Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)As a historian I was very interested in ABC's Pearl Harbor airing in 1991. I was not disapointed. From the causes to the aftermath, the program was outstanding. Especially interesting were the interviews with both Japanese and American participants. I immediately ordered the VHS tape and have enjoyed it immensely since. When I saw that the DVD was available, I purchased it. What a let down! The original program was 100 minutes; the DVD is less than 45. Much of the pre-attack information is cut out including the story of an American boy living in Japan and the Japanese preparation for the attack. Letters written home by American sailors before the attack are also cut out. Many of the interviews, including Daniel Inouye's, are also sliced. American and Japanese attitudes toward each other before Pearl are gone. Perhaps more tragically, the whole ending is missing. The DVD does not show the activities of the Pearl Harbor veterans organizations, nor the reasons for the lack of such groups in Japan. The Arizona Memorial description, its visitors, and its emotional impact on all who visit it are gone. Even worse the Japanese attitude toward the war, Pearl Harbor, and the dropping of the atomic bombs has been cut out. The fact that the Japanese see no connection between Pearl and the bombs and that the war is not treated in Japanese schools is also missing. Thus the continuity and emotional impact of the original program is lost. Where the cuts come Brinkley's narration is scratchy and in a couple of places hard to even hear. ABC has taken a historicaly accurate, excellent portrayal and turned it into a shadow of the original. They should be ashamed. Buy the VHS version!
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