User Reviews

I remember reading that this movie was made primarily because they had excessive footage from when they shot "Tora! Tora! Tora! and some of the shot looks like they did came from that film. But this film also includes old actual shots taken by service men and news people.

The movie is based on the American victory off Midway Island. The movie was made 30 years after WWII and a couple of years after Vietnam, so it doesn't have a jingoistic feel to it. It has more of a matter of fact feel to it, more a docudrama than propaganda.

The movie is different from most war movies because it shows how Grand battles are won and lost. There isn't much individual heroism from ordinary soldiers shown. Instead we see how commanders, in this case admirals make decisions and take risks usually based on sketchy information. They put their reputations on line, along with the safety of their men, and the security of their nations. We see how the outcome of a battle can hinged on risky decisions or sometimes on indecision. We see how commanders have to sweat out their decisions as History hangs on the balance. Yes! History! This battle after all is considered the turning point of the War in the Pacific.

In this movie decisions are made on what certain letters mean, whether enemy carriers are where they are supposed to be. If viewers give it the appropriate attention, they will see that this movie plays like a giant chess match. The outcome determined by gutsy moves and bad decisions, sometimes indecision.

The movie boasts an impressive cast which include, Henry Fonda, Glenn Ford, Robert Mitchum, Cliff Robertson, Charlton Heston and they all do fine jobs. They play the typical Grand characters in epic movies, they move the story along but has no personal stories themselves. The one personal story belongs to Edward Albert, who plays Heston's son. He's not very convincing and playing opposite a pro like Mr. Heston, he comes across as being weak almost amateurish.

The movie is good but far from great. I love how the filmmakers remained true to the events. But the special effects looked cheap and the use of actual combat footage feels inappropriate and even exploitive. Nevertheless I think it's a good film not to be missed by Military History buffs.

Again I am forced to say this. History is impossible to film as it happened. Everything is based on someone's memory and rarely on the facts, whatever they happen to be. With the possible exception of Charlton Heston being over cast for what should have been a lessor role with a lessor actor, this film has nothing...I repeat nothing to be ashamed about. The viewing of the events leading up to Midway, just as in the equally watchable "Tora! Tora! Tora!" is helped by being viewed from both sides. It makes it easier, for one thing to understand the motivations of both sides.

I am always entrusted in the music, and the music here was excellent as always. Very fitting to the film. I have to say I am not one for war movies usually, so it takes something special to interest a history major like myself.

As many others have stated, the flaws in this film are many. There is the unnecessary subplot of an American aviator and his interned Japanese/American girlfriend, which serves as nothing more than a gratuitous distraction. Limits in 1976 technology forced the use of cheap-looking special effects and recycled footage from other movies and war footage, often resulting in incorrect historical portrayals of the ships and aircraft present. Some historical plot details were omitted or glossed over entirely, mostly due to production and budget limits. And the acting was uneven, and in a few parts pretty bad, and sometimes failed to realistically portray a few figures.

But there are few war movies that can generate as much excitement in me to this day like this one. I first saw this movie as a two-part NBC Movie of the Week when I was ten years old and instantly developed a passion for the Battle of Midway and WWII military history in general. The climatic scene of the dive bombers pounding the Japanese carriers into wrecks still gives me goosebumps thirty-five years later, as does the horror of watching a young fighter pilot nearly burn to death in his plane. The John Williams score was fantastic, as it was in many movies, and kept the sense of drama on the edge. And for me, the standout performances were by Henry Fonda as Admiral Nimitz, Glenn Ford as Admiral Spruance, and James Shigeta as Admiral Nagumo. Fonda brought to life Nimitz's cool but tough demeanor, and his willingness to take calculated risks based on his intelligence sources, rather than play it safe and guard what he has left. Ford played Spruance well as a calm, cerebral admiral that plays by his own instincts rather than the way the man he replaced (Halsey) would've played it. And I enjoyed Shigeta's portrayal of Nagumo as a leader who, despite his perceived material superiority, is wary of the lack of intelligence and communication regarding the whereabouts of the American fleet, and the uncertainty of what really may be waiting for his carriers as he undertakes his mission.

