F.[36]
Chicago Sun-Times criticRoger Ebert gave the film one and a half stars, writing: "Pearl Harbor is a two-hour movie squeezed into three hours, about how, on Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese staged a surprise attack on an American love triangle. Its centerpiece is 40 minutes of redundant special effects, surrounded by a love story of stunning banality. The film has been directed without grace, vision, or originality, and although you may walk out quoting lines of dialogue, it will not be because you admire them." Ebert also criticized the liberties the film took with historical facts: "There is no sense of history, strategy or context; according to this movie, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because America cut off its oil supply, and they were down to an 18-month reserve. Would going to war restore the fuel sources? Did they perhaps also have imperialist designs? Movie doesn't say."[37] In his later "Great Movies" essay onLawrence of Arabia, Ebert likewise wrote, "What you realize watchingLawrence of Arabia is that the word 'epic' refers not to the cost or the elaborate production, but to the size of the ideas and vision.Werner Herzog'sAguirre, the Wrath of God didn't cost as much as the catering inPearl Harbor, but it is an epic, andPearl Harbor is not."[38] Ed Gonzalez ofSlant Magazine gave the film one out of four stars and wrote, "Middlingly racist, humorless, and downright inept,Pearl Harbor is solely for fans offireworks factories."[39]
A. O. Scott ofThe New York Times wrote, "Nearly every line of the script drops from the actors' mouths with the leaden clank of exposition, timed with bad sitcom beats."[40] Mike Clark ofUSA Today gave the film two out of four stars and wrote, "Ships, planes and water combust and collide inPearl Harbor, but nothing else does in one of the wimpiest wartime romances ever filmed."[41]
In his review forThe Washington Post,Desson Howe wrote, "although thisWalt Disney movie is based, inspired and even partially informed by a real event referred to as Pearl Harbor, the movie is actually based on the moviesTop Gun,Titanic andSaving Private Ryan. Don't get confused."[42]Peter Travers ofRolling Stone magazine wrote, "Affleck, Hartnett and Beckinsale – a British actress without a single worthy line to wrap her credible American accent around – are attractive actors, but they can't animate this moldy romantic triangle."[43]Time magazine'sRichard Schickel criticized the love triangle: "It requires a lot of patience for an audience to sit through the dithering. They're nice kids and all that, but they don't exactly claw madly at one another. It's as if they know that someday they're going to be part of "the Greatest Generation" and don't want to offendTom Brokaw. Besides, megahistory and personal history never integrate here."[44] Robert W. Butler ofThe Kansas City Star wrote, "The dialogue is so unrelentingly banal as to make one reconsider whetherJames Cameron's writing onTitanic was really all that bad."[45]
Entertainment Weekly was more positive, giving the film a "B−" rating, andOwen Gleiberman praised the Pearl Harbor attack sequence: "Bay's staging is spectacular but also honorable in its scary, hurtling exactitude. ... There are startling point-of-view shots of torpedoes dropping into the water and speeding toward their targets, and though Bay visualizes it all with a minimum of graphic carnage, he invites us to register the terror of the men standing helplessly on deck, the horrifying split-second deliverance as bodies go flying and explosions reduce entire battleships to liquid walls of collapsing metal."[46]
In his review forThe New York Observer,Andrew Sarris wrote, "here is the ironic twist in my acceptance ofPearl Harbor – the parts I liked most are the parts before and after the digital destruction of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese carrier planes" and felt that "Pearl Harbor is not so much aboutWorld War II as it is about movies about World War II. And what's wrong with that?"[47]
Critics in Japan received the film more positively than in most countries with one likening it toGone with the Wind set during World War II and another describing it as more realistic thanTora! Tora! Tora![21]
