Otoko-tachi no Yamato (2005)

[Johann]

YAMATO


This "60th Anniversary of the Yamato's sinking" film is very beautiful and very compelling to me. I loved watching every minute. I was told about this film (and another one that I've been recommended to check out: Rengo Kentai), which dramatizes the story of the biggest battleship ever built (by the Imperial Jap Navy): the Yamato.

"Yamato" is the Ancient Japanese poetic word for "Japan", so that name is not taken lightly by Japanese people. Indeed, today the legend of the Yamato is massive in Japan, with a gorgeous museum in Kure dedicated to the Supership, and young Japanese idolize it with a space cartoon that elevates the Yamato to a ship amongst the stars. It was an illegal battleship, and Japan broke a treaty with it's construction. The Japanese didn't play fair in that war...
It was just about as long as the Titanic and no battleship has ever matched her in size. From any country. (of course aircraft carriers are bigger, but that's another matter).

The ship was attacked by 600 aircraft during a final suicide mission against the American fleet battling to capture Okinawa and was sunk on April 7, 1945, losing almost all of her 2700 crew members. (2,498 men were lost and the Captain lashed himself to the bridge in his final moments, shouting "I am one with the Yamato")
The battle scenes in this film have to be seen to be believed.
They are the whole reason you should watch the film.

Although, my navy history friend says he doesn't understand why the filmmakers wouldn't present the attack exactly as it happened, with an hour and a half in between waves of aircraft- subtitles are there for every other major event in the film, why not one saying "an hour and a half later another wave of aircraft advanced"? which would be a good time to show quick edits of crew members doing repairs, fighting more fires and other tasks that the history books say they did after the attacks. He also doesn't understand why the ship was being hit with way more bombs than it actually was because the authenticity of everything else was immaculate. The uniforms, the training, the scale sets of the ship (which are stunningly blended with realistic CGI), the DISCIPLINE of the Japanese Navy! Wow.
Those guys weren't sissies by any stretch.
You fuck up on a Yamato class ship and you seriously suffer, Paco!
I won't tell you the scenes, you'll just have to watch it.
Those Japs didn't fuck around.

There are various criticisms of the movie online that I've read and I don't know what to make of them.
I feel Yamato is an important, classic film that properly honors the to-be-respected Japanese people when it comes to engineering and dedication to fighting a hell of a fight.
Some shots of that ship are really something in this movie man..
They convey the size of it quite well, with nice emphasis on it's massive guns.

For military types and war buffs this film is a can't-miss feature.
It was not released outside of Japan for obvious reasons.
The Japanese don't want to put too much of a glory spotlight on this particular part of it's WWII history- these battleships were supposed to be secret weapons, and all information about them is available but not widely trumpeted. Nobody wants to see Japanese military chest beating...so it's an under-the-radar Epic war film.
Directed by Junya Sato
Excellent Cinematography by Yoshitaka Sakamoto

[Johann]

This is a clip from Otto Preminger's In Harm's Way (1965), which has a simulated shot of the Yamato, with cigarette smoking Yank sailors which the Japs would've spotted with their night vision ten miles away, and actual footage of genuine ships (oil tankers?)being torpedoed by U-Boats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q455S9oGPM

[Johann]

There is a fictional novel (alternate history) of the Yamato battleship that is only available in the Japanese language called "Senkan Yamato", published in 2002, where the cover has a painting of the ship grounded in Okinawa (it's original plan for the final battle) and firing at the Americans, casualties on the deck.
If you understand Japanese and are interested in checking out another (alternate) part of Yamato lore, then go to www.yesasia.com and search Japanese books for "Senkan Yamato". You'll see the listings.

[Johann]

Did any of you guys know that German U-Boats took photos of New York harbour in 1942?

I'll try to find the footage I saw of it on youtube...

[Johann]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSZQ7Crpi4k&feature=related

[Johann]

If you were wondering why the cameraman doesn't help out when the boat is flooding, it's because he's a "Propaganda Kameraman", a "PK", and he had orders...