It's real easy to pick apart the historical details of this movie, especially given more recent information and sources that weren't available back in 1976. But even allowing for that, the movie stays mostly true to history. And to those who aren't looking to nitpick details and just want to enjoy the story being told, there's more than enough "wow" in this movie even almost forty years later. I would recommend it as a primer for young kids (but not too young, there is some blood, language, and tense scenes) with an interest in military and WWII history that hasn't yet researched more comprehensive works written like Walter Lord's Incredible Victory, Gordon Prange's Miracle at Midway, and Anthony Tully/Jonathan Parshall's Shattered Sword.

I would like to see Hollywood do another adaptation of the battle of Midway someday, but am fearful of them turning it turning into another Pearl Harbor, or becoming a political statement rather than the retelling of an incredible true story. Until that day comes, this one will have to do. And it does surprisingly well, if you can tolerate the flaws and just enjoy the show.

I can't help but agree with most of the other comments: the sloppy production values, the scenes "borrowed" from better movies, the countless anachronisms, the distracting subplot about Lt. Garth and his Japanese girlfriend, and so on. But for me, this movie has two strong points in its favor. One, when they get around to the actual battle, they follow the history with surprising accuracy. (The "Pearl Harbor" makers could have learned something from this one.) So the movie's hard to follow? So was the actual battle! Personally, I think they did a pretty good job of keeping the flow coherent while still remaining faithful to its source material.

The second thing in its favor is that, from the moment I first saw it in the theater as a 10 year old, it ignited in me a passion for the Battle of Midway that remains to this day. I can't think of any other movie that even comes close to getting me as hooked on its subject as this one. Maybe it's a good thing I first saw it when I was young, when I was much less discerning about production values, etc. That way, I could concentrate on the story itself.

If you have even the slightest interest in military history or even in important historical events in general, do yourself a favor. Watch "Midway" to get an overview of the event (fast-forward over the love-story scenes if you like), then go read "Incredible Victory" by Walter Lord (which is a better book than the one for which he is most famous, "A Night to Remember"). You won't be sorry.

The film Midway shows in graphic documentary style, the battle that did nothing less than save America and ultimately allow us to win World War II. If the Japanese had prevailed at Midway, they might very well have taken Hawaii and been blockading our continental Pacific coast. We might have had to declare a truce and hope that public opinion would allow us to continue the European and North African war. Remember the USA was brought in to the war because of the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, not Hitler's attack.

There is a plot of sorts with Charlton Heston as the fictional pilot group commander who's involved in helping his son Edward Albert help a Nisei family who've been interred for the duration of the war because Albert is engaged to the daughter. That's the one weakness of Midway, the story really wasn't necessary and detracted with the very precise telling of the Midway tale. Had they left it out, Midway had the potential to be a classic like The Longest Day.

Without Charlton Heston and his family problems, the story of Midway is told with remarkable historic accuracy. Henry Fonda who played Admiral Chester W. Nimitz in all but name in In Harm's Way, gets to play Nimitz again in Midway. Robert Mitchum and Glenn Ford play Admirals William Halsey and Raymond Spruance who between the two of them won America's Pacific war. A whole lot of fine character actors like James Coburn, Robert Wagner, Robert Webber, Hal Holbrook and many more fill their naval roles to precision.

The story of the Battle of Midway should be told and told again in America's public schools for future generations. Not just because of the sailors and airmen of America's greatest generation who fought and prevailed at Midway, but because of just how close a run thing the Battle of Midway was. One very fateful decision by Admirals Yamamoto and Nagumo turned the tide of battle on a dime. By the way the oriental players in Midway like Toshiro Mifune as Yamamoto and James Shigeta as Nagumo and others also play very well. The American cinema certainly came a long way from when they previously cast the Japanese as bucktooth primates.

When the viewer sees just how much pure luck played a part in winning at Midway, they will come away with one of two impressions. The first might be that a divine providence is guiding and protecting America. If so, who's to say that will always be the case. And if not, the second lesson might be that we as a country might not always be so lucky.

