is pearl harbor the movie, historically accurate?

Question

specifically what is/isnt very accurate? just wondering i just watched it

Answer 1

1. On the credits, the name of the Japanese carrier "Akagi" is mispelled.
2. No Americans could have accepted commissions in the Royal Air Force and later received commissions as U.S. Army Air Force officers. They would have lost their U.S. citizenship by accepting military commissions from a foreign government, making them ineligible to receive commissions from the U.S.
The movie "Tora! Tora! Tora!" is probably the most accurate movie depicting the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Answer 2

Pearl Harbor Movie Accuracy

Answer 3

Like many historical dramas, Pearl Harbor provoked debate about the artistic license taken by its producers and director. National Geographic Channel produced a documentary called Beyond the Movie: Pearl Harbor[6] [7] which covers some of the ways that "the film's final cut didn't reflect all the attacks' facts, or represent them all accurately"[8]. One of the few small historical accuracies in the film is the wristwatch of the character Danny. Danny's wristwatch is the same style as World War II wristwatches issued to servicemen during the period.
Historical inaccuracies found in the film include, but are not limited to:

read the link to find the inaccuracies

Answer 4

No the attack on Pearl harbor in the Movie is four times longer than the actual attack lasted. There are many other inaccuracies in the movie also such as the attack sequence is flawed. The first targets were the airfields - especially Hickham Field and Kanaohe Naval Air Station, not the anchored fleet. Rafe explains to the pilots, that are going to fight the Zeros that are strafing the airfield, that "P-40's can't outrun Zeros, so we're going to have to out-fly them." He has the aircraft capabilities backwards. In level flight and especially a dive, the P-40 can outrun a Zero any day. On the same note, a Zero can fly circles around a P-40. Pilots fighting the Zero in the P-40 were told to use "zoom and boom" tactics, diving on Zeros and racing away. If a P-40 pilot ever tried to out-fly a Zeros superior maneuverability, he'd be dead. Throughout the attack scene, the placement of the battleships in Battleship Row changes. When the Oklahoma is shown capsizing, in some scenes she is correctly moored next to the Maryland, in other scenes she is next to the destroyed Arizona. In some parts the capsized ship is even surrounded by some sort of fog with no ships around her. When Admiral Kimmel is on the small boat touring the harbor after the attack, the Oklahoma is next to the Arizona and other battleships that seem to have been placed in a random clutter next to each other, instead of the line that they were in that morning. Even in the scene showing Pearl Harbor at an aerial view right before the attack, the Geography of Ford Island and the placement of the battleships is wrong. Battleship Row isn't even visible.

And those are just a few of the errors.

Answer 5

Accurate - overall battles and the overall history.

Major inaccurate - US servicemen couldnt enlist in England and help out - it violated neutrality laws. EXCEPTION - Resign your commission, go to Canada, and travel the the UK, where they had an American only squadron (the film showed him in a mixed squadron). You would NOT lose your citizenship, and could still fight for America later on. Im sorry Desertviking, double check your history - your statement is accurate now, but not then, FDR wanted to help out so allowed this - total war makes for new rules)
No US servicemen that fought for England, or was in Hawaii was in the Dolittle Raid.
While the battle was longer than the real one, cinematic techniques can explain this away. The time frame is more than doubled (maybe tripled) by cutting away and showing the events in different areas that are happening at the same time.
The depiction of FDR - he never brought attention to his disability.
The Dolittle Raid was NOT the turning point of the war, for anyone. While it was significant, it was grossly overshadowed by the Midway Battle - the real turning point. However, this was probably the call of the writers to have the major characters in the movie return the favor personally.

Minor goofs - placement of ships, types of planes, etc - most are probably just oversights in the making of the movie.

In sum: There were major goofs, most were to streamline the movie and not waste film minutes explaining away more complicated details or just done to increase the dramatic experience. The minor goofs are part of any historical movie as the situation cannot be recreated perfectly.

The best part about the movie is that it is teaching a new generation about a part of WWII, and even if the history they learn is a little flawed, it is better than them not knowing any of it. (Lets face it, unless your a history buff, who really cares about the rules concerning a neutral nation's soldiers deserting to fight for another country?)

Answer 6

People did fall in and out of love during WWII, so it's not historically innaccurate to portray that too; but I don't think the movie "Pearl Harbor" should have been MORE anything- it was already much too long as it was.

Answer 7

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
is pearl harbor the movie, historically accurate?
specifically what is/isnt very accurate? just wondering i just watched it

Answer 8

Not at ALL, it was more a silly love story than a movie about Pearl Harbor.

Watch the older Tora Tora Tora if you want a more accurate version of what happened done by hollywood.

Sure some parts were accurate but it strayed so far from the story focusing more on the romance then what really happened.

so id suggest Tora Tora Tora., and older film but very accurate in my opinion.

Answer 9

let me add my pet peeve about the movie...many of the scenes of Pearl Harbor during the attack show 1980's vintage Spruance class destroyers in the harbor..........might as well have had F-14 Tomcats on the airfield with the P-40s!

Answer 10

Well the stories about all the people were true, from Dolittle to the sailor Cuba Gooding Jr. played. The movie is a little overly romantic but what can you expect from Hollywood? I'd say it depicts the past events accurately.