December 7th: The Pearl Harbor Story (DVD)

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Extras :
What really makes this DVD a must-have for collectors and history buffs is the value added content. The actual film runs only eighty-two minutes. There is one hundred and twenty four additional minutes of supplements included, and that is without considering the full-length commentary track. The supplements that VCI included with "December 7th" show how the Government worked to rally American support by showing certain segments and withholding other pieces from public view. The entire disc is set up to be one continuous film. The main feature, "December 7th," is located after each of the supplemental chapters and can only be directly accessed through the chapter select menu or by skipping chapters.

The first two additional pieces of material are two newsreels that were filmed during and after Pearl Harbor. The first newsreel is the "Universal Newsreel" that was filmed and released directly after the attack. This footage shows how homes and cars were damaged during the attack and shows each citizen and armed forces worker or soldier responding in a calm and collective fashion. Large billows of smoke can be seen in the background, towards the direction of Pearl Harbor. This newsreel explains the attack happened, but fails to show any great damage or horror on America´s behalf. It is entirely a Public Relations piece that was meant to not offend or shock anybody. The second clip is a direct contrast to the first. It is a Twentieth Century Fox clip that was filmed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. This newsreel was held for sometime because it contained footage deemed classified by the Government. The footage shows the battleship USS Arizona being struck first-hand by the bomb that dealt the deathblow. It shows the battleship USS Oklahoma capsizing. There is smoke and fire and actual Japanese aircraft. The carnage shown in this newsreel is not Hollywood magic. It is authentic.

After the two newsreels comes a sixty-two minutes feature directed by the man who brought you "It´s A Wonderful Life" and other heartfelt classics. "Know Your Enemy: Japan" is part of a series of Frank Capra films that were used as propaganda to stir American sentiment against the ´evil´ Japanese. This was pieced together from Japanese feature films and historical documentaries. It is a film that suggests how the evil Japanese Empire has been working for years to have the entire world build up the army that will eventually conquer them. The main message of the film is that Japanese solely exist to conquer everything and have their culture be the only culture on Earth. The film touches on Samurai and Shoguns. It talks about the Shinto religion and it´s godly Emperor. The man who directed the Holiday tearjerker, about a man loved by all is greatly successful in delivering a film that shows a race that should be hated by all.

In 1995, Japan was given advanced screenings of the uncensored version of "December 7th." There was quite a reaction about this uncensored film. The Japanese were quite surprised about the portrayal of loyal Japanese-Americans. Included on this DVD is a small news segment (in color) detailing this sentiment. After this chapter, the feature film begins. To show the differences between the censored and uncensored versions of the film, there are subtitles that appear during the film to mark where the censored version begins and ends. It is interesting that the censored part of the film is broken down into only two chapters.

Another highly significant supplement is the running commentary track. The track is context sensitive to the material being shown on the screen. The first newsreel has a veteran of the Pearl Harbor attack discussing his involvement during the attack. The second newsreel contains a commentary by the man that actually shot the footage and he explains the censorship of the piece and what he observed during the attack. During the "Know Your Enemy: Japan" segment, the Japanese-American that wrote the book on which it part of it is based speaks about the truths and falsehoods of the documentary and adds additional insight into the information provided by the documentary. There is no commentary during the Japanese media clip. The feature film contains the most informative and enlightening commentary. It begins with notes on the actual production of the film and various involvements, but quickly moves onto a discussion by four Pearl Harbor veterans. There accounts of this horrific day are well done and provide a better view on that fateful day than any film ever produced.

There are a few other minor supplements attached to the DVD. There are two previews for other VCI Home Video releases and a still gallery showing then-and-now photographs of each of those who lent their time for the wonderful documentary.

Summary :
"December 7th: The Pearl Harbor Story" is a powerful look at December 7th, 1941. Never before have I seen so much information on the Japanese people (from an American point of view) and their involvement and motivation in regards to Pearl Harbor. The actual footage of the USS Arizona was a visually powerful couple of seconds to behold. The actual feature may be flawed in its technical presentation and contain some excessive Hollywood moments, but it is a look at the people and the aftermath of the attack. This documentary shows the naive approach of the American people and how easy it was to attack the tranquil island paradise of Hawaii. It gives insight into how our Government ´marketed´ the attack and motivated the public for a response that would eventually crush Japan. The commentary by the survivors tells of what it was like to be there. If you are in the mood for more information on Pearl Harbor after seeing the film of the same name, this is a great place to look.

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