If they could edit out the Heston family story, Midway is a great film for history classes studying World War II.

I first saw this movie when it was opening as a 10 year old boy who was enamored with WWII. At that time to me, it was one of the best war movies I had ever seen. Due to my prior readings on the battle, I knew it followed the history fairly well, and I was able to tune out the romance sub plot. The look of movie was something that was something I was not familiar with in war movies up to that point. The indoor officers were in nice neat uniforms, while the pilots, Marines, and common sailors had a weary rumpled look. And the language! I had not yet heard so much cursing in a war movie (it was 1976 and for the most part John Wayne type movies were the norm). But I loved it all! I knew most of the planes shown on screen were not accurate, and much of the combat footage was from later in the war. But it showed a different type of war movie. The Japanese were strong, smart, and nearly invincible. Not monsters or maniacs, but allowing overconfidence at times to cloud some decisions. The Americans were brave, novices, unsure of themselves at times, yet determined not to fail, no matter the cost. Not the overpowering unbeatable force of years to come later in the war. Watching during the initial phases of combat as obsolete US planes were shot down one by one by the superior Japanese fighters, I was captivated by the self sacrifice(a year later the ending dogfight in Star Wars would make me think of Torpedo 8). Then the tide turned as events, luck, and timing change the course of battle. In the end, the US wins, the Japanese are defeated, and survivors ponder the results and reasons why briefly. Flash forward 32 years later and I watch this movie again on my DVD copy on the 66th anniversary of the battle. This movie holds up not too badly against the test of time. Much time has passed in by movie making and in my gaining knowledge of this subject. To me the strengths still hold, as do the weaknesses. The interracial romance subplot is certainly a 70s addition. Certainly not believable in a historical context. The stock footage of aircraft certainly still glares in error as well. Color footage was shot during the battle and released in a documentary. A small amount was incorporated into the movie. Much more could have replaced other sequences that were used in the movie. Many of the Tora!Tora!Tora! conversion aircraft were still local to Universal Studios at Orange County or Chino airports at the time of filming. Some were used in the Midway Island bombing sequence, but not in the Yorktown attacks. Too bad they did not make more use of them for a better look. The Japanese film sequences from "Storm Over the Pacific" actually worked very well for their capturing the look of the Japanese carriers and the activities on board. As did the lifted opening from "30 seconds Over Tokyo". Much of the dialog on film is true to life with certain quotes historically accurate. "Look at that b*****d burn", was the first radio message clearly heard on the US carriers letting them know any of the air strikes had made contact and been successful. It also holds up sticking fairly close to the time line of actual events, but there are several events omitted. Finally the effects were not bad. For pre CGI the choices are to build full scale mocks ups, use an area or item that has a resemblance or miniatures. All three methods were used to good effect. And the results were for the most part just as good as, if not better than the more modern (film making wise) CGI heavy "Pearl Harbor". All in all, a decent war movie, still worth watching, flaws and all.

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.

This movie starts off with the famous "Doolittle Raid" on Japan by B-25 bombers taking off from the U.S.S. Hornet. Although the actual raid didn't do much damage it essentially resulted in the Japanese decision to attempt another surprise attack upon the American fleet. This time however, rather than attack Pearl Harbor, the Japanese navy decided to invade Midway and hoped to catch what few American carriers were left out in the open for a decisive battle. Now, although this movie doesn't have the special effects that "Tora! Tora! Tora!" had 6 years earlier it does have more in-depth characters and better acting. Likewise, from an American point-of-view it also has a better historical ending than the aforementioned film. On the other hand, as mentioned earlier "Tora! Tora! Tora!" had outstanding special effects and action and in an apparent effort to bolster these two areas "Midway" reuses some footage from that movie along with film from actual World War 2 tape. Some might like that but I thought it was a bit cheap and dishonest. Be that as it may, I figure the entertainment value is still pretty good and I rate this movie as slightly above average.

