Amethyst Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I'm doing lots of historical movies with my daughter this year. We're up to WWII. I've been planning to watch Pearl Harbor, the 2001 movie with Ben Affleck. But I was just reading some reviews and many suggest that it is a horrible movie. Perhaps they are people very concerned with complete accuracy. To be honest, I don't need complete accuracy, I just need it to give the basic information about the event and a feel for the time period. But I don't want it to be just blowing things up and some romance without giving any relevant information either. The only alternative that comes to mind is Tora!Tora! Tora! but my goodness that's from 1970 and that just seems like it will look so dated. Does anyone have a favorite Pearl Harbor movie? ETA: I'd prefer not documentaries. We are doing a couple documentaries already about WWII, so for this I'm specifically looking for fiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Possibly the movie of "Day of Infamy". I read the book, many years ago. Google for "day of infamy movie" Certainly the attack on Pearl Harbor was an incredible event in U.S. history. 9/11 is in the same league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Tora, Tora, Tora. Excellent movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 My dd loves 'Pearl Harbor,' and I found it riveting. I have read the criticisms on Amazon -- the wrong kind of ship or a/c units on the White House roof. Wrong history can drive be nuts, but I guess I didm't know enough to pick out the mistakes. In any cases, it is a great fiction movie that made a big impression on my dd. (She first saw it when she was 11 years old.) Dd went on to read several books about Pearl Harbor, so IMO the movie did the job I wanted of making history come alive. I would recommend it. OP ---You said that you are doing a lot of historical movies this year... are you willing to share your list? I like to find fiction movies too and then move on to documentaries if dc develop an interest in a subject. PPs -- Oh, and Day of Infamy and Tora, Tora, Tora are now on my watch list.... Thx! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I'll second the recommendation for Pearl Harbor. It's not just blowing stuff up and romance. You want something that gives your dd basic facts and a feeling for the time period; this movie does that. It does a good job explaining the events leading up to the attack and depicting the horror of the day, and the "romance" aspect attests to the sacrifices of the people who lived through it. You definitely get a feel for what it was like. I know it had a profound impact on ds, and is one of his favorite movies. As a side note, if you're looking for other good movies for that time period, "Letters from Iwo Jima" is an excellent movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isinglore Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Pearl Habor movie, proceed with caution. We watched this and before it even ended our 10/11 year old boy was crying (that has never happened before because of a movie) He was referring to the scenes of burned people saying that he never fully understood how horrible people are to each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I'm doing lots of historical movies with my daughter this year. We're up to WWII. I've been planning to watch Pearl Harbor, the 2001 movie with Ben Affleck. But I was just reading some reviews and many suggest that it is a horrible movie. Perhaps they are people very concerned with complete accuracy. To be honest, I don't need complete accuracy, I just need it to give the basic information about the event and a feel for the time period. But I don't want it to be just blowing things up and some romance without giving any relevant information either. The only alternative that comes to mind is Tora!Tora! Tora! but my goodness that's from 1970 and that just seems like it will look so dated. Does anyone have a favorite Pearl Harbor movie? ETA: I'd prefer not documentaries. We are doing a couple documentaries already about WWII, so for this I'm specifically looking for fiction. Well, the part about war was great, I thought. I don't know how appropriate the relationship material is for younger viewers. Older ones would be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I'm doing lots of historical movies with my daughter this year. We're up to WWII. I've been planning to watch Pearl Harbor, the 2001 movie with Ben Affleck. But I was just reading some reviews and many suggest that it is a horrible movie. Perhaps they are people very concerned with complete accuracy. To be honest, I don't need complete accuracy, I just need it to give the basic information about the event and a feel for the time period. But I don't want it to be just blowing things up and some romance without giving any relevant information either. The only alternative that comes to mind is Tora!Tora! Tora! but my goodness that's from 1970 and that just seems like it will look so dated. Does anyone have a favorite Pearl Harbor movie? ETA: I'd prefer not documentaries. We are doing a couple documentaries already about WWII, so for this I'm specifically looking for fiction. If your child can handle it, Band of Brothers is an excellent piece about the 101st Airborne in Europe, and very meticulously done (by Spielberg). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 OP ---You said that you are doing a lot of historical movies this year... are you willing to share your list? I like to find fiction movies too and then move on to documentaries if dc develop an interest in a subject. Yes, sure. It is mostly fiction movies with a few documentaries and some Khan Academy thrown in. We are focusing on 20th century so the movies will be heavily slanted towards that. We started with Roots because I wanted to see it again after all these years. Also, we breezed through the Great Depression because we both felt that she already had a good feel for that time period. (The ones with an asterisk are ones we've already watched and I can say they are worthwhile. The others I've not watched, so you're on your own.) Roots* The Assassination of Jesse James* Iron Jawed Angels* Flyboys* All Quiet on the Western Front* Gallipoli* Communism (Khan Academy)* Michael Collins* Vladimir Lenin (documentary)* Rabbit-proof Fence* Public