Product Description

PEARL HARBOR: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT Vista Series DVD is the most extensive exploration of moviemaking ever presented. Four discs showcase more than 60 new shots in the film and over 12 hours of new special features. There's never been anything like it before. History comes alive in the unforgettable epic motion picture PEARL HARBOR, the spectacular blockbuster brought to the screen by Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay. Astounding visual and audio effects put you at the center of the event that changed the world -- that early Sunday morning in paradise when warplanes screamed across the peaceful skies of Pearl Harbor and jolted America into World War II. This real-life tale of catastrophic defeat, heroic victory, and personal courage focuses on the war's devastating impact on two daring young pilots, Ben Affleck (ARMAGEDDON) and Josh Hartnett (BLACK HAWK DOWN), and a beautiful, dedicated nurse, Kate Beckinsale (SERENDIPITY). PEARL HARBOR is extraordinary moviemaking -- a breathtaking reenactment of the "date which will live in infamy" and a heartfelt tribute to the men and women who lived it.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26093 in DVD
• Brand: BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2002-07-02
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 183 minutes

Amazon.com
Sometimes bigger is actually better. Nearly matching the size of director Michael Bay's ego, this massive four-disc set is a veritable Pearl Harbor archive, and ironically, Bay's film remains the least interesting component. It's a purely conventional Hollywood take on the tragedy, using a clichéd love triangle between two ace pilots (Josh Hartnett, Ben Affleck) and a Pearl Harbor nurse (Kate Beckinsale) as an "intimate" means of spectacularly re-creating the attack that thrust America into World War II. The director's cut adds little to the previous DVD release, apart from authentic R-rated carnage during the Japanese raid, and minor expansion of the Hartnett-Beckinsale romance. Commentaries range from superfluous (Bay and film historian Jeanine Basinger) to highly entertaining (Ben Affleck and costars) and technically informative (primary production team), and a spirited examination of visual effects (with Bay and ILM supervisor Eric Brevig) is guaranteed to fascinate anyone interested in physical effects and CGI. A broad "making of" documentary is noteworthy for one-time viewing, while abundant historical records make this a valuable compilation of definitive materials.

The History Channel's "One Hour over Tokyo" and "Unsung Heroes of Pearl Harbor" provide depth that Bay's movie lacks, and Charles Kiselyak's interactive timeline is arguably the finest feature included, providing an in-depth historical perspective on U.S.-Japan relations. Even a brief reenactment of a Pearl Harbor nurse's journal is moving in a way that Bay's film can only try to be, while the "Interactive Attack Sequence" provides a multifaceted exploration of the entire production process (a highly educational feature for aspiring filmmakers). All in all, these four discs offer an admirable balance between Bay's technically impressive but ill-conceived epic and a thorough, fitting tribute to those who endured hell on that fateful Sunday in 1941. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

What a waste
The cinematography was beautiful and the sets were beautiful, catching the time period perfectly. What a pity that they had to be wasted on this pitiful excuse of a movie!

Much like "Titanic" which preceded it (for which the above paragraph could apply in its entirety), "Pearl Harbor", rather than being a great movie about a historic tragic event, offended the viewer by using the event merely as a backdrop for a "chick flick" plot...and a very POOR one at that.

I truly looked forward to this movie, believing the writers and producers would show this event the respect it deserved. So sad that the remaining WWII vets get THIS as a "tribute". What an insult! One can only envision the next step being a romance story called "9-11: The Twin Towers".

SNORA! SNORA! SNORA!
What a disappointing movie! I was so looking foward to what I thought would be the exciting blockbuster of 2001. Instead I found Pearl Harbor to be boring, cheezy and very predictable. First of all it takes FOREVER for any sort of action to get started. My husband and I were sitting in the theater just waiting for the Japanese to start bombing Pearl Harbor, almost looking foward to it, so we could see something interesting happen on the screen. The romance between the two leads is Laugh out Loud ridiculous. The dialogue seems to be written by a 14 year old. I was actually reciting out loud what the characters would say next, it was that predictable. The story didnt let the audience become at all attached to the characters. The only reason I give it 2 stars was the great special effects. Dont waste your time on this dumbed down version of history. If you want to watch a great movie depicting history see 13 Days or Tora Tora Tora. Movies like that actually treat the audience like they have a brain.

3 hours too long!!!!
Holy god this movie eats! If you're a hopeful filmaker, then see this film...because you'll then know how not to make one!! Why is it that when you combine the vomit-inducing names of Bruckheimer, Bay, and Affleck, the result is always some cheesed-up, explosion-filled, wannabe drama?! That's the problem with this movie, it doesn't know what it wants to be, and neither do the characters. The ever-nauseating affleck spends the whole 3 hours switching from one kind of character to another. He can't figure out if he wants to be a goof ball, serious romantic, or stoic fighter...all of which he can't portray any better than a rock could! Never mind the fact that his accent kept slipping. Basically, everything about this movie is bad (except obviously the visuals, but pretty pictures do not a movie make). The casting was the first mistake, cause Affleck is bad in anything. Every other actor might be good if the script was better. They all spend most of their breath spouting out poorly-worded mindless drivel the likes of which have rarely ever been seen before!! You can only hear lines like "what will we be like after the war" or "i think world war 2 just started" so many times before you have to stuff something in your ears! Cuba's lines are especially cheesy. He basically plays the same character that he played in Men of Honor, and it's not that good. One thing that really surprised me was the music. Hans Zimmer is normally known for creating original scores that really sound great...but not this time. For some reason, he got lazy, turned into some sort of James Horner, and pretty much just reused the soundtrack from The Thin Red Line. A lot of the shots were directly taken from a good WW2 film, Saving Private Ryan. The fade to an American flag and cinematography of rising and sinking in the water (raid on the beach), drowning out the sound when you're submerged. That's blatantly not original, it's not even an homage. Let's see here...ah yes! Predictability! I called everything in this movie an hour before it occurred! Nothing is surprising, not even when less famous actors die...hint hint.