Who doesn’t love a good war film? I for one certainly do, the one I’m taking a look at today features some really well known actors and is set during WWII and is also known as Battle of Midway. It came out on Bluray in the UK earlier this year, February in fact I think this ones a little overdue a look, so without further ado here’s my Midway Blu-ray Review.
- Midway (1976) aka Battle of Midway
- Genre: War
- Directed by Jack Smight
- UK Rating PG
- Discs: 1
- Released By Universal Pictures
- Blu-ray Released: 5 February 2018
Plot
Midway is the World War Two story of the battle in the Pacific between the Americans and the Japanese over the island of Midway. Two carrier fleets do battle knowing if either can sink the others aircraft carriers it would effectively spell the end of the war for the one losing those naval assets.
Style / Direction
The film is directed by Jack Smight with the cinematography handled by Harry Stradling Jr. This is a proper war film starring a whole host of famous actors including Henry Fonda and Charlton Heston. It also uses real achieve footage from the Second World War to enrich and provide effects that simply would have proved too costly otherwise. This approach actually works pretty well and is far better than any model effects they would have otherwise had to go with.
Music / Audio Effects
The music is provided by John Williams and it really brings out sheer tension of this cat and mouse encounter.
Acting / Characters
Packed full of well known and talanted actors its hard to critise any of the perforamcnes. Henry Fonda inpresses as Admiral Chester W. Nimitz whilst Charlton Heston plays the role of Captain Matthew Garth the way only he can.
With supporting roles from the likes of James Coburn, Hal Holbrook, Glenn Ford and Robert Mitchum you know you are in for a spectacle.
Cast
- Charlton Heston as Captain Matthew Garth
- Henry Fonda as Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
- James Coburn as Captain Vinton Maddox
- Hal Holbrook as Commander Joseph Rochefort
- Toshiro Mifune as Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
- Glenn Ford as Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance
- Robert Mitchum as Vice Admiral William F. “Bull” Halsey, Jr.
- Cliff Robertson as Cmdr. Carl Jessop
- Robert Wagner as Lieutenant Commander Ernest L. Blake
- Ed Nelson as Rear Admiral Harry Pearson
- Robert Webber as Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher
- James Shigeta as Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo
- Christina Kokubo as Haruko Sakura
- Monte Markham as Cmdr. Max Leslie
- Biff McGuire as Captain Miles Browning
- Christopher George as Lieutenant Commander C. Wade McClusky
- Kevin Dobson as Ensign George H. Gay, Jr.
- Glenn Corbett as Lieutenant Commander John C. Waldron
- Gregory Walcott as Captain Elliott Buckmaster
- Edward Albert as Lieutenant Thomas Garth
- Pat Morita as Rear Admiral Ryūnosuke Kusaka
- John Fujioka as Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi
- Dale Ishimoto as Vice Admiral Boshirō Hosogaya
- Dabney Coleman as Captain Murray Arnold
- Erik Estrada as Ensign Ramos “Chili Bean”
- Larry Pennell as Captain Cyril Simard
- Clyde Kusatsu as Cmdr. Watanabe Yasimasa
- Phillip R. Allen as Lieutenant Commander John S. Thach
- Kurt Grayson as Major Floyd “Red” Parks
- Tom Selleck as Aide to Capt. Cyril Simard
- Sab Shimono as Lt. Jōichi Tomonaga
- Conrad Yama as Admiral Nobutake Kondō
- Robert Ito as Commander Minoru Genda
- Steve Kanaly as Lt. Cmdr. Lance E. Massey
- Seth Sakai as Captain Kameto Kuroshima
Conclusion: Midway (1976) Film Review
Midway is a well made and acted depiction of the Japanese attack on Midway during the Second World War in 1942. In the end it delivers exactly what you both want and would expect from a war film, this is ones certainly worth a look.
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Conclusion: Midway Blu-ray Review
Now to the picture quality and its good news, Universal Pictures have delivered a simply excellent release. The image is sharp and clean whilst the colours are vibrant. I didn’t spot a single speck of dirt, the film does include achieve footage from the war which is somewhat grainy but the actual film i.e. with all the drama and dialogue is perfect.
On the extras front there’s the “The Making of Midway” documentary which lasts around 39 minutes. This is the one must see extra with rest including a look at the John Williams score and scenes only shot for the TV version of the movie that don’t really fit the overall tone.
I can’t really complain Universal seem to have included a comprehensive set of extras, good job.
Extras
- The Making of Midway (39 mins)
- The Score of Midway (6 mins)
- Sensurround: The Sounds of Midway (4 mins)
- They Were There: Hosted By Charlton Heston (6 mins)
- Scenes Shot for the TV Version (10 mins)
- Photograph Montage
- Trailer
Popcorn Cinema Rating: Midway (1976)
MOVIE RATING: WELL WORTH WATCHING
BLU-RAY RATING: EXCELLENT
POPCORN CINEMA: RECOMMENDED
Midway (1976) is available now on blu-ray from Amazon.
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Midway (1976) Trailer
For those of you yet to see the film I’ll leave you with a little taster…
Clip may not be representative of the blu-ray version
That’s concludes my Midway blu-ray review, if you have any thoughts on this film you can leave them over on our Facebook page.
Summary: Midway (1976) Blu-ray Review
Movie title: Midway (1976) aka Battle of Midway
Duration: 131 mins
Director(s): Jack Smight
Actor(s): Charlton Heston , Henry Fonda , James Coburn, Hal Holbrook, Glenn Ford, Robert Mitchum, Toshiro Mifune
Genre: War
- Movie Rating
- Blu-ray Picture Rating
- Extras
Summary
A well made and acted depiction of the Japanese attack on Midway during the Second World War in 1942.
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