[Johann]

Here's a couple links to some interesting items, like the amazing stealth plane Gotha Ho-229. If the war had lasted another 6 months the Germans could've achieved local air support over Germany. And that could've altered the outcome of surrendering in May 1945. This aircraft was to be ready to go Aug./Sept. 1945.

I mention it because there is an alternate history where a German painter made a painting of the Gotha providing air cover for the Yamato! Imagine that. They would've made Okinawa no problem!

That plane was made of plywood and filled with charcoal dust (to reduce radar signature by 58%) and had a slender airfoil just like the B-2 Stealth bomber's got. It's armament was two 30mm cannons.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/germany/horten_ho-9.php

http://www.screenshotworld.com/forum/index.php?autocom=downloads&showfile=623*click on the first main image on the page to enlarge!*

http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/horten.html

http://www.luft46models.com/manufacturers/ho/ho229/ho229.jpg

http://www.luft46.com/horten/hox.html

and my favorite painting of it: (Luft46.com has the best Masterpiece paintings of German secret advanced Air Force weaponry). Ahead of it's time, wasn't it?

http://www.luft46.com/mrart/mr229-1.jpg

[Johann]

And check out this insane plane:

http://www.greyfalcon.us/Sanger.htm

[Johann]

http://www.truveo.com/TRIEBFLUGEL/id/430317923

TRIEBFLUGEL means "Tri" or "tri-flight"

[Johann]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TheaRMubVxk

She defeats the attacking American air force, then reaches Okinawa to engage the American invasion fleet!

It's pretty awesome to my eyes...

[Johann]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvtxjSrImHw

[Johann]

In the Kreigsmarine footage I posted, of significant note is the way the German sailors salute. It's a Naval salute. They didn't do no Hitler "Seig Heil" salute. Ever.

And did you know that Hitler thought the Bismarck was "underarmed"?

Tell that to the Hood.

[Johann]

And Captain Hardegen was a Captain with humanity.
He always picked up the survivors from ships he sunk.
He survived the war and has had a long life. Heavily awarded man, even by the United States!
He had the balls to tell Hitler to stop building tanks and to build more U-Boats.
Hitler couldn't believe it.
He's still alive, the salty old bastard!

*the German Navy was NEVER prosecuted for war crimes. They always made efforts to pick up survivors, unlike the Japanese, who were really HATED. The Japs machine gunned survivors*

[oscar jubis]

I read your review and subsequent posts with great interest. I wouldn't call myself a "military type" or a war buff but I'm interested in history and I enjoy spectacle. I'm convinced YAMATO provides plenty of both. So it goes on my list of films to watch with my promise to post again when I do that.

[Johann]

Awesome. Hope you do.
You will LOVE Yamato.
The cinematography will impress you very much.
And the battle scenes...forget about it.
You won't believe your eyes.
Better than Saving Private Ryan perhaps?
Interested in how you like it.
Although I'm not sure how you can locate it in the States.
Netflix have it?

Also, the sound on the DVD-R copy I have is in dolby digital.
I paid three bucks for it in chinatown.
It's an exact rip from the original DVD.
It even has the bonus features.
$3!
The battle scenes are unreal in surround sound.
It's really too bad none of us across the pacific got to see it on the big screen.

[oscar jubis]

Not Netflix. I would have to buy the Asian import. Or download it directly onto disc. This is what some professors and students at UM do when a film is not otherwise available.

[Johann]

Coolness.

[Johann]

Check this out. Watch it to the very end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V8O_7olz7I

[Johann]

Amazing footage of the Bismarck:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKScoC7WigE

[Johann]

http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/images/B000C5PNSW/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=561958&s=dvd

Deluxe LIMITED EDITION 3-DVD box set.
It comes with a 100 page book.
There are 14 used ones on the page I looked at.
There's also a single disc and a double disc release if you really don't want the 3-DVD set.

[Johann]

All you guys are American.
How many of you knew about the Bat Bombs?

http://www.dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/508516

[Johann]

Here's a clip from YAMATO, one of the battle scenes.

*WARNING: GRAPHIC*


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUl1mAjTTb0

[Johann]

Some other shots of the Gotha:

http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/45410763/m/9061068537

You can clearly see the plywood vs. metal parts...

