Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Absolutely the worst movie.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

For the time this was made, this is an amazing effort. While the combat sequences are not perfect, when this was made many films were still using military props that date back to World War 1. At least this one appears more current. This full length one has all the objectionable stuff that had to be cut for the award winning short version.In a way, a lot of the later versions of this story owe things to this one. Up until Tora Tora Tora, this is a better telling of the attack than other efforts. There are errors and there is some great points about the peace that existed before the attack and the Japanese Propaganda after it. There is racism, is that goes with the era this was made. People want to forget that the races stayed separate in the American Military until after World War 2. It is interesting that the film points out that the Japanese Propaganda after the attack claimed credit for sinking the US Carrier Enterprise which luckily was out at sea when the attack happened. This was wishful thinking as the American Carriers were the ships that if they had been there and sank, would have crippled the American war effort in the Pacific for months. A major error is in the morning services before the attack. The minister makes a speech saying that December 7th is the third Sunday of Advent. There is no way that is possible as that Sunday would be December 14th. Obviously the service is either staged, or shot on December 14th. There is some good factual information in this movie that makes it a good film to watch. On the 75th Anniversary of the attack in 2016, Turner Classic Movies ran this unedited version directly ahead of Tora Tora Tora, a smart thing to do as it is the best double feature describing that day. I like the touches of the censorship here on the radar equipment and some other parts that were sensitive intelligence when this movie was made.

Even as World War II was raging in 1943, there did not exist a lot of war footage to illustrate America's entry into the conflict. President Franklin Roosevelt ordered up this documentary piece to help explain the events that occurred before, during and after the tragic attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. This eighty two minute documentary treatment was not released during the War because of objections by the U.S. Navy. A thirty four minute version was gleaned from the longer picture by director John Ford, and won an Academy Award for Best Short Subject in 1943.I found the approach used to be somewhat odd but also effective, with the character of Uncle Sam (Walter Huston) having a conversation with what was ostensibly his conscience (portrayed by Harry Davenport). Uncle Sam, the pacifist was fairly convinced that Japan did not pose an immediate threat to the country, while his alter-ego argued on the side of vigilance and caution.The first part of the film offers some startling facts about life on Hawaii at the time relative to the Japanese-American population. In 1941, one hundred fifty seven thousand Japanese represented thirty seven percent of the population of the Islands, and the majority of those (one hundred twenty two thousand) were actually American citizens. The narrator reveals that many of them were born in Hawaii, as a courtyard of school children are shown patriotically reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and singing 'God Bless America'. In hindsight, these demonstrations appear almost surreal on film.Contrasted against this show of patriotism is a brief history of Shintoism, an almost religious worship of the First Japanese Emperor considered immortal, with Japanese Emperor Hirohito representing a mortal image of a deity. The reverence shown by the Japanese in honoring their ancestors created a strong racial and social bond between them and the Imperial Dynasty, thereby posing a cautionary reaction in those who would distrust Japanese-American Hawaiians as potential enemies who might feed vital military information back to Japan.In regards to the actual attack on Pearl harbor, the film uses reenactments interspersed with actual combat footage, and it's never difficult to tell the difference between the two. Considering the era and technology available, the effort is generally effective as long as one overlooks the obvious use of toy battleship replicas and cardboard mock-ups. With the attack lasting ten minutes shy of two hours, the horror and destruction amassed within that time frame was virtually inconceivable at the time. The obvious reaction of the country in 1941 was one of horror and disgust, and as one observes those events today from the vantage point of seventy plus years, it's remarkable how the country came together to recoup and rebuild it's way back to victory.

December 7th, 1941 (1943) *** 1/2 (out of 4) John Ford's highly entertaining recreation of Pearl Harbor and the events after it certainly deserved the Academy Award win it received for Best Documentary Short. The film mixes recreated scenes very well with actual footage and I'd go as far to say that the battle scenes (done with models) are among the best from any war film of the period. The version I watched was the original, 34-minute theatrical version.All of Ford's WW2 shorts are worth seeking out as well as the film's done by Frank Capra during this period.

I saw the short, 34 minute, version of this film and I'm intrigued by the notion of what constitutes a documentary since so much of this film has been recreated. Essentially the story of what happened on that morning this is brief retelling of what happened, mixed with a rousing warning to the Japanese that the destruction they caused wasn't as fatal as they would have liked.I'm of mixed minds about the film. Certainly the recreation of the bombing is stunning and had I seen this film back in the 1940's I would have been floored by it since its often a great mix of almost believable Hollywood magic and real life footage. Its so good that its clear that later recreations of the attack like Tora Tora Tora and Pearl Harbor stole shots and sequences from it. Unfortunately these same films, freed of the shackles of having to be a propaganda puff piece, are more interesting to watch. We can get lost in the story and don't need to have our patriotism pumped up.Its not bad, its just more a curio that should be viewed in context of when it was made rather than as a piece of entertainment or a source of real information on the subject.Worth a look for those who want to see a snapshot of how the war was viewed during the war, or for those cine-files who want to see where later movies cribbed their shots.