Saturday at the Movies: Midway

No, not that one — this is original footage shot by John Ford and his cameramen at Midway during the attack.  This version of the classic film has been cleaned up and redone in hi-res – quite a feat considering the state of film at the time.  Be sure to watch in HD and full screen.  Some particulars from the email with the link:

When Ford viewed the rushes that he had taken at Midway — the massive explosions, the debris slamming into the camera, the spectacular raising of the flag amongst black clouds of ruin — he knew he had something special. But in a way, the material was too good — sure to be heavily redacted by the Navy as too frightful and disturbing for public consumption. So in Washington soon after the battle, the wily director secretly passed the reels to one of his young field photo editors, the former child actor Robert Parrish, and asked him to cut it down to a decent twenty-minute documentary. “Is it for the public or the OSS ?” Parrish asked.
“It’s for the mothers of America ,” Ford shot back. “It’s to let them know that we’re in a war, and that we’ve been getting the #### kicked out of us for five months, and now we’re starting to hit back.” (h/t Battle of Midway Roundtable)

And now . . . John Ford’s Battle of Midway:

By the way – how about stopping by the Valour-IT site (hit that thermometer up in the right corner there and it’ll take you there) and dropping a fin (or three) for Team Navy in appreciation ?

The vast editorial staff here heartily recommends it and you will have made a difference in the life of someone who has given so much for us.