Review: Pearl Harbor Waking the Sleeping Giant

Mill Creek Entertainment Offers Archival Footage of Pearl Newsreels

Jun 3, 2009

Essentially a collection of 10 black and white documentaries exploring "the day that will live in infamy", this informative two-disc set is a must for war buffs. 6.5/10

A detailed chronicle of the various campaigns in the Pacific Theatre, chief among them being the Japanese fleet launching a surprise attack on a fine Sunday morning in December of 1941, Pearl Harbor: Waking the Sleeping Giant is a well selected grouping of old newsreels, which likely ran in movie houses later in that same decade.

This feature is actually an amalgamation of three mini-features. The first of them, "Payback", chronicles Douglas MacArthurs's mission to take the fight all the way to Tokyo, following the initial attack on Pearl, on board large bombers who barely had space to launch from small aircraft carriers. Many will recognize the events depicted here, from the dramatized re-enactment at the end of the Hollywood Pearl Harbor film.

Also included is "Target Tokyo", a documentary narrated by former US president Ronald Reagan (remember, he was an actor back in the day), which is a rehash of the elements from "Payback", and "Air War Against Japan". Appointment in Tokyo is somewhat repetitive (given all mini-features tackle the same subject), and is obviously patriotic in nature. Regardless of this, the clever editing based on war footage and Japanese reels gives viewers a new glimpse into what each side experienced, going into this battle.

Memories of WarThe more modern of these features, Memories of War is a post-mortem of sorts, which examines how things may have gone differently, had the elements been more auspicious in America's favor.

This piece shows elderly gentlemen, formerly on opposite sides of the war, as they gather at a war symposium in the Southern U.S. As they recap the events they took part in, these men speak mostly of bravery and courage, the loss of their friends and comrades, and how these events have scarred them both physically and emotionally, for the rest of their lives. Memories of War has some modern color footage along with historical film black and white, mixing in relevant interviews along with the captured film reels of the time.

"Payoff" focuses on the advances made by American forces, in areas such as Papua New Guinea, and Guadalcanal. The hour long item also offers a brief overview of the smaller skirmishes that permeated the Pacific ocean in the early 40's, all the same it revisits the events preceding and following the Pearl Attack.

A feature similar in scope to the aforementioned "Payoff", "The Fleet" follows American forces as they take the battle to Okinawa, one of the Japanese islands. Very short in duration, this piece nonetheless offers an insightful glimpse into the American war machine, both in scope and in ambition, as the U.S. forces are captured on black and white film, in all of its grittiness. A short feature, but also one of the more memorable ones, in that it isn't as redundant as the others.

This Academy Award winning documentary, narrated by John Ford, examines world events at a time when America had yet to enter the war (this only fully happened later on, when Pearl was attacked by Japan). As the Axis powers solidified their power in influence in corridors such as Eastern Europe, Africa and Eastern Asia, many of the Allied countries sought to take a stance against this increasingly deadly threat. Of course, given the topic of this DVD set, the docu also studies the events surrounding the Pearl attack, and the aftermath of the destruction.

Another collection of various small, shorter pieces, Decisive Victory incorporates three familiar topics, which invariably come back to the Pearl catalyst. "Death March" recounts the massive death toll both at Pearl, as well as the Philippines campaign. "Decisive Victory recounts the pivotal battle of Midway, known to history buffs as the turning point in the Pacific Wars. "They Beat the Japs" is more of a bio video summary of some of the heroes of the war, namely commanders Chester Nimitz (an early leader of men following Pearl), decorated General Alexander A. Vandegrift, who filled Nimitz's shoes by the following year, and experienced mariner General Holland M. Smith. Unless you've heard of these people first-hand, you may want to skip to the next feature.

Another collection of shorter documentaries, "Guinea" offers a retrospective of further military turning points following Pearl. "The Pacific War" examines (yet again) the chronology leading to December 7th 1941. This feature is very detailed, perhaps too much so, as they cover way too many war fronts for even experienced war buffs to keep track. "Fury in the Pacific" briefly examines the assault on Peleliu in the Belau Islands.

Following Pearl, American forces had to use up every resource to mount up their retaliatory attack on Japan, the aggressor. "Attack!" examines the process of training the men, preparing them for contingency. Afterwards, stock footage show these same groups of men as they make their advances on Japanese territory, at much cost. A very sobering piece, "Attack" is one of the tougher viewings in this collection.

Named after the truck supply line thought up by General Joe Stillwell, designed to help China fight the Japanese on their own front, "The Stilwell Road" explores the time and labour intensive project, which took over two years to complete. At a full distance of 478 miles, this road managed to help the Alllies gain ground in their approach to Japan, by way of the Marianas and Guam. An impressive feat, the docu isn't too technical, but anyone able to marvel at how so much work can be put into a single road spanning a few countries, "The Stillwell Road" is another of the highlights of this collection.

6.5 out of 10 for well planned out series, though very redundant after a few features.

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