THE MOVIE

“Were we better than the Japanese, or just luckier?” – Henry Fonda as Admiral Nimitz

The Battle of Midway would become the most decisive naval engagement of World War II and would give the United States superiority over the Japanese in the Pacific. The battle was fought in June 1942 near the Midway Islands by Japanese and US aircraft carriers.

The film centres around Captain Matt Garth (Charlton Heston – Ben Hur, Planet of the Apes) the only fictional character portrayed in this film, who is ordered by Admiral Nimitz (Henry Fonda – ,The Grapes of Wrath, The Tin Star) to figure out where the Japanese are likely to strike next after the recent Dolittle raids over Tokyo. With the aid of Commander Joseph Rochefort (Hal Holbrook – Magnum Force, The Fog) confirmation is made via Japanese communcation intercepts that Midway would be Japan’s next strategic target.

Admiral Nimitz is notified of the imminent invasion and sets about assembling his top men to command the fleet that will defend the Midway islands against the impending Japanese force. And so the battle for Midway begins…

“Midway” is an interesting and accurate account of the events that made up the battle of Midway and includes an impressive list of big name actors to help tell it’s story, however the film is marred by a number of elements that prevent it from being a truly satisfying experience. Firstly there is a slow and uninteresting back story involving Heston’s son Tom and his Japanese girlfriend who has recently been taken into custody by the Military under suspicion of being a spy and Heston tries to help get the girl and her family cleared of the allegations as a favour to his son. Personally, I felt that this sub plot slows the pace of the film down and is an unnecessary distraction.

The film also prides itself on the fact that the majority of the footage used during the battle sequences is actual military documentary material taken during the battle for Midway, and although this footage is interesting, the quality of it is quite a bit different from that of the film itself and unfortunately gives a kind of fragmented feel to the action. If this footage had been a little clearer and blended a little more smoothly into the film itself, it would have given these scenes the impact that they deserve.

THE TRANSFER

Video:

The film is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is 16:9 enhanced.

The picture quality presented here varies obviously because of the documentary footage used for most of the action.The film itself is generally clear except that it has a soft focus look to it that doesn’t help background detail. The colour is natural throughout. An adequate transfer for a film of it’s period.

Audio:

The audio is presented in English, French, German, Italian, and Castellano 2.0 Stereo.

This movie was originally released theatrically in Sensurround, the trademark for a special-effects system developed by Universal in 1974 to enhance the impact of tremor scenes in the disaster film EARTHQUAKE (1974), which makes me wonder why we are instead given an impact free stereo 2.0 audio track instead, with not even a hint of surround effects or bass to be heard anywhere during the film. There is even a featurette dedicated to the concept of Sensurround, for Pete’s sake!

The dialogue is generally acceptable throughout, however I noticed in one scene early on in the piece that the dialogue volume phased in and out for about a minute which I found a little distracting.

This disc is quite disappointing in the sound department, particularly for a film such as this where sound and music can add so much to the impact of the film.

THE EXTRAS

The Making of Midway (approx. 39 min)

The featurette is presented in 1.33:1 full screen format.

This featurette covers in quite some detail what went into the making of the film. There are interviews with the cast and crew, selected scenes from the film, and an explanation of how they created the special effects, including how they tried to blend the actual battle footage into the action sequences. Rather interesting.

The Sounds of Midway (approx. 4 ½ min)

The featurette is presented in 1.33:1 full screen format.

This featurette concentrates on the concept of Sensurround and talks to those involved in implementing the technology into the film and how it helped to enhance the overall viewing experience.

Pity we don’t get to hear it.

The Score of Midway (approx. 6 min)

The featurette is presented in 1.33:1 full screen format.

Another short featurette featuring music composer John Williams, the man responsible for some of cinema’s most memorable soundtracks including the Jaws, the Star Wars saga and Indiana Jones to name just a few. He talks about his involvement in the film and how he came to create the score for it.

“They Were There” Documentary (approx. 6 ½ min)

The featurette is presented in 1.33:1 full screen format.

A short doco made for the promotion of the film, it features Charlton Heston giving a little bit of a background to the events that took place at Midway as well as a rundown of the film’s cast and crew. Taken from a slightly faded 16mm print. Still, an interesting piece of promotional material.

Photograph Montage (approx. 3 ½ min)

The featurette is presented in 1.33:1 full screen format.

A short slide show of photos taken for the film and during the film accompanied by the film’s score.

Additional Scenes (approx. 10 min)

The featurette is presented in 1.33:1 full screen format.

These scenes have been included to show some of what was included in the 4 hour version of Midway for TV. These are mainly concerned with the private life of Charlton Heston’s character and have no relevance with the main story. Purely a curiosity piece.

Theatrical Trailer (approx. 2 ½ min)

Standard Theatrical Trailer showing scenes from the film, with some text providing a bit of a background to the story and voice over.

SUMMARY

“Midway” is not a great film, but with some big name actors providing good performances and generating interest in the subject material, it is fascinating to watch how events unfolded in the Midway islands in 1942.

It's good to see the effort put in to the quality and quantity of the extras included on this disc. Keep it up Universal.