Admiral Yamamato movie

[Rich46yo]

https://www.amazon.com/Admiral-Blu-ray-K%C3%B4ji-Yakusho/dp/B007X5995W I often like to delve into the minds of our enemys in WW2 and I would recommend this Blue Ray, just as I would recommend The Yamato http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0451845/

While it stretches the actual combat Historical record a bit the movie about Yamamato's pre-PH career and the conflict between the IJA and IJN is one of the most accurate human portrayals Ive seen of the inter-society rifts that ground against each other while slowly pushing the Nation to the Axis, to war against America, and to the eventual silencing of the only sane voice of reason. The IJN High command led by Yamamato.

This movie fascinates the heck out of me because I have constantly asked myself, "why would Japan commit suicide by attacking America"? An opponent they couldn't possibly hope to beat? I understand much better now as I saw the inter-service rivalries played out and the lack of strategic foresight by the IJA. To few in the Japanese Army asked themselves Yamamato's most basic question "why would you think that"? The Admiral was a pragmatist who was concerned only with facts.

The CGI is pretty good, there's some scenes of air battles. I was a little dissapointed the Midway battle was only shown for a minute or two, tho it got its point across. The movie plays to its main audience, it doesnt show a Zero actually lose in a battle and its a little light on ethics and responsibility but it does accuratly show the "war fever" that gripped the Nation during the Showa period.

The 2nd movie is about a group of 16yo's who were drafted young due to Japan's slowly losing the war and being assigned to the BB Yamato. Its an intimate portrayal of WW2 surface warfare and while it only has a few action scenes they are pretty accurate and gruesome. If you ever wondered what 6 M2 0.50 Browning MGs would do to exposed AA crews this movie will show you. The amazing thing is these young sailors remained at their posts even after getting raked.

Its more of a war movie then a battle movie tho the Okinawa sortie is shown in detail. Its remembered by an old Japanese fisherman who just happened to be one of the few survivors of the Yamato. Both movies are 3&1/2 stars and worth the price of the disc.

One of the things we gave the Japanese after the war was our Movie making expertise. The Level of their movie making skills are pretty darn good and I think you'll like both of these. If you know of any other foreign films you'd recommend I'm always adding to my collection.

[bozon]

I love what they did with the Yamato after the war

[pipz]

I love what they did with the Yamato after the war
(Image removed from quote.)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51PjegTadWU

I have the Yamato movie. Its very good. I will have to check out "The Admiral".

[GScholz]

I posted about it a few years ago. Great movie! A must-have for WWII buffs.


https://youtu.be/kBQotim_ZHA

[FLOOB]

You guys I want to watch it!

[TEShaw]

At the risk of hijacking your thread (in the O-Club, no less!), it just occurs to me that a movie about the Yamamoto assassination mission would make for a pretty good epic.

...also plenty of room for melodrama including the decades long rivalry about who truly fired the killing shot, etc. [which would provide for many replays of the event from different views, gun cams, etc.]

...also make it in 3D

...also make the gun cam footage in 2D so as to amplify the 2D/3D visual tension.

You're welcome.

regards,

Airman T. E. Shaw

[GScholz]

The Japanese made it a little more poetic...


https://youtu.be/iNNEj5-6aOk

[Delirium]

Does anyone else have any Axis viewpoint movies? They are fascinating, not only to view a different viewpoint but also to help capture the thoughts of the current people of said country.

[Chris79]

Does anyone else have any Axis viewpoint movies? They are fascinating, not only to view a different viewpoint but also to help capture the thoughts of the current people of said country.

Letters from Iwo Jima Japanese soldier perspective
My honor was loyalty 1st SS perspective
"1944" Estonia Waffen SS perspective

They are all incredibly depressing

[TEShaw]

Del...

There are a couple [now] obscure films I'd highly recommend:

(And I'm really sorry to go so far off topic.  Delerium, maybe you could start a new thread for this.)

1. The Burmese Harp

Fictional account of Japanese soldiers in the Burma campaign....

The film was nominated for the 1957 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 1985, Ichikawa remade The Burmese Harp in color with a new cast. [just learned about the remake at 'Rotten Tomatoes'...I'll have to see if I can find it streaming.]

2.The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On
by Kazuo Hara

This film is hard to look at, hard to comprehend, the subtitles are poor; but it is overwhelming.  1986-ish The director had a lot of high critical praise for his earthy urban stories.  He departs from his style to make this documentary about this guy (to put it kindly, the guy is obsessed) about his wartime experiences in New Guinea and goes on a quest to confront his old C.O., etc  ..astounding ensues.
EDIT: You can catch this [with some bother] with your Amazon Prime account.

[Rich46yo]

The Japanese made it a little more poetic...


https://youtu.be/iNNEj5-6aOk

It isnt just their movies that play to the public. My cousin teaches History and English over there and the students learn a really strange version of WW2 , why it happened, and what the part of Japan was in it. Needless to say there isnt much time spent on atrocities and the horrid war crimes Japan committed. Even in Yamamato ,or in "The Eternal Zero", I dont remember once where a Zero is shot down by a P-38, a Mustang, or a Hellcat even tho we splattered them across the skies with all three airplanes.

At Midway they lost 4 CVs worth of their best pilots, by 1943 the Zero was outclassed, and after June of 1944 they essentially didnt have an offensive naval air arm except for suicide pilots. But movies being movies they will all stretch the truth and all are geared more toward selling tickets then speaking historical truth. Even ours.

I still get a lot of insight with these foreign war films. In fact I find them fascinating even with their truth stretching. And there is no denying the IJN's contribution to naval fast carrier doctrine. Indeed it wouldnt be a stretch to say they created it. On the eve of the Pacific war they had the best Navy in the world with the best naval aviators. Both of which they squandered.

