Plot: What’s it about?
The secret for success seems to be that you take a tragedy from our past, throw in a few good-looking, young actors and have them be in love. Of course, one has to die or else it won’t evoke that emotional response that will make you want to see the movie time and time again. The best (or perhaps worst) thing that the giant, ‘Titanic’ accomplished is that it laid the foundation for movies to come. Every director/producer/actor and so on thought “Hey…we can do that except instead of Titanic it can be ______”! And now, just a few years after Titanic won 12 Academy Awards, we are greeted with ‘Pearl Harbor’. Behind Pearl Harbor is none other than Michael Bay. Bay made a name for himself with Bad Boys, The Rock and Armageddon and now he essentially has free-reign to do whatever he pleases with Pearl Harbor. I think Michael Bay is a great director, he can take movies and make them very entertaining, but I feel that this whole movie was just about the marketing and making money off one of our most severe tragedies. I could be wrong and probably am, but that’s just my opinion. Then again, movies are all about being entertained, so maybe I should just say what it’s all about and let you make up your own mind…
We are confronted with two pilots and a beautiful girl. Captains Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) and Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett) are hotshot pilots not unlike those of modern day’s Maverick and Goose. Rafe is deeply in love with a nurse by the name of Evelyn Johnson (Kate Beckinsale) and it’s clear that the two are off to get married in the future. Rafe and Danny have been friends since childhood, but it might be their fake Tennessee accents that was the first sign that the movie wouldn’t be all is was hyped to be. Still, a problem arises when Rafe is shipped to the British Air Force and is lost at sea and presumed dead. Naturally, with Ben Affleck’s name above the title, we can assume that he will not perish in the first half of the movie, but this sets the scene for Danny to get to know and fall in love with Evelyn. They have coped with the "death" of Rafe rather well and it’s now clear that Evelyn and Danny are headed for the sunset together. But as we soon see, Rafe is alive and well. This all takes a backseat to what is going on in the world, though. The Japanese are plotting an attack on Pearl Harbor (hence the movie) and it will change the lives of Rafe, Danny and Evelyn forever.
Like the World War II movie, Midway, the Japanese aren’t portrayed as merely kamikaze pilots who dive bomb mindlessly into battleships. Rather, they are portrayed as intelligent and perceptive agents of war who are trying to win for what they believe in. As you might imagine, the attack on Pearl Harbor is destructive and amazing and now takes on a different meaning now that we have been exposed to the events of September 11 here in the United States. The movie features a fine supporting cast including a few Oscar winners by the names of John Voight and Cuba Gooding Jr. The person who I liked most in the movie was hardly in it, but Alec Baldwin’s Colonel James Doolittle steals the show as the commander who takes the crew to an attack over Japan. Baldwin’s charm and natural "ruggedness" are perfect for the role and it’s clear that he didn’t take his role as seriously as some of the other actors. For a Michael Bay movie, that’s a welcome change and makes it much easier to watch. While Pearl Harbor may or may not be your cup of tea, it’s almost required watching. For those who lived through it, I’m sure this is a very emotional movie to see. While it’s no Titanic, it’s good, but about an hour too long. Watch it, but you might want to rent it first.
Video: How does it look?
Pearl Harbor is shown in it’s 2.35:1 anamorphic image. The transfer looks very good for the most part. The print is clean and clear and free of any blemish that might detract from what’s going on screen. There are a few minor spots of some de-saturation and some spots tend to look a bit muddy, but for the most part, it’s outstanding. There was no real edge enhancement to report and the blacks are right on target. The print, as mentioned before, is free of any dirt or scratches that would likewise take away from the visual experience. The color palette is very muted, showing the grittiness of what happened back then. Some scenes, though, are very warm and friendly and that’s shown in the image as well. While not reference-quality, Pearl Harbor is one good-looking disc.
Audio: How does it sound?
Michael Bay’s movies are usually synonymous with great sound and Pearl Harbor is certainly no exception. The attack on Pearl Harbor is among the best in sound on DVD and with a Dolby Digital or DTS option, you’ve got to hear it to believe it. I do think, however, that the sound could be a little better. It seems that the majority of the sound is centered to the front three channels. Don’t get me wrong, it sounds awesome, but to have 2.1 channels not working up to their 100% capacity is just crazy! The dialogue is very clean and has none of that "hiss" that is associated with it from time to time. The surrounds are used, just not enough and it almost makes me sad to say that Pearl Harbor doesn’t live up to it’s full potential here as this should have been the one given that it would have. Lastly, there is a rather unique function called a Dolby Headphone track. It is the soundtrack in it’s entirety but has been set for a pair of headphones (for a portable player, I’m assuming). While this is a rather nifty feature, I am not sure what to think. It does do a good job at recreating the soundtrack, but is no substitute for the real 5.1. I wonder if we’ll see more of these…
Supplements: What are the extras?
