n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

While I was watching this movie I was reminded of a film that was made 12 years earlier called "From Here to Eternity" because both are set in the days before, during, and after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, but the only difference for me between the two films is that the latter was a better movie. The movie is a character study of Naval Captain Rockwell Torrey (John Wayne) a soldier who has been in the navy for many years and in one of the very first scenes he and his right hand man Cmdr. Paul Eddington (Kirk Douglas) realize that it is definitely an enemy attack and they treat the situation as an emergency and are totally unscathed. After the situation Torrey is relieved of his command for minor reasons, and while he is on a desk job he meets a Nurse named Maggie Haynes (Patricia Neal) who he ends up falling in love with, and meeting his estranged son Jeremiah (Brandon De Wilde) who is an Ensign in the Navy. Then Captain Torrey is promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral by a character nicknamed "CINCPAC II" (Henry Fonda) who is supposed to be Admiral Chester Nimitz, and then the war continues and Torrey proves to the Japanese that he still has the power to lead a military unit, with the assistance of his friend Cmdr. Egan Powell (Burgess Meredith), and Admiral Broderick (Dana Andrews). The movie was directed by Otto Preminger who was known for directing very intense movies such as "Laura" (1944) which was a true masterpiece because of these two films he was a great filmmaker. The movie was very entertaining and does a good job of allowing us to get to know the characters, and the performances are very good (especially from Wayne and Douglas of which this was their first of three films together). Even the battle scenes are expertly staged and very well acted, but however this movie does have some problems, and the problems are that the opening scene was really annoying to watch and could have been totally altered, as well as with the fact that some of the scenes went on for far too long and could have been shortened so that this movie couldn't have lasted for almost three hours. The movie isn't great but it is very good although it isn't one of the best films of 1965, I still highly recommend it as a very entertaining military movie that could have been improved upon for a better experience.

Even though it is 167 minutes long, how can anyone get jaded from watching this movie about the battle at sea only shortly after Pearl Harbor being attacked on 12/07/41? Shortly after the beginning of the movie is when that infamous yet unforgettable moment in history took place, and there is a sea battle toward the end of the movie. The movie is definitely star-studded with one of the most outstanding galaxy of stars ever amassed. John Wayne as Admiral Rockwell "Rocky" Torrey is the best Otto Preminger could have chosen for that role as a man dedicated to fighting passionately at sea. Kirk Douglas was a "perfect" pick for Commander Paul Eddington, a man you wanted to kill because of his mean, hostile spirit and, much more than this, because of some of the harmful things he did to others. The beautiful Paula Prentiss made a great acting accomplishment as Bev McConnell, and Tom Tryon seemed to click well with her as her husband Lieutenant William "Mac" McConnell. Patricia Neal was very appealing as the nurse Lieutenant Maggie Haynes. Brandon DeWilde was consummate as Ensign Jeremiah "Jere" Torrey. Slim Pickins, as CPO Culpepper was his same country-boy self, and the late very pretty English actress Jill Haworth was as adorable as adorable could be as Ensign Annalee Dorne. The movie was not simply a war drama, but there was just focus on the feelings and/or struggles of the characters. Maggie Haynes was so much in love with "Rocky" Torrey, and wondered if theirs would be a lasting relationship. Ensign Jere Torrey was the son of Admiral Torrey, but he was embittered with his father since Rocky had abandoned his family when Jere was only a year old. And too, there was a point when the relationship between Jere and Ensign Dorne was somewhat stormy. Bev McConnell was a maudlin worrier about her husband. Yes, there was introspection on feelings in this dramatic feat. The main thing I didn't like about this movie is that it was in black-and-white. The Pacific Ocean would have been more drawing in color, naturally. But overall, it was one of Preminger's best, a superb enactment of the book by the same name: the book was written by James Bassett. The music score by Jerry Goldsmith was somewhat haunting, but there was something about it I personally liked. Again, this story which focuses on people's individual struggles, as well as on war at sea, is not a bit boring. Paramount should be proud.

