Roger Ebert, as much as I hate the man, had the best quote for this film: "Pearl Harbor" is a two-hour movie squeezed into three hours, about how on Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese staged a surprise attack on an American love triangle

Anyone from History buff?

The iceberg was innocent. The Titanic hit it.

My grandpa was stationed at Naval Base Pearl Harbor and I got to watch it with him in theater while on leave from the Marine Corps. His exact words, "they turned it into a love story." Thankfully I got a chance to sit down with him and talk about his real life experiences. I miss him.

I think part of the reason people despise this movie more than others is because it has a very poor story. The other movies you mentioned; like Braveheart and The Last Samurai, have stronger stories despite their historic inaccuracies. If the viewer can become invested in the story than they are more willing to overlook other flaws. Braveheart is the story of a nobody rising to prominence and fighting against tyranny, The Last Samurai is the story of a man haunted by his past seeking redemption. Despite these stories having nothing to do with actual history, audiences love them. They can relate to the characters and get immersed in the story, despite it being a bastardization of what actually happened. Alternatively; the hate could just be the result of the insufferable romance plot pissing off viewers.

I don't hate "Pearl Harbor"; I just found it to be riff-fodder. "Tora Tora Tora" is far superior.

Braveheart and The Revenant were entertaining cinematic achievements and well acted. Despite the heavy historical inaccuracies. Pearl Harbor (2001) had some stunning cinematography but that's it. The story was ludicrous and the acting even worse.

There's another big mistake with the blonde nurse that gets killed in the hospital attack. After she gets engaged to the pilot that stutters, she tells Kate Beckinsale's character that they're going to wait 2 years until she's 19. How is a 17 year old a Nurse? Nurse requirements in the military during WW2 required a nurse to have completed a 3 year nurse training program after graduating high school. Even if she lied about her age, like she says, there's still no way she graduated high school and completed 3 years of nurse education by 17.

One thing you missed, was the fact that the 2 fighter pilots, were able to jump from the P-39 into the B-25's with no additional training, especially with the added challenge of being able to take off from a carrier. P.S. Great work with all your reviews, I enjoy them all, keep it up.

As to "Why do people hate on Pearl Harbor more than, say, The Revenant?" First of all, I guess it's because on top of the contrived love story, Pearl Harbor's acting is just incredibly sub-par. Yes, Gibson hams it up to 11 in Braveheart, but has a great supporting cast to fall back on (Cosmo, Gleeson, O'Hara, McGoohan) - and I think most people would agree that the acting in The Revenant was great. Second, Pearl Harbor has the same problem as Transformers: It's a movie that treats its source material as background filler. I don't watch Transformers to see a story of Shia LaBeouf trying to dip his wick into Megan Fox's private parts, I want to see giant transforming robots beating the shit out of each other. I don't watch Pearl Harbor to see a Affleck and Hartnett struggling over Beckinsale, I want to see the attack and the events leading to it (that's why Tora! Tora! Tora! is so great - it shows exactly that, and with equal respect to the US and Japanese side).

the nostalgia critics dad was a navy seal so it makes sense for him to be angry

Btw they were flying B-25s off the carrier, not B-17s ;)

*This was sneak-demonetized after being fully monetized (even after manual review) for 3 years. So please consider donating to my patreon: www.patreon.com/CynicalHistorian general reference and mistakes: 7:00 - They were B-25's, not B-17's 10:30 - The RMS Queen Mary was an ocean-liner, not a cruise-ship 12:50 - That might actually be a barrel roll, but simply a trick of the camera makes it look incorrect - but that clip from _Tora Tora Tora_ after it is assuredly a correct one

22:43 You know what makes that great stunt work? The actors are actually running for their lives..

Think on this. Google has the Life magazines available from 1930 on. The December 8, 1941 issue was printed before December 7 to be shipped and arrive on Dec 8. Inside it discusses how MacArthur will fight the war with the Japanese once it is started. So its very true we knew will all certainty the war was coming. Just the where and when were in question.

Personally, this movie is more of a guilty pleasure for me instead of a Historical film.

The Doolittle raid flew B-25s, which were shown, but the narration at about 7:00 said B-17s.

I've seen anime about WW2 with more historical accuracy...

