A- The scene in England where Rafe McCawley is given a Spitfire plane covered in the previous pilot's blood is factual. Equipment and manpower were so scarce in England in the early 1940's that planes would literally be passed on when their pilots were killed without anyone cleaning them.- The way the Japanese fleet is depicted as approaching Pearl Harbor is accurate. They really did 'disappear' from US radars and flood the airwaves with references to every possible target in the Pacific, making it impossible for the US to predict where they would attack.- As is depicted in the film, a young radar operator did indeed see the massive Japanese approach, but was told not to worry about it as the officer in charge thought it was only a group of B-17 Flying Fortresses returning to Hawaii from training in California. The officer was later exonerated for his decision as the B-17s in question were indeed approaching the islands at the time and actually arrived at their home airfield whilst it was beng attacked. The approach of a large number of aircraft towards Pearl Harbour that morning was therefore not unexpected and would not have raised any particular alarm.- The report which Admiral Kimmel receives about a destroyer firing on and sinking a Japanese midget sub about an hour before the first wave of enemy planes attacked is entirely accurate (although in reality, Kimmel never received the report). The patrol ship USS Condor spotted a sub in restricted waters just inside the harbor and contacted the USS Ward, which raced to the scene and opened fire. The Ward sank the sub with its second shot. A second Japanese midget sub actually penetrated Pearl Harbor's inner defences and fired two torpdoes. Both missed and the sub was rammed and sunk by the USS Monaghan. A Japanese reconaissance photograph taken during the raid appears to show a third midget sub broaching the surface as it fires a torpedo towards US warships. A fourth ran aground and its commander was captured.- The film is a little ambiguous in its depiction of the whereabouts of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (Mako) during the attack. Some people argue that the film implies Yamamoto is actually present on one of the Japanese carriers at Pearl Harbor itself, which would be historically inaccurate, as in reality Yamamoto was aboard the IJN Nagato in Tokyo Bay for the duration of the battle, with Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo in charge of the attack itself. However, if one watches the film closely, it is clear that Nagumo is correctly depicted as being in charge of the attack, whilst the two cutaways to Yamamoto contain no evidence that he is on board any of the carriers. This is especially obvious in the scene where Commander Minoru Genda (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) is surprised that Nagumo decides there will be no third wave of attacks. Obviously, if the film incorrectly depicted Yamamoto as attending the battle, it would be he who would take this decision, not Nagumo. However, it must be acknowledged that the film is a little unclear in depicting Yamamoto's location during the attack.- As is noted in the Trivia section, the scene of the Japanese gunner waving the kids away is entirely factual. It is believed that the Japanese crewman was apparently warning civilians on the ground to take cover since they were going to attack.- The scene where Lt. Red Winkle sees the planes heading towards the barracks whilst going to the toilet, before then rushing into the sleeping quarters to try to wake everyone up is based on the real experiences of Lt. Francis Gabreski.- Just before they take off during the Pearl Harbor attack, Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker are shown using a radio system which they hold against their throats as opposed to up to their mouths. This is historically accurate, as the communications device in P-40s worked by measuring vibrations in the vocal cords as opposed to simply transmitting the voices via radio waves.- Sailors really did report feeling torpedoes skim past their legs when they were in the water, as is shown in the film.- During the attack, nurses really did mark patients who had received morphine with an M, as well as mark them with a C for critical, and F for fatally wounded. Also, when they ran out of markers, they really did use lipstick.- Asian doctors and nurses did find themselves racially abused during and immediately after the attack, with many badly injured soldiers refusing to be treated by them.- As is referenced in the film, a third wave of attack planes was planned, an attack which would target the dockyards, maintenance shops, and oil depots, but Admiral Nagumo felt it was too big a risk as the Japanese had lost the element of surprise, and the US Navy and Army were beginning to mobilize. This is accurately portrayed in the film in the already mentioned scene involving Commander Minoru Genda who immediately protested Nagumo's decision.- As is briefly seen in the film, Roosevelt really did have a Hitler pincushion.- Lt. Col. James Doolittle really did wire the Japanese peace medals to the bombs before the Doolittle Raid, just as is depicted in the film (although where he places them is wrong; in the film he wires them to the head, but in reality, they were wired to the wings, as wiring them to the head could interfere with the detonation mechanism).- For the most part, the broader elements of the Doolittle Raid are depicted accurately, although some of the smaller details are inaccurate; the Raiders really were forced to launch early due to an encounter with a Japanese trawler which gave away the position of the USS Hornet before it could be destroyed, and they really did have to pitch down into China, where they encountered several Japanese patrols. Unlike in the film however, no US pilots were killed in skirmishes with Japanese soldiers. Also unlike in the film, none of the Raiders were actually killed during the attack itself (the film depicts one Raider killed by anti-aircraft flak). Fifteen of the sixteen B-25s made it to China (the 16th was low on fuel and had to head to Russia). Four crash landed and eleven bailed out. After touching down, ten men were unaccounted for; eight had been taken prisoner by the Japanese, two had died in the crashes. Of the eight prisoners, four survived, one died of malnutrition and the Japanese executed three, something which is not acknowledged in the film. According to Michael Bay on the DVD commentary, this point was actually mentioned in the original voiceover which closes the film, but, at the request of the Japanese government, it was removed, as it felt it might leave viewers with something of a sour taste as regards lingering animosity.