In 2023,Rolling Stone cited Bay's direction ofPearl Harbor as one of the fifty worst decisions in film history. Andy Greene described it as a less successful attempt to replicate the success ofTitanic and Bay's previous film,Armageddon.[48]
The film was nominated for fourAcademy Awards, winning in the category ofBest Sound Editing. It was also nominated for sixGolden Raspberry Awards, includingWorst Picture.[49] This marked the first occurrence of a Worst Picture-nominated film winning an Academy Award; it is also the only film directed by Bay to win an Academy Award.[citation needed]
| Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Best Original Song | "There You'll Be" Music and Lyrics byDiane Warren | Nominated | [50] |
| Best Sound | Kevin O'Connell,Greg P. Russell, andPeter J. Devlin | Nominated | ||
| Best Sound Editing | George Watters II andChristopher Boyes | Won | ||
| Best Visual Effects | Eric Brevig,John Frazier,Ed Hirsh, andBen Snow | Nominated | ||
| American Society of Cinematographers Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases | John Schwartzman | Nominated | [51] |
| ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards | Top Box Office Films | Hans Zimmer | Won | |
| Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures | "There You'll Be" Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren | Won | ||
| Awards Circuit Community Awards | Best Original Score | Hans Zimmer | Nominated | |
| Best Visual Effects | Nominated | |||
| Bogey Awards | Nominated | |||
| Critics' Choice Awards | Best Song | "There You'll Be" Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren | Nominated | [52] |
| Cinema Audio Society Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures | Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, and Peter J. Devlin | Nominated | [53] |
| DVD Exclusive Awards | Best Overall New Extra Features, New Release | Michael Bay,Mark Palansky,David Prior, and Eric Young | Nominated | [54] |
| Best New, Enhanced or Reconstructed Movie Scenes | Michael Bay | Nominated | ||
| Original Retrospective Documentary, New Release | Doug McCallie | Nominated | ||
| Best Menu Design | David Prior | Nominated | ||
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Original Score – Motion Picture | Hans Zimmer | Nominated | [55] |
| Best Original Song – Motion Picture | "There You'll Be" Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren | Nominated | ||
| Golden Raspberry Awards(2001) | Worst Picture | Nominated | [56] | |
| Worst Director | Michael Bay | Nominated | ||
| Worst Actor | Ben Affleck | Nominated | ||
| Worst Screenplay | Randall Wallace | Nominated | ||
| Worst Screen Couple | Ben Affleck and eitherKate Beckinsale orJosh Hartnett | Nominated | ||
| Worst Remake or Sequel | Nominated | |||
| Golden Raspberry Awards(2009) | Worst Actor of the Decade | Ben Affleck(also forDaredevil,Gigli,Jersey Girl,Paycheck, andSurviving Christmas) | Nominated | [57] |
| Golden Reel Awards | Best Sound Editing – Dialogue & ADR, Domestic Feature Film | George Watters II, Christopher T. Welch, Teri E. Dorman, Julie Feiner, Cindy Marty, Michelle Pazer, David A. Arnold, Marshall Winn, Ulrika Akander, and Allen Hartz | Nominated | [58] |
| Best Sound Editing – Sound Effects & Foley, Domestic Feature Film | Christopher Boyes, George Watters II, Victoria Martin,Ethan Van der Ryn, Beau Borders, Scott Guitteau, Suhail Kafity, Adam Kopald,F. Hudson Miller, R.J. Palmer,Christopher Scarabosio, Robert L. Sephton, Matthew Harrison, James Likowski, and Gary Wright | Nominated | ||
| Golden Rooster Awards | Best Translated Film | Won | ||
| Golden Schmoes Awards | Worst Movie of the Year | Nominated | [59] | |
| Best Special Effects of the Year | Nominated | |||
| Biggest Disappointment of the Year | Nominated | |||
| Best Trailer of the Year | Nominated | |||
| Best Action Sequence of the Year | "Attack on Pearl Harbor" | Nominated | ||
| Most Memorable Scene in a Movie | Nominated | |||
| Golden Screen Awards | Won | |||
| Golden Trailer Awards | Best Action | Nominated | ||
| GoldSpirit Awards | Best Soundtrack | Hans Zimmer | Nominated | |