We actually watched Tora, Tora, Tora in my high school history class. its a pretty good movie. though my highschool history class was great because we did in depth analysis of battles of the second world war, not all of course just the notable ones such as bastogne, Kursk, and Iwo Jima.

3RD generation Navy veteran here! I met quite a few guys while in the navy who couldn't swim. My dad who served during the Korean War couldn't swim while he served and never learned to swim. Being able to swim is not a requirement to serve in the Navy and they do not teach you to swim in boot camp, but what they do teach you is how to survive in the water if you go overboard, they basically teach you how to float. Also just for the historical content here, my dad's uncle served onboard The USS Missouri during the war and was onboard during the Japanese surrender!

"American officials knew about the incoming attack before the Japanese ambassador..." The message in question spoke of an attack, but made no mention of where it might take place.

Uh.. at 9:13, you pointed out that the footage was of a Pershing Tank, but you forgot to mention that the twin spires of the Cathedral in the background are of the COlogne Cathedral in Germany. The Germans didn't do any blitzkrieg in there own country.

Those American volunteer pilots in Burma were called the Flying Tigers, and I know that because in my hometown, one of the residents that lived there was a Flying Tiger, but was shot down in '43 (I believe), so there is a building in town dedicated to him and another building in the then high, now middle school that I attended when I was younger.

13:15 "Why do so many newer movies make combatants into blithering idiots?" I guess because directors, producers, and audiences would have a hard time believing that regular people would be competent at the job they're trained for. It's sad but I've noticed most movies these days only grizzled and hardened professionals act intelligently while rookies aren't expected to.

I lived in Hawaii while this was being filmed. I was really excited about the whole production. The Navy even allowed the premier to be held on the deck of an aircraft carrier in Pearl Harbor, may PH veterans attended. I saw the film soon after and just felt sick. I can't imagine how those veterans must have felt watching that pile of shit on a screen floating in Pearl Harbor.

I think the main reason for the hate is something you mentioned but not as a decisive factor, namely the bloated love story and unbearable length. The movie is three hours of really bad acting, even a really good movie like Return of King had people squirming in their seats by the last half hour. Whatever you want to say about Titanic at least Winslet and Di Caprio had good chemistry and we never really lose focus of those two as opposed to Pearl Harbor's bloated cast, you didn't even mention the Cuba Gooding Jr. subplot.

All my friends revile the Pearl harbor movie. I bought the extended version of it and watched it. Truthfully I liked it.

You never disappoint, always very high quality. I just wanted to say thanks and keep it up!

Your channel is really good dude, a must for history and film lovers. How do you not have more views?!?!

So, I just watched the Nostalgia Critic's review on this movie, and I am currently watching yours. I wanted to say that all of your reviews and also with History Buffs' review of Tora! Tora! Tora! are so great, because for me, I most likely every else who watches this movie: I only wait for the attack scene and then find something else to watch. But, my point is I'm okay with this movie, but I would rather Tora! Tora! Tora! than this although I have only seen clips. "You want your confirmation, Captain? TAKE A LOOK. THERE'S YOUR CONFIRMATION!!!"

KZfaqr: this film is more accurate than a lot of the films I review Every history channel: brother why did you betray us

Why are those other inaccurate movies you mentioned given a pass while this one is shit on? Maybe because they were pretty good movies despite the inaccuracies. This movie was awful. That made it an easy target.

I'm afraid you missed one of the biggest inaccuracies in the movie. The U.S. never sent a fighter pilot up in a B-25 for the Doolittle Raids.

I actually looked forward to this film coming out as a history buff and fan of tora tora tora . wow was I disappointed filled with errors and terrible lines and plot . the serving American airman joining Eagle squadron in uniform just put me off straightaway I don't think I've seen another Michael bay film in its entirety since he's a total hack

Man, your production quality has improved so much! Really enjoying these more recent videos.

Anyone else just get here from History Buffs?

>Talks about Pearl Harbor >Shows Tora!Tora!Tora! clips >Savage

My great grandfather was at Pearl Harbor when it got bombed then went to serve on a cruiser in the pacific

"You must fly for hours to reach the moored fleet at Pearl Harbor and destroy any assets you can find. Ships, planes, fuel reserves, anything the Americans can use against us in the war to come. Your top priority are any carriers you may find there." Gotcha, blow my whole payload on a random hospital most sailors won't use when the war is so deep in the pacific.

