This lavish production by Walter Mirish reenacts the events up to famous battle from both American and Japanese points of view . Midway became notorious battle as the site of the overwhelming victory of American carrier forcer over the Japanese fleet . This was the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare which shifted the balance of power in the Pacific . Between 4 and 7 June 1942, only six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea, the United States Navy under Admirals Chester Nimitz (Henry Fonda) , Frank Jack Fletcher (Robert Webber), and Raymond A. Spruance (Glenn Ford) decisively defeated an attacking fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy under Admirals Isoroku Yamamoto (Toshiro Mifune) , Chuichi Nagumo (James Shigeta) , and Nobutake Kondo near Midway Atoll, inflicting devastating damage on the Japanese fleet that proved irreparable. It was Japan's first naval defeat since the Battle of Shimonoseki Straits in 1863 . The Japanese operation, like the earlier attack on Pearl Harbor, sought to eliminate the United States as a strategic power in the Pacific, thereby giving Japan a free hand in establishing its Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere . The Japanese hoped that another demoralizing defeat would force the U.S. to capitulate in the Pacific War and thus ensure Japanese dominance in the Pacific. The Japanese plan was to lure the United States' aircraft carriers into a trap. The Japanese also intended to occupy Midway as part of an overall plan to extend their defensive perimeter in response to the Doolittle air raid on Tokyo. This operation was also considered preparatory for further attacks against Fiji, Samoa, and Hawaii itself.
The plan was handicapped by faulty Japanese assumptions of the American reaction and poor initial dispositions . Most significantly, American code-breakers were able to determine the date and location of the attack, enabling the forewarned U.S. Navy to prepare its own ambush. All four Japanese heavy aircraft carriers—Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu, part of the six-carrier force that had attacked Pearl Harbor six months earlier—and a heavy cruiser were sunk at a cost of the carrier Yorktown and a destroyer . After Midway and the exhausting attrition of the Solomon Islands campaign, Japan's capacity to replace its losses in material (particularly aircraft carriers) and men (especially well-trained pilots) rapidly became insufficient to cope with mounting casualties, while the United States' massive industrial capabilities made American losses far easier to bear . The Battle of Midway, in combination with the Soviet victory against Germany at the Battle of Stalingrad half a year later, are considered by some to be the turning points of the Second World War .
A historical picture with well staged scenes , it is accurate and being faithfully based on facts . well documented script shows major and minor blundering on both sides , creating tension enough . Great actors were assembled to bring to the big screen this important battle of WWII . Although many well-known players contribute their skills , they are overshadowed by the realistic re-creation of the climatic attack , abounding stock footage , and shots taken from Tora Tora Tora ! picture . Tremendous scenes , spectacular battles , drama that maintains interest , lots of dogfighting and awesome production design and art design by Walter Tyler . Nevertheless , a subplot involving Charlton Heston , his son Edward Abert and his girlfriend , a Japanese girl is really out of place . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Harry Stradling . Rousing and classic musical score by the great John Williams . The motion picture was professionally directed by Jack Smight.
The plan was handicapped by faulty Japanese assumptions of the American reaction and poor initial dispositions . Most significantly, American code-breakers were able to determine the date and location of the attack, enabling the forewarned U.S. Navy to prepare its own ambush. All four Japanese heavy aircraft carriers—Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu, part of the six-carrier force that had attacked Pearl Harbor six months earlier—and a heavy cruiser were sunk at a cost of the carrier Yorktown and a destroyer . After Midway and the exhausting attrition of the Solomon Islands campaign, Japan's capacity to replace its losses in material (particularly aircraft carriers) and men (especially well-trained pilots) rapidly became insufficient to cope with mounting casualties, while the United States' massive industrial capabilities made American losses far easier to bear . The Battle of Midway, in combination with the Soviet victory against Germany at the Battle of Stalingrad half a year later, are considered by some to be the turning points of the Second World War .
A historical picture with well staged scenes , it is accurate and being faithfully based on facts . well documented script shows major and minor blundering on both sides , creating tension enough . Great actors were assembled to bring to the big screen this important battle of WWII . Although many well-known players contribute their skills , they are overshadowed by the realistic re-creation of the climatic attack , abounding stock footage , and shots taken from Tora Tora Tora ! picture . Tremendous scenes , spectacular battles , drama that maintains interest , lots of dogfighting and awesome production design and art design by Walter Tyler . Nevertheless , a subplot involving Charlton Heston , his son Edward Abert and his girlfriend , a Japanese girl is really out of place . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Harry Stradling . Rousing and classic musical score by the great John Williams . The motion picture was professionally directed by Jack Smight.