Pearl Harbor

2001 Drama

At the time of its release, this lavish period war drama from hyperkinetic director Michael Bay became the most expensive motion picture ever green-lighted by a studio. Ben Affleck stars as Rafe McCawley, a military pilot stationed under Jimmy Doolittle (Alec Baldwin) in New Jersey, along with his best friend from childhood, Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett). Rafe is chomping at the bit to get involved in World War II, but America has not entered the conflict, so he is forced to fight on loan to the Royal Air Force in Britain, leaving behind his beautiful girlfriend Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale). After Rafe goes overseas, both Danny and Evelyn are transferred to the naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where word arrives that Rafe has been killed in action. A grief-stricken Evelyn and Danny become romantically attached, a situation that becomes a lit powder keg when Rafe suddenly reappears, having survived his ordeal in the European war. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor puts the romantic triangle on hold, as the best friends are ordered to undertake a top-secret and highly dangerous retaliatory mission to bomb Tokyo, once again under the command of Doolittle. Although the trio of leads are entirely fictional, Cuba Gooding Jr., Tom Sizemore, and Jon Voight (as FDR) co-star in the roles of real-life historical figures. Pearl Harbor is based on a script by Randall Wallace, writer of Braveheart (1995) and The Man in the Iron Mask (1998). Taking a page from the production history of James Cameron's Titanic (1997), many of the actors and filmmakers involved with Pearl Harbor deferred their usual salaries until the film "broke even" at the box office. more..

Director: Michael Bay

Starring: Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Kate Beckinsale,Ewen Bremner, Jon Voight

Reviews

  • The film's immense cast and crew, headed by director Michael Bay, writer Randall Wallace and stars Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale, blend artistry and technology to create a blockbuster entertainment that has passion, valor and tremendous action.

    Kevin Thomas - Los Angeles Times

    26 April 2013

  • It expertly capitalizes on the emotional associations Americans have with Pearl Harbor and renders the battle scenes with an excellence that goes beyond proficiency and into the realm of art.

    Mick LaSalle - The San Francisco Chronicle

    26 April 2013

  • The film never quite hits a sure-footed stride. The fictional love story stays fictional. But ''Pearl Harbor'' delivers the main event.

    Jay Carr - The Boston Globe

    26 April 2013

  • The picture is nearly painstaking in its traditionalism, a tale of love, war, and valor in which nostalgia for ''simpler times'' gets mashed together, almost fetishistically, with nostalgia for old movies and for the spirit of knightly self sacrifice during World War II.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    26 April 2013

  • A movie meant to explode off the screen -- and it's at its best when those explosions are going full blast.

    Michael Wilmington - The Chicago Tribune

    26 April 2013

Awards

  • Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures

    ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards (2002)

  • Best Sound Editing

    Academy Awards (2002)

  • Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases

    American Society of Cinematographers (2002)

     
  • Bogey Awards, Germany (2001)

  • Best Song

    Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2002)