I liked this review. The main thing I always said about it is they tried to remake "Titanic": With Titanic, while the emphasis was definitely on Jack and Rose, James Cameron put an incredible amount of effort into making the film as historically accurate as possible. A few minor mistakes, but all in all the film is incredibly well done. The design of the ship, the decor, interior, clothing. There's a few innacuracies but they're nowhere near as bad as most movie innacuracies. They even got really good historians to help (Walter Lord who wrote "A Night to Remember") and interviewed the few survivors who were left (as well as vintage archived interviews). All "Pearl Harbor" took any inspiration from historically was that stupid "sleeping giant" quote from Tora Tora Tora which both never happened and is plastered all over WWII related comment sections. They also tried to stick a love story in there. In Titanic, if your like me and just there for the ship, the love story can get a little in the way here and there, but it adds to the story and makes it fun, and also ties it to modern day a bit, with old Rose talking to people exploring the Titanic wreckage. But with Pearl Harbor, it doesn't work. The love story just gets in the way of the whole plot. It makes the movie unenjoyable.

It's like they tried to mix the attack on Pearl Harbor with Days of Our Lives.

17:11 WE DID!! We burned Tokyo to the GROUND in 1944-1945 and even THAT didn’t convince the Japanese to Surrender

12:50, No that was actually a Barrel Roll. An Aileron roll is where the aircraft does not change altitude but spins. A Barrel roll Changes both Vertical and Lateral Position of the aircraft.

Yeah, Micheal Bay stretches 'suspension of disbelief' to well past the breaking point..

I think you've been watching too many CinemaSins videos judging by that ending! I love that kind of stuff, great editing. Also, dont play down the American element in the British war strategy. After the fall of France, Churchill had two basic aims: - first and foremost; resist invasion and keep morale high - 2nd but more important in the long term, get America into the war. I cannot understate the importance of this to us British. We did not have the resources to resist indefinitely, our empire was under assault and we were fighting the Japanese and Germans simultaneously, losing to both. I am not a Churchill fanboy, nor am I a cheerleader for American influence. But as I understand it, British success in the war hinged on American involvement, with Churchill constantly lobbying FDR and sneakily increasing American involvement through aid packages and loans etc. Great video.

Came here thanks to History Buffs. So glad I did. :-)

I was stationed in Pearl Harbor when this film was shot. I had the opportunity to be an extra in "Pearl Harbor," but was not selected. A good friend of mine is the sailor in the back of the jeep when the officer informs Admiral Kimmel of the USS Ward attack. After watching the film, I was disgusted and happy I was not in that disaster. My only compliment is Faith Hill's "There you'll Be." Watch "Tora! Tora! Tora!" instead!

SO interesting you bring up about some naval personnel not being able to swim. It's a point I was tempted to make on the Nostalgia Critic's video, but I figured I'd be splitting hairs. I wrote a book about Al Capone's long-lost brother who was a Prohibition agent. He had a son in WWII who was in the navy and could not swim. He also had a problem in that he sleep walked. Those two issues combined could have caused a very big problem.

Comment: "if you wouldn't be so cynical"Channel name: The *Cynical* historian.

Yeahhhhh, flying a B-17 off of a carrier would have been a feat for sure!

