Flashback Friday: Midway Film Turns 45


By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon

I absolutely love World War II movies. If you made me list my top 5 favorite WWII movies, I'd have to say:

5. Sink the Bismark
4. Patton
3. Tora, Tora, Tora
2. In Harm's Way

Number one made its cinematic debut 45 years ago. Midway was released in 1976 and featured an all-star cast including Charlton Heston, Hal Holbrook, Robert Wagner, James Coburn, Tom Selleck, Cliff Robertson, a cameo by Robert Mitchum, and Henry Fonda as Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.

The movie is a mixture of fact and fiction and revolves around the pivotal battle in the Pacific that helped turn the tide against the Imperial Japanese Navy in early June of 1942. Thanks to the codebreakers who were able to crack and interpret Japanese radio transmissions, Nimitz was able to position the US Pacific Fleet between the Japanese and the Hawaiian islands. The battle took place in the waters just off Midway island.

It was the first time in history a naval battle took place where the opposing fleets' ships never made contact with one another — each side attacked the other with toroedo planes and dive bombers.

When I was growing up, Midway always played on TBS, a network out of Atlanta broadcast by the local cable company (Heritage Cablevision turned Time Warner turned Spectrum).

One of my fondest memories was going to my Tío Poncho's house to watch Midway. My mother's oldest brother retired from the navy in 1991 as a Chief Petty Officer and moved back to Brownsville. My aunt would make dinner and I'd watch the movie afterwards with my uncle.

I miss those times. They were simpler times. Better times.

In 2019, Midway was remade during the Hollywood trend of rebooting and remaking movies. Although high tech CGI graphics have improved by leaps and bounds, director Roland Emmerich went overboard with the special effects. I much rather prefer the 1976 version to the remake.

Another interesting thing is I've visited one of Midway's filming locations. And so have you if you've ever been across the bay bridge in Corpus Christi. Many of the aircraft carrier scenes were filmed on board the USS Lexington. She was still in service when the movie was filmed.

I've owned the movie on VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray, and I have it in my digital library. I watched it a couple of weeks ago. I may very well fire it up again tonight.

If you've never seen the movie, I suggest you watch it. Particularly if you like WWII movies.

First Lord of the Admiralty and British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill said it best:

"The annals of war at sea present no more intense, heart-shaking shock than this battle, in which the qualities of the United States Navy and Air Force and the American race shone forth in splendour. The bravery and self-devotion of the American airmen and sailors and the nerve and skill of their leaders was the foundation of all."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Starcks, The Rabbs, and a Plantation House

Image
By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon If Brownsville were split into boroughs like New York City, Southmost would definitely be one of them. Southmost is one of the oldest parts of Brownsville, and has recently gained notoriety for having some of Brownsville's best authentic home-style Mexican restaurants. Vera's Backyard Bar-B Que was recently featured on The Texas Bucket List. Brownsville residents regularly make their way to taquerias and eateries on Southmost.  When I was an elementary school student, I was bused to Morningside Elementary for school. Our school bus always drove down Southmost, and I clearly remember passing by a drive-in theater on the way to school. Eventually, the drive-in would be torn down and an H-E-B would eventually be built around the area where the drive-in was. If you continue driving down Southmost past Morningside Road, Southmost begins twisting, turning, and curving. Eventually, you'll reach Sabal Palm Grove Road. Whe...
Read more

Forces Beginning to Align Against LNG Projects at the Port: Clupper, Port Isabel, Et al.

By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission handed down their decision late last year — the three companies wanting to construct liquefied natural gas pipelines and terminals at the Port of Brownsville had the green light to continue with the process to begin constructing their infrastructure. The next step is for the companies to make their final investment decision (FID) in regards to physically beginning to build the plants and pipelines. Industry experts believed the project could have gotten off the ground as early as the first quarter of this year. The port is a huge moneymaker for the city and the state, as a whole. Statistics show the Port of Brownsville as the second ranked port for the value of exports and has been ranked third of almost 300 foreign trade zones in the United States. Studies also show over 50,000 jobs are either directly or indirectly supported by the port. The LNG plants were a big feather in the cap of the ...
Read more

Thoughts on Erasmo Castro and his Upcoming Candidacy for State Representative

By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon The Erasmo Castro saga continues to hurl out of control. Like an obsolete, failing satellite falling out of orbit and plummeting back to earth, Castro announced his resignation from the Brownsville Independent School District board of trustees.  Castro's castle walls were constantly bombarded by his critics, by parents and citizens of Brownsville, and by other board members. Eventually, all the cannonades were able to break through the walls and Castro hoisted the white flag of surrender.  Social media, the Brownsville Blogosphere, and other online outlets, exploded a few hours ago as news of Castro's resignation hit the internet. The Brownsville Herald and KVEO posted articles saying Castro submitted his resignation letter this morning. According to his social media posts, Castro stated he would be resigning to take care of his "alleged Class B Misdemeanor Charge." His resignation letter reads: Dea...
Read more