| Best Drama Soundtrack | Won | |||
| Grammy Awards | Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media | "There You'll Be" – Diane Warren | Nominated | [60] |
| Harry Awards | Nominated | |||
| Huabiao Awards | Outstanding Translated Foreign Film | Won | ||
| MTV Asia Awards | Favorite Movie | Nominated | ||
| MTV Movie Awards | Best Male Performance | Josh Hartnett | Nominated | [61] |
| Best Female Performance | Kate Beckinsale | Nominated | ||
| Best Action Sequence | "The Attack Scene" | Won | ||
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Original Song | "There You'll Be" Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren | Nominated | [62] |
| Best Sound | Nominated | |||
| Best Sound Editing | Nominated | |||
| Best Visual Effects | Nominated | |||
| Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards | Best Visual Effects | Eric Brevig, John Frazier, Ed Hirsh, and Ben Snow | Nominated | [63] |
| Satellite Awards | Best Cinematography | John Schwartzman | Nominated | [64] |
| Best Original Song | "There You'll Be" Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren | Nominated | ||
| Best Visual Effects | Eric Brevig | Nominated | ||
| Stinkers Bad Movie Awards | Worst Picture | Nominated | [65] | |
| Worst Sense of Direction | Michael Bay | Nominated | ||
| Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing More Than $100M Worldwide Using Hollywood Math | Randall Wallace | Won | ||
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie – Drama/Action Adventure | Won | [66] | |
| Choice Movie Actor | Ben Affleck | Won | ||
| Josh Hartnett | Nominated | |||
| Choice Movie Chemistry | Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale | Nominated | ||
| World Soundtrack Awards | Soundtrack Composer of the Year | Hans Zimmer(also forAn Everlasting Piece,Hannibal, andThe Pledge) | Nominated | [67] |
| World Stunt Awards | Best Aerial Work | Gene Armstrong, Will Bonafas, James Gavin, John Hinton, Steve Hinton, Gary Hudson, Kevin La Rosa, John Maloney, Bill Powers, Alan Preston, Allan Purwyn, James Ryan, and John Storrie | Nominated | [68] |
| Best Stunt Coordination – Feature Film | Kenny Bates | Nominated | ||
| Best Stunt Coordination – Sequence | Kenny Bates, Andy Gill, and Steve Picerni | Won | ||
| Yoga Awards | Worst Foreign Actor | Ben Affleck | Won | |
Like manyhistorical dramas,Pearl Harbor provoked debate about the artistic license taken by its producers and director.National Geographic Channel produced adocumentary calledBeyond the Movie: Pearl Harbor detailing some of the ways that "the film's final cut didn't reflect all the attacks' facts, or represent them all accurately".[69] The film was ranked number three on Careeraftermilitary.com's "10 Most Inaccurate Military Movies Ever Made," which also includedThe Patriot,The Hurt Locker,U-571,The Green Berets,Windtalkers,Battle of the Bulge,Red Tails,Enemy at the Gates andFlyboys on its list of falsified war movie productions.[70]
Many Pearl Harbor survivors dismissed the film as grossly inaccurate and pure Hollywood. In an interview done by Frank Wetta, producerJerry Bruckheimer was quoted saying: "We tried to be accurate, but it's certainly not meant to be a history lesson."[71] Historian Lawrence Suid's review is particularly detailed as to the major factual misrepresentations of the film and the negative impact they have even on an entertainment film, as he notes that "the very name of the film implies that audiences will be witnessing a historic event, accurately rendered."[72]
The Battle of Britain had already ended in October 1940 whereas the film has it still happening in early 1941 with dogfights over the English Channel.[73]
Critics decried the use of fictional replacements for real people, declaring thatPearl Harbor was an "abuse ofartistic license."[74] The roles the two male leads have in the attack sequence are analogous to the real historical deeds ofUnited States Army Air ForcesSecond LieutenantsGeorge Welch andKenneth M. Taylor, who took to the skies inP-40 Warhawk aircraft during the Japanese attack and, together, claimed six Japanese aircraft and a few probables. Taylor called the film "a piece of trash... over-sensationalized and distorted."[75][76]