[Johann]

http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/reader/443408142X/ref=sib_dp_pt_#reader-link

[Johann]

Click on the curser to the right of the image twice to see a very rare photo from the top bridge of the Yamato looking down.
It's incredible.
That pic was taken when she was still being fitted out.
That's why there's no crew or anybody on the ship.

The Yamato sank in 4 hours.
That's how long it took to take on 57, 500 tonnes of water.

It also helps to know that these class of ships were built with the intent to always upgrade to 20-inch guns. That's just incredible.
Each shell weighs 3 tons!
Imagine getting broadsided with one of those puppies.

[Johann]

The Musashi (sister ship of the Yamato) was in the news in late 2008 because they have located the wreck off the coast of the Phillipines and intend to raise her. (!)
A Swiss firm is willing to put up the money to salvage the wreck and float her, which will then become a museum in the Phillipines, a joint effort between Japan/Switzerland/Phillipines.

It would be incredible to be there the day that that ship is brought to the surface! It would be incredible to just see the thing. The other sister ship, the Shinano (which was converted to an aircraft carrier) could also be raised. Her hull was completely intact, she was sunk near the Inland sea of Japan, after taking 4 torp hits. My naval history friend says that the ship should be upright to raise her, and we don't know how she looks on the bottom.
Not all watertight doors and hatches on the Shinano were fitted or sealed or tested for water integrity. Not good. She progressively flooded and sank hours after being hit. The Yamato is pretty much beyond salvation, because it's in three parts.
Raising the Musashi is big news but after searching the net I can't find any pics of the wreck site or news from the talks between countries on the Musashi's fate. Tourist attraction or staying at the bottom?
Time will tell. In 2005 a German model builder built a big aquarium with his model of the sunken Musashi in it! It looks great:
http://www.modellversium.de/galerie/5-schiffe-militaer/1140-das-wrack-der-musashi.html


And here's a dramatic painting of the Musashi sinking:

http://www.ijn.dreamhost.com/Reference/Images%20-%20Reference/Maru%20Special/Large/MS%20105.jpg

And also of note is that the Bismarck technically could be raised as well but it's so deep in the ocean (deeper than the Titanic) that it would be quite difficult. And anybody who thinks battleships have never been raised, it was done many times, by both Germany and Italy. Italy raised the daVinci. (And the U.S. "righted" the Oklahoma from Pearl Harbour- it was then sold for scrap and sank while being towed).
Plus Britain raised a German fleet of 12 ships from WWI! (Germany scuttled them after the war). And then there's Scapa Flow, where many battleships or battle cruisers were raised, after scuttling.
Lots of info out there.
Look it up.
You want me to do all your research for you?
Huh?

[Johann]

Some nice photos of the actual Yamato:

http://www.ijn.dreamhost.com/Reference/Images%20-%20Reference/Maru%20Special/Large/MS%20052.jpg

To the middle of the left of the left photo, you can see the Yamato's range finder, and that bad boy was fifty feet long!

[Johann]

Painting of the Yamato under attack:

http://www.ijn.dreamhost.com/Reference/Images%20-%20Reference/Maru%20Special/Large/MS%20107.jpg

[Johann]

Painting of Yamato and Musashi together:

http://www.ijn.dreamhost.com/Reference/Images%20-%20Reference/Maru%20Special/Large/MS%20115.jpg

[Johann]

An actual photo of the Musashi under attack taken by an American pilot

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/h63000/h63432.jpg

[Johann]

And here's a very interesting link to a model of the Yamato that wasn't quite complete (you can see guns aren't fully mounted) but is still awesome to look at:

http://digiphoto.us/dppages/yamato_dp.htm

[Johann]

Another great link to some excellent stuff:

First, walkaround photos of the set of the Yamato movie.
(It has all been since dismantled, but you can clearly see that it was all real, almost to scale)

http://www.modelwarships.com/features/walkaround/yamato/index.htm

[Johann]

And here's some awesome paintings by Mr. Steve Nuttall, a genius painter in my humble.

