Battle Of Midway And More, The

1778. THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY AND MORE (1942, 1945-usA).
1. THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY (1942-USA). COLOR. Directed and co-photographed by JOHN FORD. Produced by the U.S. Navy. Narrated and co-written by John Ford. Music by ALFRED NEWMAN. This proud, flag-waving. Academy Award-winning propaganda piece is America’s first World War II documentary. It’s a photographic report of the title battle, fought on the tiny Pacific island. At the time, it was the greatest victory of its type in American military history. You’ll see Flying Fortresses lifting off, and heading into combat In a 300-mile battle area; some vividly real dogfights; and, most memorably, the faces of the soldiers, “your neighbor’s sons, “often seen for fleeting instants in the heat of battle. Ford was wounded during the first wave of fighting, but continued on with the production; among the familiar voices on the sound track are those of HENRY FONDA, DONALD CRISP, and JANE DARWELL.
2. TO THE SHORES OF IWO JIMA (1945-USA), COLOR. Photographed in Combat Areas by Cameramen of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. As the battle in the Pacific ragedon ,lwo Jima became the most heavily fortified island in the world. Twenty thousand of the toughest, roughest Japanese fighting men were lying in wait to defend Iwo Jima against the American attack. This is the graphic, documentary account of that attack, which was to be among the “toughest 26 days in Marine Corps history.” You’ll see it all, from what happens as “500 landing craft in ten waves advance on 3,000 yards of beach,” to the intense and furious fighting, to the raising of the American flag atop Mount Surabachi, and the eventual victory (which cost the lives of over 4,000 American soldiers). The film is of note as the first of its type to be constructed utilizing a meticulously worked out battle-plan scenario. It has been described by the Museum of Modern Art as a “spectacularly beautiful and terrible film, by far the best and fullest record of a combined (military) operation.”
3. FURY IN THE PACIFIC (1945-U5A). The first film produced jointly for public viewing by the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. Here is a meticulously detailed chronicle of an amphibious assault on the Japanese-held islands of Pelelieu and Anguar. These islands may have seemed insignificant, but their capture was to be essential to the strategy employed in the eventual invasion of the Philippines. Nine combat photographers were wounded and one killed during the making of this documentary. 57 minutes total. Propaganda