The Reality of "Midway"

Palmpilot

Palmpilot

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Richard Palm
Interesting historical assessment of the 2019 "Midway" film:

Things In Midway You Won't Believe Were True

Excerpt:

If there's one thing that can be said for people today, it's that they're used to seeing big-screen productions that tell the story of real events and people ... but take more than a bit of creative license with the truth. Real events tend to be painted with broad strokes by an artist that doesn't have much regard for the truth, and they're hyped up for the sake of making an impressively unbelievable tale, fit for the silver screen

But here's the thing with Roland Emmerich's Midway: there's a ton of moments that just sort of have audiences shaking their collective heads, there's a ton of things that just seem too insane to be true. But for the most part, it's the sort of accurate that makes people believe truth really is stranger than fiction.

According to Time, this was Hollywood's chance to do a few things. They wanted to tell the story properly, bring a pivotal but often-overlooked battle to the forefront, and make up for the missteps made by the 1976 film based on the same events. Screenwriters used source material that included interviews and oral histories from eyewitnesses, and it makes for a crazy story that's true — even these parts....​
 
i had never heard of the girl on the Utah or McArthur not preparing for an attack.

Thanks for posting.
 
Thanks for that link. I could not stop reading it. I grew up with the people who lived that terrible time in history. Listened to the stories, read the accounts. I have letters written home from a great uncle who flew with the Lafayette Escadrille. Bill taught my Mom to fly when she was in her teens. Late 1920's. The expected life expendancey of a pilot was less than 2 weeks at the time. My next door neighbor was shot down in the pacific and strafed in his parachute. He had a real problem flying, even commercial in the late '60's. The Pilot who soloed me was a B-17 driver in Europe. Amazing time in history. Those that gave ALL and the people who survived built the world that I was fortunate to grow up in. I will always be in amazement of what they did.
 
After watching the "Pacific" series, I'm now listening to "Helmet for My Pillow" when I have to drive more than 30 minutes somewhere. It's interesting hearing the real firsthand accounts of that era.

According to his wife, the author was disappointed with the recreations that were floating around even back then, which is why he wrote his account:
According to his wife Vera, Leckie was inspired to write the book in 1951 after seeing South Pacific on Broadway and walking out halfway through it. He said, "I have to tell the story of how it really was. I have to let people know the war wasn't a musical."
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Palmpilot said:
But here's the thing with Roland Emmerich's Midway: there's a ton of moments that just sort of have audiences shaking their collective heads, there's a ton of things that just seem too insane to be true. But for the most part, it's the sort of accurate that makes people believe truth really is stranger than fiction.
Click to expand...
I appreciated the approach that they took with the movie at portraying the true and larger than life stories from VB-6/VS-6. I just wish they hadn’t diluted them with the ridiculous fantasy stuff like dead sticking an SBD onto a carrier deck…twice.
 
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