The Battle of Midway

This is a great, short (less than 20 minutes)film of one part of the key battle of the war in the Pacific. Keep it mind, the Battle of Midway was fought in early June, 1942. The darkest days of the Pacific War for America. Pearl Harbor, the Phillipines, Bataan, Corregidor, Wake Island; all American defeats. It is, indeed, a "propaganda" film. Or, at least it was turned into one after John Ford shot it. But the film of the combat itself is no propaganda piece. It took a lot of courage for Ford to stick his cameras out and film while hundreds of Japanese planes struck the island. Many Marines died in the bombing. Ford could easily have been killed. Of necessity, Ford could only film the land portion of the battle, which was an attempt by Japanese naval forces to reduce the island's defenses and then conduct a landing, possibly eventually putting Hawaii in jeopardy with a new, forward Japanese base on Midway. The major part of the battle was a naval battle between carrier forces. An "incredible victory" in the title of the Walter Lord book. Four Japanese aircraft carriers, miles from the filming on Midway itself, were sunk. It was the begging of the end of Japan. The stiff resistance put up by the Marines on Midway, captured by Ford, forced decisions by the Japanese High Command that ultimately led to the sinking of their carriers. Historically interesting film.

This Oscar-winning documentary – by one of the most revered American film-makers who would have celebrated his birthday on the day I watched this – is quite celebrated, having even been treated to a 2-page spread in the early 1980s British periodical "The Movies". However, the passage of time has not been at all kind to it: not only, at just 18 minutes, does it not dwell in sufficient detail on the famous conflict that purportedly changed the course of the Pacific War…but the whole is lent the director's typically homespun – read sappy – approach, which really dates it! The film obviously retains historical value for its rare colour footage of the battle (some of which was actually incorporated in the star-studded 1976 Hollywood rendition of these same events, MIDWAY!) and, for the record, Ford regulars Henry Fonda and Jane Darwell supply the intermittent narration.

This documentary, "The Battle of Midway," is a short film shot during the actual combat on June 4, 1942. The Battle lasted from June 3 to June 7, but the air attack on Midway Island was on June 4. This shows the bombing of the U.S. airfield and positions on Midway. It also shows the defenders in action, and one Japanese plane trailing smoke after it was hit by ground fire.

What is most striking about this film is the concussion of the actual bombs, which have a horizontal spreading impact with huge destruction. What one sees in most movies in which battle scenes are staged, is ground explosions that blow up laterally and dissipate in the air with much less near damage.

Hollywood's John Ford was a Navy officer who directed this and other films for the Navy during WW II. Henry Fonda is the principal narrator. There isn't much by way of aerial combat or Japanese aircraft pictured here. Other Armed Forces photography would capture that. But this documentary earns its stars for the men who shot the film while under heavy enemy fire.

This incredible compilation of footage won an Academy Award. It was shot by a crew of war cameramen that included John Ford, who I understand actually took some of the footage himself! While watching this, remember that you generally can effectively aim either a camera or a weapon at any one time, but not both and, as a cameraman has his eye to the lense while shooting, that means that he's exposed to all of the nasty stuff flying all around him with little or no cover! That's called "grace under pressure". They got an Oscar and deserved a medal! Highly recommended.

Director John Ford had no idea what he was in for when he headed to Midway Island in the late spring of '42, the first year of the United States' involvement in World War Two. For a man looking for action he certainly ended up in the right place at the right time, producing the first documentary capturing American troops in combat in the Oscar-winning September 1942 "The Battle of Midway." The 18-minute film, shot in color, was a pivotal naval and air engagement in the first year of the Pacific conflict. But the production wasn't planned ahead of time by Ford, a future four-time Oscar-winning Best Director. As a United States Navy Reserve officer, Ford, 47, headed the photographic unit for the Office of Strategic Services, and was on assignment on a secret mission to the island of Midway. "Our job was to photograph both for the records and for our intelligence assessment, the work of guerrillas, saboteurs, Resistance outfits," described Ford later on his unit's responsibilities. After stopping off at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii to photograph the damage at the naval base, Ford volunteered to be shipped to the remote Pacific island of Midway to document the progress of the submarine base being built on the atoll. Unbeknownst to Ford, the Japanese were setting their sights on capturing the air base on Midway.

Accompanied by U. S. Navy photographer Jack MacKenzie, a former RKO assistant cameraman, Ford was filming much of the island's preparations when he heard about the Japanese fleet approaching the region-and the United States' plans to ambush it on June 4, 1942. The commanding officer of the island base, Captain Cyril Simard, told Ford, "Forget the pictures as much as you can. But I want a good accurate account of the bombing. We expect to be attacked tomorrow." Ford sought the island's highest point, a power station on the base. He situated MacKenzie and himself there equipped with two 16mm cameras and Kodachrome color film stock. Another film crew was stationed on one of the attacking carriers, the USS Hornet, to record all the sea action.

Once the Japanese Zeros appeared over the horizon, Ford and MacKenzie began cranking their cameras. Being high up posed an enormous danger to the pair. "The image jumps a lot because the grenades were exploding right next to me," Ford recalled in 1966. "Since then, they do that on purpose, shaking the cameras when filming war scenes. For me it was authentic because the shells were exploding at my feet." One bomb knocked the two down, slicing a deep gash in Ford's arm-from which he earned a Purple Heart. "It's where the plane flies over the hangar and everything goes up in smoke and debris, you can see one big chunk coming for the camera," described Ford.

The pair reeled off four hours of silent footage. After the monumental battle, they left immediately for Los Angeles. Ford knew he captured a ton of action which could make for an exciting documentary. Combining what was filmed on the island and those shot on the USS Hornet, he handed all the reels to editor Robert Parrish, who had assisted Ford in 1941's "How Green Was My Valley." Two scriptwriters shaped the narrative with Ford, voiced by actors Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell and Donald Crisp. Alfred Newman, the music director for 20th Century Fox, composed the patriotic soundtrack. Ford mixed special sound effects from the studio's library to add to the excitement of the documentary. In six short days, the picture was ready. But working for the OSS, Ford was suspicious the military would suppress the movie. Arranging a private screening at the White House with Franklin Roosevelt in attendance, Ford cleverly inserted a clip of president's son, Major James Roosevelt of the Marine Corps, who was overseeing the memorial service on the island soon after the battle. The impact at the conclusion when the segment was show was quite emotional for the Roosevelts. "When the lights came up, Mrs. Roosevelt was crying," Parrish in attendance noticed. "The president turned to Admiral Leahy and said, 'I want every mother in America to see this picture'." With that "The Battle of Midway" was released nationwide, with many viewers teary-eyed leaving the theaters The Academy Awards had established the Best Documentary for the first time, handing out four separate Oscars during its 15th annual ceremonies, the only time multiple awards were given in one category. "The Battle of Midway" was one of six Oscars Ford received in his lifetime.