Midway (1976)

I saw the movie play in a theatre and I was greatly impressed.

I still enjoy the movie BUT! at the same time I am disappointed.

When it was released first on VHS and now on DVD I was greatly disappointed to see how much film footage has been cut out from the original theatrical release.

In its original release MIDWAY ran for almost 2 hours 45 minutes.

On VHS and DVD it runs for 2 hours 10 minutes. What happened to all the othe extra scenes???

Where is the Battle of the Coral Sea which was shown in the original movie?

Furthermore they cut out the surround sound and made it Mono.

It is ridiculous that the have a Special Feature on Surround Sound, but the DVD was made in Mono sound.

And they call this DVD a Special Collector's Edition???

Come on Universal give us the full extended theatrical release along with 5.1 Surround Sound.

Looks like they forgot to include the other hour and fifty minutes of the COLLECTORS EDITION !The sound is mono...yes mono!They forgot the movie portrays history!They also forgot that this is cinematic history as well.For years,I enjoyed watching this movie with my dad and brothers.It was one of the few subjects my dad and I could talk about for hours.Universal has short changed everyone looking to buy the four hour version.I hope they see the error of their ways by the poor sales of this version and begin to re-store the long sought after four hour version on dvd....they owe it to the veterans(of which,I am one),and history buffs.

Buy Midway (1976) Now

Why won't someone put out a complete version of this movie on DVD or even VHS. It is a much better movie when complete and you almost never see it that way. TNT seems to be the only one who shows it that way and they almost never do so, TBS and TCM also show it but in various cut down versions. If the people who put these DVDs and VHSs out are so fond of the cut down version, why not release a two DVD set with the cut and complete versions on it so us werdos who like to watch complete movies can get our fix.

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I have seen "Midway" countless times, and find it impressive for many reasons: The many scenes that contain original war footage, the fabulous cast, and the degree of historical accuracy, which is exceptional for a Hollywood epic.

Some of the WWII footage is riveting, and is edited to blend in well with the 1976 cinematography by Harry Stradling Jr., which is also marvelous; a good score by John Williams also adds to the atmosphere, though mostly we hear the sounds that would have been heard at the time...the roar of the sea, the wind, and the exploding bombs.

Many of the fascinating figures of history are represented well, and a few brilliantly, like Hal Holbrook as Commander Joseph Rochefort, the man who intercepted and broke the codes. Holbrook's portrayal is much like the real man, who working many times 20 hour shifts in a bunker, was a little scruffy, and had crucial information that was an essential part of the battle plans.

Henry Fonda is great as Admiral Chester Nimitz, and other big stars include Glenn Ford, Robert Mitchum, Toshiro Mifune, James Coburn, Cliff Robertson and Robert Wagner. I love the way the battle is planed like a chess game by both American and Japanese leaders, moving little "boats" around on a big map, each side trying to outwit the other. It also lays out the basics of the battle and makes it fairly understandable for the non-military person.

Charlton Heston is terrific as Captain Matthew Garth, the fictional character in the script, who has to deal with his son (Edward Albert), in love with a Japanese-American girl (Christina Kokubo), who has been interned with her parents. This little bit of "romance" I imagine was included in the film to round out the "human interest", and though I could have lived without this non-historical addition, it is peripheral to the action.

Admiral Nimitz said that the Battle of Midway was "The battle that made everything else possible", and this film is an excellent way to get a feel for the momentous events of that time, with its heroism, tragedy, extraordinary battle tactics, and men who changed the course of history.

Total running time is 132 minutes.

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Having read that the "Collectors' Edition" DVD would include footage omitted from the theatrical release, I assumed that Universal Studios had finally awoken, smelled the coffee, and included the 30 minutes or so of footage of the Battle of the Coral Sea that one can see when one watches the television version of this film. No such luck. Instead, the studio compounds the mistake it made when it included the goofy and anachronistic "son's fiance" sub-plot by adding not the Coral Sea footage, but two utterly goofy and superfluous domestic scenes with C. Heston and his wife before he leaves for work. Who does Universal thinks watches this type of movie, anyway? If Universal wants to tap into the latent market for DVDs of this film (and in its full version, sans fiance, this IS a good film), they should do the obvious: 1) include in its entirety all the missing footage of the Battle of the Coral Sea (an important context for what follows), and 2) relegate to the status of out-takes all the scenes involving the son's fiance -they don't ring true in the context of the film, and most people who like the rest of the movie delete them out of hand. There IS a market for a true "collectors' edition" of this film -but this isn't it! Bring on the Coral Sea footage, drop the silly "son's fiance" subplot, and give us the DVD that many of us can't wait to buy but can only find at present on TV! Until the studio gets the message, I'd hold off on buying this release and stick to watching the complete film whenever it comes on TV.

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