December 7th: The Movie

views updated

December 7th: The Movie ★★½ 1991

Banned for 50 years by the U.S. Government, this planned Hollywood explanation to wartime audiences of the Pearl Harbor debacle offers such “offensive” images as blacks fighting heroically alongside whites, loyal Japanese-Americans, and Uncle Sam asleep on the morning of the attack. The Chief of Naval Operations confiscated the original film, claiming it demeaned the Navy. The battle scenes were so realistic they fooled even documentarians. This isn't the most incisive video on the event—just an unforgettable snapshot. 82m/B VHS, DVD . Walter Huston, Harry Davenport; D: John Ford; M: Alfred Newman.