Mostly a soap opera masquerading as a war film. Kirk Douglas' character is second billed and he dies as a hero right after he rapes a woman, and nothing is mentioned about it ever again except that the girl he raped commits suicide afterwards, yet Douglas continues to be respected by his Navy colleagues.Not a standard action film and the melodramatic scenes are likely to put you to sleep. Wayne is his usual gruff self... too bad he wasn't given much to do except ride in a jeep from one location to another so he could stand around some more. Pretentiously directed by Otto Preminger. Somewhat peculiar casting, primarily by Hollywood's better known faces (Burgess Meredith, Carroll O'Conner, etc.). Could have been a more exciting film with a better script and a lot less bugle oil about who's dating who.

James Bassett's novel was pretty retrograde for the mid 1960s. It endorsed every apple-pie value imaginable. Adulterers and rapists die. The Navy was good, but politicians, high-class Bostonian elites, public relations personnel, journalists, and rear echelon headline mongerers were condemned. On top of that the book was clumsily written. Everyone -- men and women alike -- seemed to speak with the same cadence and vocabulary. Cliché followed cliché. When -- Full speed ahead; damn the spoilers! -- when Rockwell Torrey loses a leg at the end of the story, he's ashamed to face his girl friend because he's "only half a man." I'm not making that up. And when, on the eve of battle, an officer confesses that he's scared to death, Wayne admits that he too is scared. We've seen that identical exchange dozens of times. In this case Wayne's deportment didn't convince me he was really scared. He seemed strung out behind 3 milligrams of Xanax.The novel could have been written with Hollywood in mind because it has all the audience appeal of any other commercial effort -- three (or maybe four) romantic relationships going on at once, bureaucratic intrigue with heroes and villains, and an opening sea battle and an even bigger climactic engagement.Wendell Mayes, the screenwriter, pulls all these threads together in a way that, while still leaving this a mediocre effort, improves on the book, if only by shortening it.John Wayne exudes relaxed authority, which is his forte. He could have walked through the part but he does a thoroughly professional job. Kirk Douglas is second in the credits but has a much smaller part as Wayne's competent but tormented assistant. Both men were aging visibly by this time in their careers and at times it seems that Douglas is wearing a Kirk Douglas mask, but Douglas at least gets the few humorous moments in the story.Brandon De Wilde was splendid as the little boy in "Shane" eleven years earlier, and fine as the naive teen in "Hud." Here, as a Wayne's estranged son, a young Harvard-educated PT boat officer, he's adequate but no more than that.Patricia Neal is Wayne's girl friend, a savvy but gentle nurse. She's no longer a glamorous kid either, but her face seems careworn and soft. She's a suitable mate for Wayne. Jill Haworth is the saucy young nurse who is engaged to De Wilde but tempts Douglas beyond the point of redemption. She's more figure than talent. There's a third romance between the heroic Tom Tryon and the achingly horny Paula Prentiss, but it's not clear why this narrative thread was left in the script. The intrigues and their dynamics are dazzling enough without it.The battles were done with models, as was usual at the time, and the special effects are okay for the period, but compare the contemporary "Sink the Bismarck" to see how it could have been more convincingly executed. That last engagement was a bit confusing because when ships are exploding, it's hard to tell one from another.Historically the whole affair is fiction. Well -- two real figures appear on the screen. Admiral Husband Kimmel (Franchot Tone) who got all the blame for the naval disaster at Pearl Harbor and whose head rolled, and Admiral Nimitz (Henry Fonda) who has two or three short scenes of no particular distinction.The climactic battle steals elements from Guadalcanal (if we don't stop the Japanese from finishing that airstrip, we're sunk), Surigao Strait (the Japanese are caught by mines and torpedo boats in a narrow channel during a night action), and Leyte Gulf (a super battleship and numerous escorts against a lesser fleet of American ships, with the Japanese turned away at the last minute by a display of American gallantry). Nice black-and-white photography.It's not a bad movie but rather strictly routine. There are no stand out performances because there are no opportunities for stand out performances. The script is too bland for that. Preminger does manage one actually shocking incident. It takes place in the officer's john, and involves Douglas slapping the evil-looking Patrick O'Neal several times across the face -- hard. Otherwise, it's by the numbers.