The scene following the attack on Pearl Harbor, where President Roosevelt demands an immediate retaliatory strike on the soil of Japan, did not happen as portrayed in the film.Admiral Chester Nimitz and General George Marshall are seen denying the possibility of an aerial attack on Japan, but in real life they actually advocated such a strike. Another inconsistency in this scene is when President Roosevelt (who was at this time in his life, stricken and confined to a wheelchair due to his disease,Guillain–Barré syndrome orPolio) is able to stand up to challenge his staff's distrust in a strike on Japan, which never really happened.[77]
The portrayal of the planning of theDoolittle Raid, the air raid itself, and the raid's aftermath, is considered one of the most historically inaccurate portions of the film. In the film,Jimmy Doolittle and the rest of the Doolittle raiders had to launch from USSHornet 624 miles off the Japanese coast and after being spotted by a few Japanese patrol boats. In actuality, the Doolittle raiders had to launch 650 miles off the Japanese coast and after being spotted by only one Japanese patrol boat. The film shows all the bombers arriving in formation over Japan, omitting the fact that at least one bomber jettisoned its bombs over the ocean due to mechanical problems and thus did not participate in the raid. It actually took one hour to launch the 16 planes, each setting out on its own course, and at no time did the planes fly together.[72] In the film, all sixteen raiders are depicted as converging on Tokyo and obliterating an entire industrial area. In reality, the bombers attacked in isolated groups of no more than three apiece, and their targets were spread out across the Tokyo metropolitan area along with three other cities -Nagoya,Osaka, andKobe. Prior to the raid, a chalkboard containing plans for the raid does accurately reflect other destination cities, but this is mostly obscured from view and never discussed in the dialogue.[78][79] The firefight with Japanese soldiers after the raiders crash-land in China is entirely fictionalized, whereas the actual smuggling of the pilots back to the United States was omitted.[72]
| Pearl Harbor: Music from the Motion Picture | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | May 22, 2001 (2001-05-22) | |||
| Genre | Film score | |||
| Length | 46:21 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
| |||
| Hans Zimmer chronology | ||||
| ||||
Thesoundtrack toPearl Harbor onHollywood Records was nominated for theGolden Globe Award for Best Original Score (Moulin Rouge! won).[80] The originalscore was composed byHans Zimmer. The song "There You'll Be" was nominated for theAcademy Award andGolden Globe Award for Best Original Song.
All tracks are written by Hans Zimmer.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "There You'll Be" (performed byFaith Hill) | 3:40 |
| 2. | "Tennessee" | 3:40 |
| 3. | "Brothers" | 4:04 |
| 4. | "...And Then I Kissed Him" | 5:37 |
| 5. | "I Will Come Back" | 2:54 |
| 6. | "Attack" | 8:56 |
| 7. | "December 7th" | 5:08 |
| 8. | "War" | 5:15 |
| 9. | "Heart of a Volunteer" | 7:05 |
| Total length: | 46:21 | |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[81] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[82] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
a record-shattering raid into China, where the pic garnered $3.9 million in six days
James Cameron had just obliterated all box office records by turning theTitanic disaster into aLeonardo DiCaprio-Kate Winslet romance. Bay himself just scored a huge hit taking the story of an asteroid nearly wiping out all life on Earth into a Ben Affleck-Liv Tyler love story, complete withan Aerosmith ballad that hit Number One. Why not smash the two movies together, sprinkle a smattering of actual history from World War II, and watch money start raining down from the sky?
simultaneously garnered four Oscar nominations, winning Best Sound Editing.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Naval History (United States Naval institute), Vol. 15, No. 4, August 2001, p. 20.
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