I had just turned 16 when this film had been released, seeing it during its final run on my birthday weekend shortly following a canoe trip with my old man in the marshes of South Carolina not far from Charleston (no, seriously, we actually once had a canoe and used to paddle it in the marshes near the beaches and further inland in-between the surrounding barrier islands surrounding Charleston and Mt. Pleasant) shortly before moving to North Carolina - though not before the 9-11 attacks on the Twin Towers (which we actually visited back in July 1998 - boy did THAT really put things into perspective!). The following year in May, during a family vacation to Hawaii, my old man and I actually visited Pearl Harbor, the memorial for the USS ARIZONA included (I still have the old pictures on actual film that I shot before switching to digital, which I actually need to scan). We could take shots of the old ships on display, but not the modern ships in service, as we had entered the 9-11 War and to shoot actual modern warships in current service could be construed as spying during wartime, even though it was really out of curiosity. As all of this was some time before I started taking courses in film appreciation and video production during my later teen years, all I could say is that I enjoyed PEARL HARBOR more then in my mid-teens than as an adult - after all, I was fond of everything that flies, aircraft included, and especially of depiction of aerial dogfights between planes of WWII. The cinematography and action scenes are really all I can recommend, but sadly, I kinda feel like I was fooled, just swallowing up what I saw on the screen without even questioning its degree of either cinematic quality or historic authenticity, of which it has very little or neither of either. Evidently they were trying to do a mash-up homage-tribute to classic movies about this period (which included FROM HERE TO ETERNITY and THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO along with TORA TORA TORA and TITANIC), but it just comes off as more of an insult, not only to veterans and general moviegoers, but those films as well. Personally, if you're going to do a movie about Pearl Harbor, you and the studios have a major obligation to not only make that movie exactly ABOUT Pearl Harbor, but portray it exactly as it happened without the conventional Hollywood bullshit of generic devices or contrivances, and especially without being so one-sided in the politics. If you plan on the other hand to make a movie about something fictional, let alone a bland romantic triangle, with the historical Pearl Harbor and early years of the Pacific Theatre as a mere backdrop, and then just dump a bunch of right-wing propaganda into the mix sugar-coated with explosions... just don't! Until someone does a Pearl Harbor film exactly right - which I at least hope will happen sometime over the next two decades in preparation for the centennial memorial of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 2041 - I will settle with TORA! TORA! TORA! as the quintessential Pearl Harbor film.

Some soldiers In the navy during ww2 couldn’t swim. Their were cases on the uss missippi where soldiers couldn’t swim.

Mickel Bay should have said to Doug Walker AKA nostalgia critic "I regret you feel that way" just wanted to keep this drama alive and I don't care how you feel. ^_^

What changed is that Japan fell under the sway of a sadistic and aggressive military regime.

Thank you Cypher, for developing one of the most impartial reviews about Pearl Harbor. It is too bad the amount of hated towards it, considering there are worst movies.

The interesting thing is Tora Tora Tora was a joint Japanese/American production. The Japanese scenes were shot by a Japanese crew with Japanese actors, while the American scenes were shot by an American crew with American actors.

6:30 holy crap, when I saw this I kind of freaked out cuz I looked on my dresser and I saw an old replica of the December 8th 1941 Monday evening St Louis star 7th War extra the newspaper that talked about the Jap attack on Pearl Harbor and that exact interview the exact same moment, I just thought it was really really cool seeing video version of this newspaper.

I am here because of History Buffs

I know I'm 4 years late but, I'm gonna mention that it wasn't the Nostalgia Critic who blew up there. Doug has actually said that he legitimately had that reaction when he watched that.

Watching Doug Walker rip this movie to shreds for portraying the Navy as a horde of incompetents was extremely satisfying.

13:45 I know first hand accounts aren’t the most reliable, but at my Great Grandfather’s funereal (Who served in the Pacific Front) The priest claimed that he actually paid someone else to impersonate him because he couldn’t swim. So I don’t think it’s that far fetched that some sailors couldn’t swim

B-25s were used in the Doolittle Raid, not B-17s.

I'd like to point out a misconception at roughly 6:53 maybe, the planes that were in the doolittle raid were b-25s not b-17s. B-17s have a different fuselage shape and are 4 engined heavy bombers while b-25s are 2 engine medium bombers. Just a small misconception and no hate intended.

I heard on IMDB that the visitor’s centre at Pearl Harbor and the gift shop at Ford Island do NOT sell copies of the movie. Can’t blame them honestly.

*starts with a nitpick about crop dusting* Oh, it’s gonna be like that... *gets out popcorn*

Here's the thing Michael Bay WANTED it to be R-rated gritty war film with zero romance to actually PAY respect to the soldiers. Wanna blame someone? As you mentioned, the studio wanted all the sweet Titanic money and it actually got so severe, Bay almost left the production of the film entirely. But for fucks SAKE can we NOT lose our heads because it's Michael Bay and apparently that gives people some moral righteousness to drag his name across the mud? I have criticism of Bay for but people honestly devolve into fucking manchildren whenever they hear his name. Hell how many people are even going to acknowledge Bay wasn't even 100% at fault and was sort of the victim of greedy executive production just because it's Michael Bay?

My grandfather showed me tora tora tora when I was 7, “it means tiger tiger tiger” I’ll never forget that

I followed the link from the History Buffs' review of "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and this in depth skewering of Michael Bay is Great!

