Product Details

• Actors: Amy Hill, Gordon Hirabayashi, Fred Korematsu, Min Yasui
• Directors: Steven Okazaki
• Writers: Steven Okazaki, Jane Kaihatsu, Kei Yokomizo, Laura Ide
• Producers: Steven Okazaki, Jane Kaihatsu
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: New Video Group
• DVD Release Date: December 26, 2005
• Run Time: 58 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000BB154S
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,785 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Unfinished Business - The Japanese-American Internment Cases" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

UNFINISHED BUSINESS - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great potrayal of Japanese Americans during/ after WW2, May 24, 2007

By 

P. GUPTA (Anchorage, KY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unfinished Business - The Japanese-American Internment Cases (DVD)

One of the very few documentaries on this subject of the condition of Japanese-Americans who had been living in America for generations furing WW2. Before I saw this, I was totally unaware of the existence of concentration camps (which were called "relocation camps") with poor living conditions, into which thousands of Japanese Americans were herded. The trauma of war on a country's psyche is quite well documented here and is no different from similar emotions faced by other countries during times of conflict.
Also interesting was the hope and faith of some Japanese Americans in the American justice system to seek redressal of their humiliation - and also, how the justice system, though slow, didn't fail them.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Executive Order 9066, July 11, 2009

By 

Westley (Stuck in my head) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Unfinished Business - The Japanese-American Internment Cases (DVD)

Shortly after America entered WWII, FDR signed Executive Order 9066 giving the government the ability to declare areas of the country military zones and arresting any persons in those areas who were deemed a "threat." Although it did not specify any certain people, the Order was used primarily to round up and incarcerate persons of Japanese descent living in the western U.S. The detainees found themselves living in what amounted to concentration camps, often in isolated desert areas. During the war, three Japanese-American men (Gordon Hirabayashi, Monoru Yasui, & Fred Korematsu) filed lawsuits challenging the legality of Executive Order 9066; none were successful. However, after the war, public opinion began to shift and in the 1980s the three men re-opened their earlier lawsuits. "Unfinished Business" documents the stories of these three men and how their lawsuits affected the Japanese-American community.

"Unfinished Business" (1985) is a worthwhile documentary on an important topic - one of the low points in American history. The documentary is definitely a no-frills affair, with minimal narration, text, and recreations, which might bore audiences today used to flashier documentaries. At times, the documentary doesn't include enough detail and is poorly paced. For example, the narrator mentions that many of the men in the camps were later allowed to join the U.S. military, but they provide no details about how this change occurred. Instead, it focuses on brief interviews with some of the Japanese-Americans who were forced into the camps. Their stories are affecting and in no need of adornment. However, the finale concerning the lawsuits is told in an incredibly flat and technical manner with no suspense or elaboration; it almost seems like an afterthought. Despite these weaknesses, "Unfinished Business" is still informative. The film was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards, losing to "Broken Rainbow" (another film documenting the "relocation" of an American minority group).

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Making Connections, May 24, 2010

By 

Norma J. Sassone "Norma J" (Olympia WA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Unfinished Business - The Japanese-American Internment Cases (DVD)

I show this documentary to my 8th grade class as part of studying Washington State history its history of internment camps and the Japanese-Americans from our state who were imprisoned during WWI. This documentary opens up great possibilites for disucssing the treatment of Muslim Americans and Hispanic Americans in present times and how entire groups are intimidated and harrased simply for how they look and who they are, out of some sort of misplaced fear. (At least this is what my very compassionate and savvy young people tell me!) Talk about learning ( or not) from history...