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The Day of Infamy, on December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. In the archives of film they have been bombing it ever since. The Internet Movie Data Base lists 69 films that have Pearl Harbor as a key plot point. Here are some of the memorable ones:
Remember Pearl Harbor (1942)
The first media-related product about Pearl Harbor soon became the hit song, Remember Pearl Harbor, released a mere ten days after the attack. Republican Pictures registered the title and went to work recycling a script they previously had used for four other films. They managed to release it only five months after the attack, becoming the first Pearl Harbor film.
Hawai Mare Oki Kaisen War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya (1942)
The first Japanese account of the attack followed 7 months later. It is a documentary-style recreation of the events leading up to the Pacific War. The attack on Pearl Harbor lasts only 8 minutes but was impressive enough for Movietone News Corp. to release it as actual Japanese footage of the attack.
December 7th (1943)
John Ford's Oscar winning documentary was edited from 82 minutes to 35 by the censors. Since only a few grainy shots of actual footage of the real attack were available, Ford had to recreate virtually the whole attack. The film, now considered to be propaganda more than an objective documentary, is the primary source for documentaries and news footage.
Hawai Middouei daikaikusen: Taiheiyo No Arashi (1960)
Released in the US under the title I Bombed Pearl Harbor, this film tells the story of a Japanese pilot who gradually loses faith in his government as the war progresses. This film was produced by Toho the same film studio that made the Godzilla films. The effects scenes were good enough for Universal Studios to use segments in its Pacific War film, Midway.
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
Considered by many to be the best and most accurate account of the event Tora! Tora! Tora! is a joint American/Japanese production. The film takes its name from the code words used by the Japanese to signal that complete surprise had been achieved. It was a theatrical flop in the US, but a hit in Japan. The film features one of the most famous Pearl Harbor quotes spoken by Admiral Yamamoto, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” The quote is now widely believed to be a post-war invention.
The Final Countdown (1980)
A freak storm sends a nuclear air craft carrier back in time to the day before the Pearl Harbor attack. The crew faces a dilemma - help prevent the attack and alter the course of time or stand idly by leaving thousands killed and wounded. Independent B-movie legend Lloyd Kaufman had a part in this film and claims that this is the production that made him quit working on major studio films.
Pearl Harbor (2001)
At the time, the most expensive budget ever approved. This film is despised by veterans, survivors, critics, and historians for its historically impossible recreations. There is no way one pilot could have partaken in The Battle of Britain, Pearl Harbor, and The Doolittle Raid. Yet the film grossed nearly $450 million worldwide. Interestingly, the amount spent making and promoting this film is roughly equal to the amount of damage caused in the attack.
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