A dramatization of the battle that was widely heralded as a turning point of the Pacific Theatre of World War II.A dramatization of the battle that was widely heralded as a turning point of the Pacific Theatre of World War II.A dramatization of the battle that was widely heralded as a turning point of the Pacific Theatre of World War II.
Toshirô Mifune
- Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
- (as Toshiro Mifune)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaKevin Dobson's character Ensign George Gay, was the sole survivor of Torpedo Squadron 8. Gay wrote a book about his experiences (Sole Survivor) and was an advisor on this film.
- GoofsWhen the cockpit of one of the planes catches fire, the pilot pulls out a fire extinguisher. It is a more modern one, not a fire extinguisher that would have existed in the 1940s.
- Quotes
Vice Adm. Chuichi Nagumo: [commenting on the American torpedo bombers] They sacrifice themselves like samurai, these Americans.
- Alternate versionsA television version exists, with additional cast and plot. It runs four hours with commercials. The main plot points are a Charlton Heston-Susan Sullivan romance and the Coral Sea battle (reffered to in the other version) is played out like the Midway battle. The Coral Sea battle heavily features Mitchell Ryan as Admiral Aubrey Fitch and also includes a subplot where a young Japanese pilot who'd met with Admiral Nagumo to express his opposition to Japanese military action is shot down. At the end of the TV version, Sullivan and Christine Kukobo are both shown waiting dockside.
- ConnectionsEdited from Salute to the Marines (1943)
- SoundtracksIn the Mood
Music by Joe Garland
Performed by the Glenn Miller and His Orchestra (as Glenn Miller Orchestra) on the jukebox at the bar in Hawaii
Featured review
I can't help but agree with most of the other comments: the sloppy production values, the scenes "borrowed" from better movies, the countless anachronisms, the distracting subplot about Lt. Garth and his Japanese girlfriend, and so on. But for me, this movie has two strong points in its favor. One, when they get around to the actual battle, they follow the history with surprising accuracy. (The "Pearl Harbor" makers could have learned something from this one.) So the movie's hard to follow? So was the actual battle! Personally, I think they did a pretty good job of keeping the flow coherent while still remaining faithful to its source material.
The second thing in its favor is that, from the moment I first saw it in the theater as a 10 year old, it ignited in me a passion for the Battle of Midway that remains to this day. I can't think of any other movie that even comes close to getting me as hooked on its subject as this one. Maybe it's a good thing I first saw it when I was young, when I was much less discerning about production values, etc. That way, I could concentrate on the story itself.
If you have even the slightest interest in military history or even in important historical events in general, do yourself a favor. Watch "Midway" to get an overview of the event (fast-forward over the love-story scenes if you like), then go read "Incredible Victory" by Walter Lord (which is a better book than the one for which he is most famous, "A Night to Remember"). You won't be sorry.
The second thing in its favor is that, from the moment I first saw it in the theater as a 10 year old, it ignited in me a passion for the Battle of Midway that remains to this day. I can't think of any other movie that even comes close to getting me as hooked on its subject as this one. Maybe it's a good thing I first saw it when I was young, when I was much less discerning about production values, etc. That way, I could concentrate on the story itself.
If you have even the slightest interest in military history or even in important historical events in general, do yourself a favor. Watch "Midway" to get an overview of the event (fast-forward over the love-story scenes if you like), then go read "Incredible Victory" by Walter Lord (which is a better book than the one for which he is most famous, "A Night to Remember"). You won't be sorry.
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Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $43,220,000
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,356,666
- Jun 20, 1976
- Runtime2 hours 12 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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