Product Details

• Directors: Kevin Bachar
• 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
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Walt Disney Video
• DVD Release Date: December 4, 2001
• Run Time: 53 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005QW6Z
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #20,650 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #22 in	Movies & TV > Documentary > Military & War > World War II
  #28 in	Movies & TV > Documentary > Music & Performing Arts
  #45 in	Movies & TV > Documentary > Series & Studios > National Geographic

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
December 7, 1941 -- the day that stunned America and shocked it into World War II. The surprise attack is reenacted in the epic film PEARL HARBOR from Touchstone Pictures. Just how true-to-life are its stories and characters? Through riveting archival footage, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S BEYOND THE MOVIE: PEARL HARBOR helps you explore: Why did the Japanese attack? Why was the U.S. caught off guard? How did Americans respond? From the air battles over Europe to the attack on Pearl Harbor and Doolittle's raid on Tokyo, this exciting program parallels the movie story with the real-life terror, tragedy, and heroism.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars NG documentary sets the record straight, May 25, 2002

By A Customer

This National Geographic DVD tells more than just commenting on the recent movie.It sets the record straight.For example,the American volunteers called "The Eagles" that flew against the Luftwaffe in The Battle Of Britain were all civilian volunteers and not military men as portrayed in the Pearl Harbor film.Of these 214 men,109 died going into battle against the Germans.The bombing of Tokyo is also told and film of the planes taking off from the carriers is shown.Interesting to note that the actual two real pilots(not the film's made-up ones)that flew against the Japanese attackers and shot down six of their planes were also not awarded the America's highest military award.Some complain about African American steward Dorry Miller not receiving it but he wasn't the only one.In fact,most of the Medal Of Honor awards at Pearl Harbor were posthumous.The documentary does make use of the film's eccellent special effects and also uses real film and old war movie film as well.It points out at the end that some generic film was used to re-create the battle stories.There are interviews with survivors,navy men and women that were nurses there at the time.One nurse tells of bodies "stacked up like cordwood" at the back of the hospital.The Japanese pilots flew over the mainland at 7.40am and the first bomb was dropped at 7.50am.So the "Pearl Harbor" film's portrayal of kids playing baseball and one woman hanging up the washing as they flew over at that early time looks a little shaky at that fact.But make no mistake,this National Geographic documentary isn't just about that film.It is an eccellent documentary on the attack on Pearl Harbor.This documentary tells a good story and gives the true facts about what happened.The DVD also has some extras such as war documentary films from 1945 and 1963 as well as a National Geographic timeline detailing their history from the early 1900s onwards.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A mediocre attempt at giving background information, October 14, 2002

By	garbage4sale "garbage4sale" (HI USA) - See all my reviews

The main problem of this DVD was the overreliance on the movie for everything. The historical data was good and interesting but frequent use of movie cutscenes ruined any atmosphere. This DVD attempted to be both a behind-the-scenes featurette and a documentary and pretty much failed as both to be interesting and watchable.

The format of the DVD was a "Question and Answer" and short simplified answers were given (though some were good) that was in total 53 minutes long. The special features consisted of old news reel stories and propaganda (which had nothing to do with Pearl Harbor) with a short explanatory info blurb tacked on. $ for this seems totally unrealistic.

I personally recommend Tora! Tora! Tora! as being more consistant and enjoyable.