A critical part of WWII gets the big epic cinematic treatment, with all star casting and lots of noise. Though purporting to be exactly how things were during this particular battle, a pinch of salt is also needed. Much of the film is taken up with laying foundations for the air-sea engagement of the title, political posturing and military machinations are joined by needless sub-plots. The dialogue is often cheese laden, some characterisations equally so, while the splicing of real life footage and other war movie moments start to detract. However, the last third of film is thrilling and worth waiting for, a whirl of battle action as the Pacific conflict comes vividly to life both visually and aurally. 6.5/10

Many World War II films have been made about combat in the Pacific. Several have battle scenes from Midway. But this is the first feature film to cover the Battle of Midway in depth - from inception to completion. It gives a broad picture of the naval battle that many historians say turned the tide of war in the Pacific theater. The film shows the strategy, the planning, and the conduct of the battle - from both sides.

World War II had been over more than 30 years when Universal made this film. So, it's a wonder that some of the original war ships and planes were still available. The only U.S. carrier still in service from WW II was the Lexington. The Navy used it to train pilots in the Gulf of Mexico out of Pensacola Naval Air Station. The film crew boarded the ship, took a sea cruise and spent a couple weeks shooting scenes for the movie.

"Midway" is a good historical film for its account of the battle - again, from both sides. Of special interest are some key things that otherwise might be forgotten. One was the early American partial breaking of the Japanese code. Another was the ruse that American Commander Joseph Rochefort (Hal Holbrook) devised to verify the identity of Midway as the next big target for Japan.

Then there's the fifth Japanese scout plane that spotted the American carrier fleet. But it couldn't alert its fleet because the plane's radio wouldn't work. Another was the torpedo squadron that veered away from its mission coordinates under Lt. Cdr. John Waldron who led them right to the Japanese carrier fleet. And then, the Japanese carriers were caught between their returning aircraft and the next sorties. So, the Americans could attack them before their second wave launch, with bombs and torpedoes on their decks.

"Midway" is a fine war story that uses actual battle film footage shot by the Navy, as well as film footage of Pearl Harbor and the American and Japanese fleets from that time. That is interspersed with the live action scenes on shore and at sea.

A superb cast of actors play the key characters of the Japanese Imperial navy. And a huge cast of movie stars fills the American roles. A fictional character, Capt. Matt Garth is added. Charlton Heston plays that role around which a subplot develops involving his son's desire to marry a Japanese-American girl.

Most films made about WW II since the late 20th century have used rebuilt equipment, models, and/or CGI for planes, tanks, ships, vehicles, etc. "Pearl Harbor" of 2001 is an example. CGI is even used to replicate and multiply sections within battles or panorama scenes. "Dunkirk" of 2017 is an example. The few remaining actual items from the wars of the first half of the 20th century today are in museums. Some ships are museums or monuments in themselves.

I was in an award-winning high school band that marched in the 1959 Rose Bowl parade in Pasadena CA, and performed at a few places in the area. One of those was on the U.S.S. Hornet that was commissioned in November 1943. Our 100-piece band was assembled on the hangar deck and then raised to the flight deck as we played "Stars and Stripes Forever." We weren't Hollywood entertainment, but the 2,000 sailors and airmen seemed to enjoy our program all the same.

This "new" Hornet was named after the carrier from Midway. It was sunk at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in January 1943 . The new Hornet was still in service in January 1959 and stationed at Long Beach. It was struck from Navy roles in July 1989 and today is a museum ship and national landmark at Alameda, CA.

Some historians and others speculate that had Japan won the Battle of Midway, the Allies may have lost World War II. There's no doubt that the war would have been prolonged - probably by a few years. The U.S. then would have put more of its forces into West Coast defense and building up to fight the Japanese. So, the war in Europe might have looked quite different. Germany would no longer have to worry about an allied assault in the West and might have prevailed over Russia. Perhaps it would have tried to invade England in 1943 or 1944.

But fears about Japan conquering the U.S. or even landing on the West Coast are quite outlandish. At its peak in mid-1942, the Japanese army had five million men. Those troops were spread across China and SE Asia, in the Philippines, and across numerous islands in the South Pacific. Many of them were needed just to hold onto their conquests. It would take many more men to take and hold Hawaii. And what chance would there be for Japan to invade and hold the 1,300 miles of the continental U.S. West Coast?

