Midway - For freedom
Midway - For Freedom (original title Midway ) is a historical action drama by Roland Emmerich that was released in German cinemas on November 7, 2019 and in US cinemas the following day. The film tells of the Battle of Midway , a decisive naval battle of the Pacific War in World War II.
action
In 1937, Edwin T. Layton , the American naval attaché in Japan, attends a banquet given by Admiral Yamamoto . In a personal conversation with Layton, Yamamoto, a more moderate exponent of imperialist Japanese politics, warns that cutting off Japan's oil supplies would lead to the radicals in Japan taking hold.
As a result, the film shows the development of the Pacific War , primarily from the perspective of dive combat pilot Richard Halsey Best and that of Edwin T. Layton, now head of the Pacific Fleet's intelligence service. The combat operations shown include the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , the first American counter-attack against the Marshall Islands , the Doolittle Raid and the Battle of the Coral Sea . The film culminates in the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Victory in this battle turns the war in the Americans' favor.
Historical background
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From June 4 to 7, 1942, large units of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the United States Navy fought at the Midway Islands. The Midway Islands are the most westerly of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands after the small Kure Atoll and at that time they were the westernmost outpost of the Americans in the Central Pacific. The strategic value of the islands themselves was low, as their small size made them only suitable as a reconnaissance base. The battle, which ended with the sinking of four Japanese aircraft carriers, is considered to be the turning point of the Pacific War. From then on, the Japanese armed forces were on the defensive. One of the commanders of the US fleet was Chester W. Nimitz , another Raymond A. Spruance . Yamaguchi Tamon was a Japanese admiral who died in the Battle of Midway in 1942.
production
Directed by Roland Emmerich , who made a reputation in Hollywood as the "Master of Disaster". The screenplay was written by Wes Tooke , who first worked in this role for a feature film.
Luke Evans plays Lieutenant Commander Wade McClusky , Woody Harrelson plays Admiral Chester Nimitz and Luke Kleintank plays Lieutenant Clarence Earle Dickinson. Jake Weber took over the role of Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance . James Carpinello plays Captain Brockman, Patrick Wilson took on the role of Edwin Layton and Mandy Moore that of Anne Best. Tadanobu Asano , a Japanese film actor who plays mostly dark and often insane characters, took on the role of Rear Admiral Yamaguchi Tamon .
The filming took place between September 24th and December 12th 2018 in Montreal , Canada . Further recordings were made off Hawaii . Robby Baumgartner acted as cameraman .
The film music was composed by Harald Kloser and Thomas Wanker . The soundtrack, which includes 23 pieces of music, was released for download on November 8, 2019 by Music.Film Recordings and Varese Sarabande.
A first trailer was presented at the end of June 2019. The first screening of the film took place on October 24, 2019 in the Munich Astor Film Lounge in the Filmpalast. The film was released in German cinemas on November 7, 2019 and in US cinemas the following day.
reception
Age rating
In the US, the film was rated PG-13 by the MPAA . In Germany, the film was approved by the FSK from the age of 16. The statement of reasons for the release states that the focus is on the visually powerful fighting and the heroically staged US fighter pilots who have to compete against a large Japanese force, and that civilians and soldiers who have been killed several times can be seen in the course of the numerous war and action scenes. The one-sided hero portrayal of the Americans can be put into historical context and critically questioned by viewers aged 16 and over.
Reviews
Overall, the film received mixed feedback from the critics.
The film critic Antje Wessels comments on the visual presentation of the film: "Here it becomes clear very quickly that the content of the film breathes through and through the air of early Ninties war actioners, but was made in 2019." Made by hand here Namely, hardly anything anymore, the burned explosions, of which there are various, all came from the computer, and flames of fire, crashing planes and the hubbub on aircraft carriers, all of this seems artificial. Even if Midway - For Freedom is not a good film, it cannot be denied that it is quite entertaining.
According to Markus Keuschnigg from the press , Midway is a film “with many characters, but without characters” and “dozens of supporting roles with dashing young men that are difficult to distinguish from one another”, but thanks to Emmerich's routine production “it works halfway”.
Gross profit
The budget of around 100 million US dollars is offset by worldwide revenues of 123.1 million US dollars, of which the film was able to gross around 57 million US dollars in North America (as of January 2020).
synchronization
The German synchronization was for a dialogue book and the dialogue director of Benedict Rabanus on behalf of scala media .
| actor | Voice actor | role |
|---|---|---|
| Ed Skrein | Manuel Straube | Lieutenant Richard "Dick" Best |
| Patrick Wilson | Manou Lubowski | Edwin Layton |
| Woody Harrelson | Thomas Nero Wolff | Admiral Chester W. Nimitz |
| Luke Evans | Sascha Rotermund | Lieutenant Commander Wade McClusky |
| Mandy Moore | Anja Stadlober | Anne Best |
| Dennis Quaid | Martin Umbach | Vice Admiral William F. Halsey |
| Aaron Eckhart | Tom Vogt | Lieutenant Colonel James Harold Doolittle |
| Nick Jonas | Armin Schlagwein | Bruno Gaido |
| Brennan Brown : | Marcus Off | Joseph Rochefort |
| Alexander Ludwig | Jannik Endemann | Lieutenant Roy Pearce |
Web links
- Midway - For the freedom in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Midway - For freedom in the German dubbing index
- Midway - For freedom at crew united
Individual evidence
- ^ Certificate of Release for Midway - For Freedom . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry (PDF; test number: 194723 / K).
- ↑ 'Midway' soundtrack details. In: filmmusicreporter.com, November 7, 2019.
- ↑ Regina Singer: "Midway": First trailer for Roland Emmerich's war film with a star cast. In: filmstarts.de, June 27, 2019.
- ^ Special Midway Screening. In: Filmecho / Filmwoche . October 25, 2019, accessed October 29, 2019 .
- ^ Jochen Müller: Photo of the day: Special screening of "Midway" in Munich. In: Blickpunkt: Film, October 25, 2019.
- ↑ Start dates Germany In: insidekino.com. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
- ^ Reason for release for Midway - For freedom In: Voluntary self-control of the film industry. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
- ↑ Midway - For Freedom at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- ↑ Antje Wessels: Midway. In: Wessels-Filmkritik.com. November 6, 2019, accessed November 7, 2019 .
- ↑ Markus Keuschnigg: "Midway": Brave Cowboys in the Pacific War. Die Presse , November 8, 2019, accessed November 10, 2019 .
- ↑ Midway. In: boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved January 25, 2020.