Ok, well I think I mentioned in my last review that the Vista Series edition of Pearl Harbor would arrive shortly. Well, it’s here. Yep, 4 discs of the Jerry Bruckheimer/Michael Bay adrenaline-fueled, testosterone-injected war movie. Complete with romance. For those of you out there who already have the first edition of this and really don’t want any more, that’s fine. But the marketing geniuses of the world have figured out that people out there buy the same movie several different times, hence the "bare bones" release and then the impending "Special Edition" of the same movie. So here we go…
Disc One
The first edition of this DVD had the movie spread over two discs, and in the days of dual-layering, I found it a bit odd. The case is the same here, so it stands to reason that the video quality is the same as the last disc. The movie is included (most of it, anyway with the rest being on the other disc) along with three audio commentaries. Yep, three. The first is with Michael Bay and film historian Jeanine Basinger. It’s a good track, littered with the events of last September (the track was recorded just after it all happened) and naturally this is a movie that closely parallels that fateful day. Basinger serves as a bit of an interviewer, but it works and it’s a good track to listen to. The next track is with Ben Affleck, Alec Baldwin and Josh Hartnett. Obviously, with three actors you’re going to get a more offbeat track than with the director, but it’s a bit slow at times. Baldwin’s role was considerably smaller than that of Affleck and Hartnett, but he does have a lot to say at times. Lastly, there is a technical commentary and it makes sense as a majority of this film was done by some pretty good effects. The participants were John Schwartzman, production designer Nigel Phelps, costume designer Michael Kaplan, supervising art director Martin Laing, and composer Hans Zimmer. It’s another good track, but very technical in nature and if you’ve already braved the other two tracks, odds are that you won’t learn a whole lot more here. Still, a good technical track is a nice find. Onto disc two…
Disc Two
This contains the same documentary included on the first disc, I’m not going to re-invent the wheel here, so if you’re curious as to how that is, click here to read the previous review. Additionally, the rest of the movie is included as well as the remainders of the commentary tracks. Also, a promotional spot for the National Geographic video is included (which is included in the "Deluxe" set of this movie, but not here) as well as Faith Hill’s music video.
Disc Three
Now this is where the new material comes into play. Essentially, the disc is broken down into two sections. The first (or the first one I chose) is The Film. In it contains several sections and the first of that is a Production Diary and it houses three different parts of the film that they used for reference. If you’ve seen any other production diaries before, this mirrors them. Boot Camp is up next and is divided into two sections, the first with Affleck, Bremmer and Hartnett and the second piece with Baldwin. Though shot on home video, it allows us to see them actually earning their paychecks, which is nice. It’s a bit dull after a while, but it’s kind of fun to watch. Next is a Super 8 montage that runs (and they list it) about four and a half minutes. This is essentially what it says, a montage of the production. Some trailers are included in 5.1 sound. Now onto the other sections. Next up is The History. Composed of two 50:00 documentaries, this is a little more information than the other section. The first is One Hour Over Tokyo and the other is Unsung Heroes of Pearl Harbor. Both are very well made and informative, but tend to repeat (especially after seeing all of the other stuff on these discs). These are both from The History Channel, which earns its namesake for producing some very good documentaries. Lastly is a three minute oral history with a narration over some still photos. There is also an index for the next disc, it doesn’t make sense, but hey…
Disc Four
Now we come to the fourth and final disc (or at least I hope so), that’s also arranged into sections. The first is Visual Effects and within it is a 27 minute Interactive Attack sequence. Essentially, it’s the attack sequence from the movie but with four different angles and you can even choose different kinds of sound. Neat! Also included is Deconstructing Destruction which features Michael Bay and his Visual Effects Supervisor, Eric Brevig. Now back to the main menu and an Interactive Timeline is the feature we find. The feature is divided into five sections, though I selected the "Continuous Play" option that plays the whole thing. The feature is like it says, which attempts to chart the historical events of Pearl Harbor for nearly 100 years. It’s a bit hard to figure out at first, but is actually a pretty interesting feature. A still gallery is included which is divided into several sections. Galleries are "you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all", so I won’t go into any more detail about this feature. Some DVD-ROM material is also included in The Pearl Harbor Definitive Bibliography. It’s just a list of links. Odd, how they spent so much time on all of the other materials, but the DVD-ROM is almost totally ignored.
And in a nutshell, that’s what you get. I could have gone into some more detail, but my fingers are already starting to cramp. For those who love the movie, this is the version to get. If you’re a freak about special features, then this is for you as well. For average fans of the movie, then you’ll most likely be satisfied with the previous version. Now as for the packaging (pictured below), it’s neat and very inventive. But it gets an "F" for user-friendlyness. Each disc is housed in it’s own cardboard sleeve attached to the inside of the package. There is a $10 off certificate for those who bought the first version, so if you have it, Disney’s throwing some money at you. There are even postcards. It’s cool, but I’d like the discs to be a little more accessable. All in all, a great Vista Series set (by far their best), so it’s here if you are ready for it.