However, the Japanese did fire on the U.S. in two places in 1942. A submarine fired at an oil refinery near Santa Barbara, doing minor damage. Later, a submarine fired 17 shells at Fort Stevens near the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon. None of them hit the ancient fort, which was under blackout. Most of the shells landed in a baseball field and a swamp. Two places where shells hit are marked with signs to this day in and near Fort Stevens State Park West of Warrenton, OR. Those events did raise panic among Americans and are said to have contributed to the internment of Japanese-Americans from the West Coast.

Here's a favorite line from this film. Admiral Nimitz (Henry Fonda), to Cdr. Joseph Rochefort (Hal Holbrook), "No matter what happens, Joe, I want you to know you've sure as hell earned your salary this month."

This is one I first saw when it was in theatrical release. In that, it had the whole Coral Sea sequences in it, and the film dragged. My thought was, even then, that they had a lot of battle footage they wanted to show, nothing more.

And on the battle scenes. Some of them appeared to be stock footage originally shot on 16mm, then blown up and cropped for widescreen. In the theater, the graininess of the footage was masked by showing the scenes by defocusing them! Although a lot of the film is superfluous, one aspect of it rang true: the cryptanalysis of the Japanese RED cipher, and the "mousetrap" set to determine which target AF was. Commander Rochefort was not treated well at the time, but at least this film gives his efforts the credit they deserve.

The release of the film to videotape helped considerably by chopping out a lot of superfluity, though not all of it.

Compared to The Longest Day, or other equivalent war film, this one doesn't have their stature, but at least it provides the viewer with entertainment.

Of course "Midway" is a flawed movie. The subplot about Japanese-Americans is ridiculous and seems like a forced attempt to be PC during the post-Vietnam 1970s when it wasn't in fashion to be completely celebratory of America. Of course it's unsatisfying that the Japanese actors don't speak Japanese and we have to hear Paul Frees dubbing Toshiro Mifune. Of course the stock footage isn't going to please aviation and naval buffs who know these details like the back of their hands, but to me this is a trivial complaint that fails to take into account the limits of 1970s technology or budgeting. "Pearl Harbor" ultimately got those details right through CGI and the end result was a far worse film in the final analysis. Because ultimately, for all the flaws that are in "Midway" it succeeds because it does stick to the essential truths when telling the story of the battle, and I know this because when I first saw this movie on the CBS Late Movie around 1979, I got so hooked that I went out and read every book on the battle I could find including Walter Lord's "Incredible Victory." The movie had given me a starting reference point and while I was sorry that some key aspects of the latter stages of the battle were not depicted (such as the torpedoing and eventual sinking of the Yorktown), I couldn't have asked for anything better in terms of getting me to learn more about this great turning point of World War II. As far as I'm concerned, it's good that Hollywood did tackle this subject in an era when the influence of "Tora! Tora! Tora!", "The Longest Day" etc. still hung over the proceedings because if it hadn't been made back then, we would today be forced to see it given the "Pearl Harbor" and "Titanic" treatment that is pure garbage.

John Williams contributes one of his finer pre-Star Wars scores with two great themes, the "Midway March" (which is only heard in the end credits of the theatrical version and became more popular in an expanded concert arrangement by the Boston Pops) and the "Men Of The Yorktown March" which dominates much of the score and offers great foreshadowings of the Throne Room sequence in "Star Wars" and the Smallville music in "Superman."

THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY is one of those all-star war films in which a string of ageing Hollywood heroes are paraded out, one after the other, to occupy the stiff-shirted roles of various Naval officers. The background of the film is the famous battle between the Americans and the Japanese during the Pacific War.

I mean, the cast is great. Any Hollywood fan can't cease to be wowed by the amount of talent around. There's old Chuck Heston, gnawing his way through the scenery wherever he can, and a fading Henry Fonda, making the best of his once-legendary status. There's a blink-and-you'll-miss-him Robert Mitchum, laid up in bed for his cameo appearance, and a ubiquitous Toshiro Mifune. The actors keep rolling in: Cliff Robertson, James Coburn, Robert Wagner, Glenn Ford, Hal Holbrook; a veritable who's who of famous faces. I love ensemble productions like this.

