Pearl Harbor [60th Anniversary Commemorative Edition] [2 Discs]

Overview

"Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale are war-torn lovers in director Michael Bay's epic reenactment of the 1941 tragedy Pearl Harbor. Buena Vista has done a great job on this 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer (spread over two DVDs). All aspects of this picture look great, including even colors, dark black levels, and natural-looking fleshtones. Aside of a small amount of edge enhancement during one scene, this is a fine-looking transfer that should please fans. The audio is presented in DTS 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround in English and French, as well as an English 2.0 soundtrack produced for those listening with headphones. The Dolby 5.1 and DTS soundtracks are very full, featuring continuous use of surround sounds throughout the entire film. Bombs and explosions rocket around the viewer through most of the film's running time. All aspects of the dialogue, music, and effects are distortion-free. Also included on this disc are English subtitles. This two-disc Pearl Harbor set, while not jam-packed, includes a few well-produced extra features. Two documentaries, ""Journey to the Screen: The Making of Pearl Harbor"" and ""Unsung Heroes of Pearl Harbor,"" are both extensive and very informative. The first documentary focuses on the making of the film, which includes interviews with stars Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Kate Beckinsale, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and most of the main crew. The second feature takes a look at the real Pearl Harbor and includes interviews with survivors from that awful day. The second documentary is easily the more impressive and moving of the two. Finally, there is a music video by Faith Hill for the hit song ""There You'll Be,"" a short promo for National Geographic: Beyond the Movie -- Pearl Harbor, as well as a teaser and trailer for Pearl Harbor. This is a nice, if insubstantial, DVD edition of Pearl Harbor."

Product Details

Release Date:	12/04/2001
UPC:	0786936164282
Original Release:	2001
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Touchstone / Disney
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital, DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound, THX-Supervised Mastering]
Language:	English
Time:	3:03:00
Sales rank:	9,017

Special Features

Journey to the Screen: The Making of Pearl Harbor"; The History Channel documentary "Unsung Heroes"; DVD-ROM feature "Definitive Bibliography"; Faith Hill music video "There You'll Be"; Dolby headphone soundtrack; DTS 5.1 Digital Surround Sound; Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound; THX-certified -- Includes THX Optimizer; Widescreen (2.35:1) enhanced for 16x9 televisions; Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound French-language track; Spanish subtitles

Editorial Reviews

As oversized and sleek as a vintage Cadillac, this sprawling World War II epic directed by action-specialist Michael Bay is an old-fashioned melodrama retrofitted with all the high-tech special effects money can buy -- think Saving Private Ryan crossed with Titanic. Bay and producer Jerry Bruckheimer always dish out disaster and mayhem with style, but in Pearl Harbor they also add a healthy helping of romance. The story, which unfolds in Hawaii as Japan prepares for its fateful attack on the American fleet, follows two young farm boys turned ace fighter pilots (Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett), who find their lifelong friendship challenged when they both fall in love with the same beautiful young nurse (Kate Beckinsale). The characters -- unfailingly earnest, sentimental, patriotic, and heroic -- are a deliberate throwback to an earlier, less complicated era of American moviemaking. "We may lose this battle, but we’re gonna win this war," says Alec Baldwin, portraying the famed airman Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle with definitive bombast. "You know why?" he asks, pointing to Affleck and Hartnett. "Because of them." Pearl Harbor is that kind of picture; and one with plenty of retro Hollywood glamour on display, too. The three stars -- Beckinsale, with her ruby-red lips and Veronica Lake hairdo; the young men, all broad shoulders and rippling muscles -- never look anything less than gorgeous, whether dodging bombs or posing in period bathing suits against surging surf. The high point of the film, of course, is the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, and here Bay truly excels. State-of-the-art cinematography and effects make for a thrilling and harrowing extended sequence that plays like a mini disaster movie. It brings the horror of America’s first "Day of Infamy" vividly to life. Viewed in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States, Pearl Harbor, for all its gloss, resonates and moves in ways that Bay and Bruckheimer probably never could have imagined when they made it.