AThe R1 US 4-disc Director's Cut DVD released by Touchstone Home Entertainment in 2002 contains the following special features:A feature length audio commentary with producer/director Michael Bay and film historian Jeanine Basinger.A feature length audio commentary with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and actors Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Alec Baldwin.A feature length audio commentary with director of photography John Schwartzman, production designer Nigel Phelps, costume designer Michael Kaplan, supervising art director Martin Laing and composer Hans Zimmer.An Easter Egg (Disc 1) of a two minute clip explaining why widescreen is preferable for DVD transfer than traditional pan & scan techniques (Go to the 'Set Up' menu and highlight 'Audio Options'. Press down to highlight a Star, now press Enter).Faith Hill music video "There You'll Be"A trailer for the 'Beyond the Movie: Pearl Harbor' documentary, which can be found on the Two-Disc 60th Anniversary Commemorative Gift Set DVD.'Journey to the Screen: The Making of 'Pearl Harbor''; a 47 minute making-of documentary which also looks at the real life attack.An Easter Egg (Disc 2) of a ten minute selection of bloopers and outtakes (Go to the 'Special Features' menu and highlight the music video. Press right to highlight a Star, now press Enter).10 behind-the-scenes vignettes with optional commentary from producer/director Michael Bay, running a total of 21 minutes ('Airfield Attack', 'Baja Gimbal', 'Battleship Row', 'Dorie Miller', 'Dud Bomb', 'Mechanics Row', 'Nurse Strafing', 'Sandbag Stunt', 'Doolittle Raid', 'Arizona Dive'2 featurettes running a total of 21 minutes looking at the training the actors did to prepare for their roles in the film ('Soldier's Boot Camp with Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett', 'Officer's Boot Camp with Alec Baldwin')Super 8 footage shot to be used in the film as Navy newsreel footage (5 minutes)US teaser trailer and US theatrical trailer'History Undercover: One Hour Over Tokyo'; a 46 minute documentary looking at the real life Doolittle Raid'Unsung Heroes of Pearl Harbor'; a 46 minute documentary looking at the individual stories of the sailors involved in the Pearl Harbor attack'Oral History: The Recollections of a Pearl Harbor Nurse'; a letter written by Lieutenant Ruth Erickson, NC, USN is read aloud, accompanied by images of the attack (4 minutes)'Interactive Attack Sequence'; a 28 minute multi-angle/multi-audio look at the making of the attack scene in the film'Deconstructing Destruction'; a 21 minute conversation on the visual effects in the film between producer/director Michael Bay and visual effects supervisor Eric Brevig (also includes 28mins of optional branching footage)'Animatic Attack'; a 6 minute pre-viz of the attack sequence, with commentary from producer/director Michael Bay'When Cultures Collide: From Perry to Pearl Harbor'; a 68 minute documentary looking at the international relations between the United States and Japan from 1846 to 1941, in the form of an interactive timelineA gallery of production stillsPearl Harbor Website bibliography (DVD-ROM)The DVD also contains special period specific packaging in the form of a soldiers journal, a 24-page booklet and 4 lobby cards featuring the actors from the film.NOTE: There are multiple DVD versions of this film available. See here for more details.