Sadly, the rest of the film can't hope to match a cast of that calibre. The plot seems slow-winded and unfocused, and it takes forever - more than half the running time - before the battle actually kicks off. And when it does kick off, the film is let down by the almost total lack of newly-filmed battle sequences; instead, grainy old stock footage is used from WW2. While I appreciate the authentic quality of such footage, the difference in quality to the rest of the film is just too noticeable.

For now, TORA! TORA! TORA! remains the definitive film on the events of the Pacific War, although fans looking for an army rather than naval perspective should check out the Spielberg-produced miniseries, THE PACIFIC.

An enjoyable and informative movie about the Battle of Midway which attempts to keep to the facts. The main problem with the movie are the continuity errors. I can accept the use of different types of aircraft for the battle scenes even if the types are not strictly accurate in some cases. What is more jarring is when the aircraft taking off is different from the one landing when it is supposed to be the same aircraft. This confuses all viewers of the movie and is simply sloppy film making. There is a smattering of unnecessary footage thrown in that dilutes some of the movie's impact. Overall the movie is quite entertaining but not quite up to the standard of Tora Tora Tora.

"Midway" tells the story of the decisive battle between American and Japanese forces as the latter moved to make a major strike on Midway Island in 1942 - six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It balances some personal stories with the larger story of the ferocious air battles as both sides took heavy losses.

Focusing on a Captain named Matt Garth (Charlton Heston), whose son (Edward Albert) is in love with a Japanese girl (Christina Kokubo), this features an absolutely incredible cast that is just FULL of familiar faces, although some of the actors are seen only fleetingly.

Well-directed by journeyman filmmaker Jack Smight, this takes a rather documentary-style approach for much of its running time. Indeed, in the first half, the story is more about tactics & strategy, as we see the officers on both sides determine their best course of action. And it's certainly fascinating to watch, especially as it leads to some VERY intense battle scenes in the second half, which often incorporate vintage archive footage that really makes you feel like you're a part of the action.

Punctuated by a stirring score from John Williams, "Midway" deviates from the norm by not spending too much time on any individual soldiers and their bravery. In the end, it's a good look at the machinations behind the scenes as the officers do their best to out-think their opponents and come out on top.

Good entertainment overall; the same tale was told again in a 2019 film, also simply titled "Midway".

Seven out of 10.

Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, Hal Holbrook, Glenn Ford, Robert Mitchum, Robert Wagner, Robert Webber . . . What could someone do with a cast like that? Well, in the pre-Star Wars era they tried to retell the Battle of Midway, a turning point in America's fight in the Pacific during World War II.

Oh, yes, and the Japanese. Pat Morita. James Shigeta (a favorite actor of mine, shamelessly misused by Hollywood) and Toshiro Mifune, sounding like Boris Badenov because he was dubbed by Paul Frees. Why even bother?

Let's face it, all historical movies and TV shows have the same problem. Eventually they sound like the old joke, "Apart from that, how did you enjoy the play, Mrs. Lincoln?" But the old hands do their best. For half the movie. And then, because they are old hands, they're not up flying (with the exception of Heston) and their old bones are reduced to listening on loudspeakers to the chatter of younger actors.

Younger actors like Christopher George, Glenn Corbett and Monte Markham, all in their 40s. But that's okay because they fly with masks on and you can't see their faces, anyway. I'm assured they're there but Monte Markham was the only one I clearly recognized.

But none of that (nor the rear photography, which was the tops in special effects in our Bicentennial year) affects the enjoyment of the movie, per se. What does is that we're left with only a vague understanding of what's actually happening. They talk a lot over maps and move Monopoly-type ships over them . . . But it's not like "Gettysburg." In "Gettysburg" they talk about the "fish-hook" formation and show it on a map. Unfortunately, the Pacific being composed mostly of water the maps are mostly white space and it's difficult to grasp the strategy.

