DKosty123 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.

dbborroughs 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.

Robert Reynolds This Oscar-winning documentary features some spectacular battle footage and is generally well-done, except for the Hollywood hokum grafted onto the beginning, for who knows what reason. It's ridiculous and boring. just ignore it and watch the documentary. The documentary, sans lead-in, is recommended highly.

Glenn Andreiev After America entered World War II at the close of 1941, Hollywood directors were "drafted" into making short films for the war effort. These directors included Frank Capra, Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston, and the most poetic, sentimental of Hollywood directors at the time- John Ford. Ford made this short film. Part of it is a political cartoon come to life. Uncle Sam (Walter Huston) is on vacation in Hawaii. It's not yet December 7th, 1941. He doesn't have a care in the world, other than his conscious (played with delicate humor by the great Harry Davenport!) reminding him of possible trouble brewing. The film also serves as a neat documentary about life in Hawaii before the war, and offers a peek into the heavy Japanese-American population at the time. Look for Dana Andrews in a ghostly bit part. History books just have the dates and places of historic occurrences. This seldom seen classic shows the mindset!