They showed the incorrect aircraft carrier

B-25 mitchels were the bombers used. Not B-17s

KZfaq has conditioned me so hard to do >> when someone says "but before i dive into..." that i fully flinched at 1:29

It's not that bad, if you think of it as a guilty pleasure movie. This movie is what got the 8-year-old me curious about history.

7:10 I guess you could say the Doolittle Raid... *Did little.*

Nick Hodges from History Buffs sent me here :)

Surprise your not more popular. Your stuff is great and very fascinating :)

Remember watching this film - you are 100 % correct to savage it in your review. Filled with inaccuracies. Actually, the B-25's took off from USS Hornet (I think?), and there was real questions as to whether or not launch would succeed. Real footage shows plane launching with a lot of difficulty. At 16:43 you see footage of a modern flat top. The USS Hornet (CV-8) was a Yorktown class, and the flight deck was much narrower, thus the issue in transporting B-25 Bombers.

The Doolittle raid used b25s NOT B17s

I never really watched that one as a "history movie". I watched it for the action scenes and effects... so, yeah, I usually skip the romance scenes, same with Armageddon xD

That sea gull clip in the end was just perfect :)

You were spot on on your commentary I couldn't agree with you more and you just got a new subscriber great job

pearl harbor was bad. i had a hard time paying attention and parts of it made me cringe. the last samurai was a good movie, even if inaccurate. (good imo btw)

Say what you whant but the score by Hans Zimmer is 10/10

I still wish one of the movies about the Attack on Pearl Harbor would include USS Enterprise air craft then preceded the Big E to port. The flew into the middle of the attack and several were shot down. There were other civilian fliers in the air an one of the most well known perished at the hands of Zeros. Excellent analysis.

what movie is the clip at 6:17 from?

22:20 And the Oscar goes to...Suicide Squad. lol I Gave this video a like just for that clip.

i really enjoy the movie though ...... watching pearl harbor to Michael bay's films of today, its like 10 time better

I LOVES Pearl Harbor movie, keeps me engaged, and seeing how HONEST the attack was, is what keeps my LOVE for this movie stronger than the hate for it. The love story is MEH for me but my 65-year-old mom gets into this. I have the OG Theatrical cut DVD, Theatrical Cut Blu-ray, and just got the WAY better Director's Cut DVD. I say you'd need to hear the Commentary on the Director's Cut as there are 3 of them and one has Michael with a Historian, also the Quote everyone says didn't happen in the movie by the Japanese guy, turns out YEAH IT DID HAPPEN, just not in the contexts that the movie shows. Also saw Torra Torra Torra, I hated it and was more into showing things as the American Arm Forces want, no one was that calm during that whole attack, even those trained in the Arm Forces.

I can't believe you didn't grill Nastalgia Critic calling the USS Oklahoma a "Battle cruiser" in the "I can't swim" scene. The USS Oklahoma was a Navada Class Battleship, the US Navy never had Battle cruisers, they had draw up plans and ideas for battle cruisers, but they were never built.

You should review All quiet on the western front

The clips at the end are hilarious.

Great video! But I absolutely LOVED the Walking Dead reference! x'D

Don’t forget the angled decks on the aircraft carriers. In ww2 the carriers had straight decks while the movie shows Korean War and Cold War carriers to portray them.

Let loose with the righteous fervor of an Historian scorned. 19:50 - I felt the same exact way when George Lucas turned one of the most impactful and sorrowful events in Galactic History, the Clone Wars, into fodder for a shitty CGI cartoon and a vapid, hollow love story. No respect for history.

I like the movie even though it has nearly nothing to do with the real thing. :) Hans Zimmer again did a great job, too

What's the name of the movie seen at 4:02?

10:42. Sorry I need to address this. RMS Queen Mary was an ocean liner. The high freeboard (side) is a dead give away. Additionally she was already painted grey and was a troop transport.

B-25 Mitchells were flown not B17s those boys are too big

please make a video on the norwegian movie kongens nei or kings no

So, super neat to hear you had family in the Philippines early on, my grandmother's dad was there a bit later helping take back Manilla (and to rescue the shitload of hostages taken by the Japanese). We actually even have a japanese rifle that he brought home after the war.

Here from History Buffs. Already subbed, can't wait to check out your stuff!