And, being the 1970s, they had to start laying a guilt trip on us with Roosevelt's stupid incarceration of Japanese Americans. Was it a good idea? Of course not. So they have to pack in an unnecessary Japanese/American love story to take up time better used for exposition or slaughter.

I first saw this on the TV screen, full of commercials, but with added scenes so it could be broadcast over two nights. Including another worthless romance. That's probably why I found it dull originally. And it lacked the "Sensurround" of the theaters. "Sensurround"?

In antique days, before someone thought up Star Wars, "Sensurround" was supposed to bring people back to the theaters, where attendance was dropping like Japanese planes in this movie. It was like those silly gimmicks of the 1950s, 3-D and its funny glasses and so forth. I felt "Sensurround" in "Earthquake" and it's just very loud and makes the seats quiver a bit. You won't miss it on DVD.

The two problems this feature has isn't the back projection (which was just the way it was) nor the padded script. The Miniseries format hadn't caught on and that's what this flick needed, so the padding wasted important time.

No, the two problems are, unlike with, say, "Tora Tora Tora" (some of whose footage is used here) we're left with only a vague knowledge of what the battle was about; and the big stars are, for all practical purposes, AWOL during the second half (if you want to see this movie for James Coburn, don't even bother; he's "blink and you miss him.")

These days I like "Midway" because I understand its place in the World War, which I didn't the first time I saw it. And i like to see old hams at work. But people who don't know their history will probably be left scratching their heads as to what it's all about. But one could say it exposes the eternal vigilance needed for the preservation of Freedom. And though it's not PC these days, the Japanese of the 1930s and 1940s were an imperialist Master Race. Allied to the Master of Master Races, Hitler and his gang. Perhaps that is all someone needs to know.

The movie gets the facts correct and has an excellent cast. The problem with the movie is the archival footage use. The archival footage is obviously not having good quality while the scenes filmed by the film crew have excellent quality. The movie used scenes from many other movies, but in the end, the film is good. However, there were some incorrect things that really hurt it. For example, during the Japanese torpedo attacks on Yorktown, a fighter plane and then the squadron leader are seen crash diving on the ship. The group leader, Tomonaga's plane was damaged over Midway and could not be repaired. He knew that he would die and was shot down by US fighters.

This is another great war movie that shows you a different perspective of battle, which is the view from the officers. In this view we see different high levels go at it about what course of action they should take to best protect their ships, and to destroy Japan. This means you loose a lot of action and battle scenes, but it is replaced with a great plot and the view of what goes on before and during the battle in order to make sure you get the advantage. The acting is also very good giving you a very believable sense of what it would be like to be a captain, or a commanding officer for Japan. Overall this is a good movie and it is a movie that anyone who likes war movie has to see. It is also one of the more well known movies so its worth seeing just so you can talk about it and have a good conversation with other war movie junkies. So i would say this weekend go out and rent Midway, its a great movie and is worth watching.

In the vein of THE LONGEST DAY (1962) and BATTLE OF THE BULGE (1965), this one’s basically the equivalent of BATTLE OF Britain (1969) – as well as a sort of companion piece to TORA! TORA! TORA! (1970). For this reason, it tries hard to be as authentic and detailed as possible (with stock footage of the real WWII battle and constant captions indicating names of places, vehicles and personnel) but then doesn’t allow much acting opportunity to its star-studded cast: with this in mind, the contribution of James Coburn (as an officer who mistrusts the information denoting Midway as a probable enemy target), Robert Mitchum (more on his character later), Cliff Robertson (as Heston’s former buddy and superior to his pilot son) and Robert Wagner (as Commander Henry Fonda’s aide) results in being especially negligible.