Much of it wasn't their fault By PH the Army had cemented its leadership and decision making in war policy and its true the IJN High Command was against it. The Army saw the pacific as a large Land mass and thought they could fight a war in water with Island chains just like they could fight one on Land. It didnt occur to them that the Allies would leave large concentrations of their troops on their flanks or even in their rear because it never occurred to them that without domination in the sea lanes and in the air these troop garrisons would be even worse then useless because not only couldnt they come to grips with the enemy who bypassed them but they would become a liability to even feed and supply them. Taking up scarce resources to even send them rice, even wasting submarines to do so.

The IJN knew they had a weak system to protect convoys yet the army thought as long as they extended the defensive perimeter and invaded/conquered the resource rich area's of S/E Asia the transportation of these resources would take care of themselves. The Navy knew the Pacific was a big place and they were up against an enemy that could build 10 ships to their every 1. I liked the Yamamato movie and how it portrayed the conflicts between the services. This was very well done.

[GScholz]

Been a few years since I watch the Yamamoto film, but I remember two Zekes being shot down by US aircraft. The first was during the attack on Pearl Harbor where the youngest of the three pilot friends we follow throughout the film is attacked by a P-40 (the scene is in the trailer I posted). We don't get to see him get hit or crash, but later the older of the three pilot friends watch the setting sun from the flight deck, quietly contemplating the young friend's fate as he has failed to return to the carrier. Later in the film he himself is shot down in the Solomons and we see his Zeke spiraling down trailing smoke.

Edit: parts of both shoot downs are in the trailer. The older pilot I'm talking about is the one saluting Yamamoto and later he is attacked by what looks like a Wildcat and we see him get hit in the cockpit.

[Ack-Ack]

This movie fascinates the heck out of me because I have constantly asked myself, "why would Japan commit suicide by attacking America"? An opponent they couldn't possibly hope to beat? I understand much better now as I saw the inter-service rivalries played out and the lack of strategic foresight by the IJA. To few in the Japanese Army asked themselves Yamamato's most basic question "why would you think that"? The Admiral was a pragmatist who was concerned only with facts.

The Japanese military was divided into whether or not to go to war with the Western countries or with the Soviet Union.  The Japanese army favored the Northern Expansion Doctrine, in which the Japanese Empire expanded into Siberia.  The Japanese navy favored the "Southern Expansion Doctrine", in which the Japanese Empire expanded into South East Asia and the Greater Pacific.  Because of the drubbing the Japanese army took at the hands of the Soviet Union at Khalkhin Gol, the Japanese navy won out and Japan followed the Southern Expansion Doctrine.  Japan also signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, to which Stalin is reportedly to have said to the Japanese delegation, "You can move South now."

Also remember that Japan did not intend to fight a general war but instead a 6 month campaign in which the Western powers would submit to the new status quo because of the war in Europe.

[Rich46yo]

The Japanese military was divided into whether or not to go to war with the Western countries or with the Soviet Union.  The Japanese army favored the Northern Expansion Doctrine, in which the Japanese Empire expanded into Siberia.  The Japanese navy favored the "Southern Expansion Doctrine", in which the Japanese Empire expanded into South East Asia and the Greater Pacific.  Because of the drubbing the Japanese army took at the hands of the Soviet Union at Khalkhin Gol, the Japanese navy won out and Japan followed the Southern Expansion Doctrine.  Japan also signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, to which Stalin is reportedly to have said to the Japanese delegation, "You can move South now."

Also remember that Japan did not intend to fight a general war but instead a 6 month campaign in which the Western powers would submit to the new status quo because of the war in Europe.

Two influential Generals/Admirals never liked this thinking. Dont forget The Tiger of Malaya Tomoyuki Yamashita. He was a brilliant General who saw communism as Japan's main threat and was part of a faction that wanted to return Japan to more traditional ways and forget the dreams of large Empires. He could add 2 plus 2 as well most of all when was was sent to Germany in 1938 to 1940 and saw the German army and air force in action.

He knew Japan had nothing like it when it came to mechanized combined arms and really no plans for it. They didnt have parachute regiments in the army, their armor was crap, they had no real strategic vision other then "hope for the best". He won a big victory in Malaya and then Tojo hid him in Manchuria for a few years to punish him. So Yamamato wasn't the only one who saw things clearly.

And as the Army gained more and more control of policy they got the newspapers to whip up war fever with the populace. Eventually MacArthur murdered Yamashita in a show trial. Even tho he had ordered Manila to be left an open city naval marines not under his command, as well as rouge army elements in it, destroyed the city and committed atrocities in it. Yamashita was one of very few IJA commanders who actually punished his soldiers for looting and murdering civilians and he treated prisoners under his control humanly.

Its believe MacArthur hanged him because he was very popular with the Japanese lower class's and neither MacArthur or Hirohito wanted him back on Japanese soil because of it. MacArthur had no problem protecting Hirohito's Uncle from prosecution for the Rape of Nanking which he was guilty as hell over. As well MacArthur never actually beat Yamashita who holed up in the mountains of the Phillipines and we were unable to dislodge him and his troops.

So a General and an Admiral. Both of whom had seen western military's and methods and would have been the best advisors and neither were listened to. I always agreed with those who said Yamamato was in that Betty bomber to inspect those troops, putting himself in great danger, in order to share the risk he put his own troops in. Both great Leaders. Both against a war with America and England.

[zack1234]

Letters from Iwo Jima Japanese soldier perspective
My honor was loyalty 1st SS perspective
"1944" Estonia Waffen SS perspective

They are all incredibly depressing

Because they were not good enough and lost WWII