Enemies* Schindler’s List* Empire of the Sun* Pearl Harbor Tuskegee Airmen Saving Private Ryan Battle of the Bulge (documentary) Hiroshima: BBC Good Night, and Good Luck Something the Lord Made Korea:The Forgotten War Korean War Overview (Khan)* Tucker: The Man and His Dream Bay of Pigs Invasion (Khan)* Cuban Missile Crisis (Khan)* Che Vietnam War (Khan) Pattern of US Cold War Interventions (Khan) Kent State: The Day the War Came Home* October Sky Rosa Parks Story Killing Fields Last Emperor Right Stuff Ghosts of Mississippi Bobby Cry Freedom Allende and Pinochet in Chile (Khan) When Capitalism is Great and Not-so-Great (Khan) 20th Century Capitalism and Regulation in the US (Khan) One Day in September (documentary about 1972 Munich Olympic hostages)* 444 Days to Freedom Hotel Rwanda Charlie Wilson’s War Live from Baghdad Kandahar Black Hawk Down Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close The Hurt Locker Green Zone A Better Life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 As a side note, if you're looking for other good movies for that time period, "Letters from Iwo Jima" is an excellent movie. Wow. That looks really good. I might have to add this to our list. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Amethyst -- that is some list! Thank you for posting it. Many of the titles are new to me, so I will look forward to working through the list. We have seen the Rosa Parks Story, Pvt Ryan, Oct Sky and thought they were excellent movies. Also Hotel Rwanda, although I have heard that Sometimes in April -- another great movie -- captures the situation better. (Obviously, for anyone else reading this, you would be VERY careful about the subject matter.) Adding two more WWII/Holocaust movies -- The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and The House on Bird Street. And Au Revoir Les Enfants. BTW, we are not doing history of that period, just looking for well-made movies. (Big caution for The Boy in the Striped Pajamas -- disturbing, complex.)WWI -- War Horse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 The only alternative that comes to mind is Tora!Tora! Tora! but my goodness that's from 1970 and that just seems like it will look so dated. I find it a bit odd that a movie made in the 70s about something that happened in the 40s would be stricken as "dated". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 I find it a bit odd that a movie made in the 70s about something that happened in the 40s would be stricken as "dated". I understand what you're saying. But it's not the costuming or music or anything. I guess it's more cinematic techniques or something like that. It's funny, because I'll pop a movie in and the introductory title and credits come on, and my dd will look at the font and laugh and say "let me guess...this was made in the 70's." We've watched some from the 70's or so and they can be worthwhile. But there is a difference. I can't quite put my finger or it. Maybe it's the pacing. Maybe it's special effects. Maybe things that seemed innovative back then, seem cliche now. I may still watch Tora!Tora!Tora! because it might be the best one out there. And for some reason Netflix is telling me there is a long wait for the movie Pearl Harbor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Tora, Tora, Tora. Excellent movie. I understand what you're saying. But it's not the costuming or music or anything. I guess it's more cinematic techniques or something like that. It's funny, because I'll pop a movie in and the introductory title and credits come on, and my dd will look at the font and laugh and say "let me guess...this was made in the 70's." We've watched some from the 70's or so and they can be worthwhile. But there is a difference. I can't quite put my finger or it. Maybe it's the pacing. Maybe it's special effects. Maybe things that seemed innovative back then, seem cliche now. I may still watch Tora!Tora!Tora! because it might be the best one out there. And for some reason Netflix is telling me there is a long wait for the movie Pearl Harbor. We finished watching Tora, Tora, Tora a few minutes ago. Amazing movie, I don't know how I've missed it all these years. Very different from Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor has the human interest, the love stories and so on -- very easy to understand. Tora, Tora, Tora was more complicated, more detailed, and looked at the Japanese point of view as well as the American one. Although it was a bit hard to keep all the characters straight, it was more compelling to me than PH. Dd, though, liked PH better, as it was an 'easier' movie. I didn't feel TTT was dated at all, but then I am a bit dated myself. BTW, TTT is on Netflix Instant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted February 5, 2013 Author Share Posted February 5, 2013 Thanks, Allesandra. I may do both Pearl Harbor and TTT, especially since we just got Netflix Instant back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerenlynne Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 DH who is a History buff and war movie nut hates Tora Tora Tora- he says its way too boring. Lots of set-up and very boring backstory. Maybe more like a documentary. He really likes Pearl Harbor in spite of the silly love story and says its pretty accurate. The ending of the movie jumping to the Doolittle raid is a little silly but was included because otherwise the ending would be too depressing. I think for school either or both would be a good choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 DH who is a History buff and war movie nut hates Tora Tora Tora- he says its way too boring. Lots of set-up and very boring backstory. Maybe more like a documentary. He really likes Pearl Harbor in spite of the silly love story and says its pretty accurate. The ending of the movie jumping to the Doolittle raid is a little silly but was included because otherwise the ending would be too depressing. I think for school either or both would be a good choice. I see what your dh means, and a lot of reviews used the word boring too. Both movies are so completely different. I was interested in TTT partly because I never thought of PH from any point of view except our own. (I guess I'm not much a historian in that area.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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