I don't want to carry on too long about this shoddy film because it isn't worth it. Okinawa was an important objective towards the end of the Pacific War, a sizable island intended for use as a staging area for the invasion of Japan. It was a terrible battle fought under terrible conditions. Mud was everywhere, and civilians died by the thousands. It was one of the few battles in which the Navy suffered greater casualties than the Army and Marines ashore. The main reason for the difference lay in the first massive use of suicide airplanes, loaded with explosives, called Kamikazes. They managed to sink or put out of action more than 33 American ships as well as some others belonging to Allied forces. And they inflicted damage on still more. About 6,000 naval officers and men were casualties.
This movie exploits the Battle of Okinawa. We watch a destroyer attacked by flights of Kamikazes every once in a while, in between long sessions of the usual minor conflicts and bantering of the crew. The bantering sounds more desperate than funny. The overall impression is that someone realized that a good deal of footage of the attacks had recently been released but not yet used in a feature film. So a few dumb clichés were slapped together to build a framing story in which the newsreel footage could be interpolated.
I was disappointed -- almost ashamed -- when I saw this the first time, about twenty years ago. I've watched it again since then and it hasn't improved. It's an insult to the men, women, and children who were involved.
This movie exploits the Battle of Okinawa. We watch a destroyer attacked by flights of Kamikazes every once in a while, in between long sessions of the usual minor conflicts and bantering of the crew. The bantering sounds more desperate than funny. The overall impression is that someone realized that a good deal of footage of the attacks had recently been released but not yet used in a feature film. So a few dumb clichés were slapped together to build a framing story in which the newsreel footage could be interpolated.
I was disappointed -- almost ashamed -- when I saw this the first time, about twenty years ago. I've watched it again since then and it hasn't improved. It's an insult to the men, women, and children who were involved.