Charlton Heston is the nominal lead: he’s seen having problems with son Edward Albert over the latter’s inopportune relationship with a Japanese girl (when the latter continues to mope about his personal situation, Heston snaps in his inimitable fashion: “You better shape up, Tiger, or some hotshot Jap pilot's gonna flame your ass!”). Henry Fonda is, as ever, the authoritative figure – playing the Admiral in charge of the defense operation at Midway; Glenn Ford is Mitchum’s low-ranking replacement (the latter appears as the well-known Admiral Halsey, who’s been confined to hospital due to a skin disease: apparently, the bulky and notoriously laid-back actor could have chosen to play any real-life character involved but deliberately opted for this thankless role – even so, he lends a welcome dose of humor to the proceedings, especially when he rebukes Ford, who wants to shake Mitchum’s hand for displaying the utmost confidence in him, with “You want us to lose the war?!”). Hal Holbrook is the enthusiastic old-timer who first detects, through a coded message, the Japs’ intention to attack Midway; Robert Webber is the Commander of one of the three U.S. cruisers who see action during the famous and decisive battle. Monte Markham is the intelligence officer whom Heston approaches to intervene for the Japanese girl and her parents, who have been detained; Christopher George is unrecognizable in the cock-pit as one of the leaders of the various flying squadrons involved in the dogfight sequences. Toshiro Mifune and James Shigeta are the most renowned actors on the Japanese side (one can notice the effort they all did to speak their lines in English!) – the country’s defeat at Midway was clearly the result of over-confidence (brought on by a previous victory, albeit a sneak attack, at Pearl Harbor) and constant bad judgment on the part of the officers concerned. Incidentally, just for the record, the film features three actors from the cast of THE YAKUZA (1974) – which I’ve just watched – namely Mitchum, Shigeta and Christina Kokubo (Albert’s girl).

The various strategies by which the battle was fought maintain reasonable interest throughout, and the action sequences – which virtually take up the last third of the running-time – are certainly spectacular enough. Hell, even the domestic asides emerge to be less distracting than I had anticipated (though the same can’t be said of the few scenes from the so-called “TV version” of the film included among the DVD supplements, which introduce the useless character of Heston’s much-younger girlfriend!); having said that, this added footage does dwell a little on Heston's inability to fly due to a hand injury (which, of course, has a bearing on his eventual fate). In the long run, however, I feel that MIDWAY comes across a bit stiff as entertainment.

I tend to lose patience with reviews of movies like this and 'Battle of the Bulge' where equipment used or depicted isn't historically authentic. Back in the day, you used what was available or you blew your budget out of the water. After 'Tora! Tora! Tora! didn't do so well at the box office, I'm sure the bean counters became leery of that idea. (A full-scale mock-up of the 'Nagato'?) Still, it might be high time to take this one back into the studio, have the CDI folks massage the offending sequences, replace the F4Us and F6Fs and what-have-yous with the proper types of aircraft and ships for the time and situation, and re-release it, even if it goes directly to cable TV.

I'm pretty satisfied with most of the film. They did a good job of staying historically accurate given the time constraints involved. Two key items that were glossed over were the interception of both Japanese strikes against 'Yorktown' by that ship's defending fighters (out of Koboyashi's eighteen dive bombers, ten were shot down by fighters and one by flak before they released. The seven remaining dive bombers scored three hits. Three of the escorting Zeros were also shot down.) and the submarine attack that finished off 'Yorktown'. The effort to save 'Yorktown' after Tomonaga's torpedo bomber attack would have been another movie in itself.

The part I was most dis-satisfied with was the sequence dealing with the launch of the 108-plane Japanese initial strike on Midway which started the battle. Poorly executed, in my opinion, compared to the same sequence in 'Tora! Tora! Tora!'.

This is one where you want to watch the movie, then read a good book about the battle. I recommend 'Incredible Victory' by Walter Lord.

I can think of no other movie that has as many big stars all acting like wood and speaking constant clichés. The writer and director were clearly looking at the big picture, and you'll have to as well. Pay no attention to the laughable sub-plot lines and dialogue, and ignore the high school acting. From a historical perspective, the movie is informative and really does try to put you at that point in time. As a popcorn historical war film it is entertaining enough. That's why I gave it a 7. (Same goes for 'Pearl Harbor' by the way. Another good war film doomed by bad sub-plotting.) Fast forward past the mini-dramas amongst the characters and get to the good stuff. The characters' angst doesn't matter and you won't care about missing it.