http://bismarck-class.dk/miscellaneous/illustrations_and_drawings/steve_nuttall/illustr_musashi_steve_nuttall.html

[Johann]

And his art of the Yamato on sea trials (Dec-Jan. 1942) and the sinking:

http://www.bismarck-class.dk/miscellaneous/illustrations_and_drawings/steve_nuttall/illustr_yamato_steve_nuttall.html

[Johann]

Here's a link to some great footage of Italy's Littorio class battleships:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyPAqBeJi-A

[Johann]

The logo "LUCE" on the footage means "light" in Italian, and yes, they made propaganda films. That is obvious.

[Johann]

This thread is pretty much complete as far as me adding more posts but anyone is welcome to add to it if you have some good info or links. I think I've gotten across how impressive the Yamato was.

At the University of Toronto they have an original copy of an out of print book written during the war (1942) by Cecil Brown, a reporter. It's personal and intimate, a rare thing at the time, called Suez to Singapore.
He has a statement in there that captures the essence:

For the rest of my life, peace will be unnatural.
Forever in my nostrils will be the smell of death. Always there will be in my ears the scream of Stukas and always in my eyes the crash of bombs, and mangled bodies torn apart and streets splattered with blood. Forever, there will be in my heart the lust to kill evil men, the consuming desire for vengeance against men who had sown misery and murder in this world.

[Johann]

Watching the DVD, will write review soon. Incredible foreign film.

[cinemabon]

Taking a break and thought I'd check in. I missed this blog and thought I'd weigh in. Quite a debate going online about the Yamato vs the Bismark. Several opinions expressed on many different websites. The film sounds intriguing. I'll have to check it out. Hope you've had a great summer, Johann. I've enjoyed your facebook posts, too.

Still trying to beat the Sept 15th deadline, so I'm swamped with edits. Take care, everyone. Bon cinema from cinemabon.

[Johann]

YAMATO..



The daughter of Petty Officer Uchida wants to visit the site of the sinking of the Yamato on the 60th anniversay of the sinking, but no sailor is willing to take her. She catches a break when she meets a fellow crew member of her fathers laying a wreath at a grave marker on the coast of Kure. He didn't know that Uchida had survived the sinking, he had a special relationship history with Uchida- he helped him out onboard when he needed it most. So he agrees to take her out to the site, 200 miles away, in rough seas. She thanks him for doing it for her sake.

He says "Not for your sake".
He has a brief flashback to the mega ship, then the titles come up on the bow of the YAMATO, in CGI glory.

[Johann]

Throughout the film we're shown in flashback the story of the Yamato (1942-1945) , while Ms. Uchida is escorted to the wreck site.

Early on we get black and white newsreel footage of WWII scenes, that give us some context (Gaudalcanal, etc.) and the first images we see in the film are of artifacts from the Yamato museum in Kure and the 1985 & 1999 underwater footage of the shipwreck from submersible subs (a la Titanic)
Meticulous recreations of the mighty supership are something to behold. Everything is almost to scale, and when the young recruits first arrive and go aboard, you feel the awe they felt when they first saw the battleship, an 18-story tall floating BASE.

We are shown how disciplined and no-nonsense the Japanese Imperial Navy was. Training, newbies being shown their battle stations and strict discipline are all-consuming. From waking to battle stations, they drill it until they are battle ready in almost 5 minutes! From sleep to laying down fire! Five minutes! It almost makes you wonder how they lost the war..
A recruit drops a 16-inch shell and is whipped and beaten severely: "You could have killed us all!"
Abuse of recruits gives you pause. They are clearly owned by the Imperial Jap Navy. You had no life.
You did your job for the Nation, with no excuses whatsoever. If the enemy don't kill you, the State will for not being up to snuff...
But the sailors look out for each other and form lasting comradeships as a result, regardless of losing almost 3,000.
The first major action sequence is the all-important battle of Leyte Gulf in Oct. '44- a huge battle in WWII, and the crew who survive the battle learn what combat really is at sea.
Awesome battle scenes. War at its most raw.

Kamio, PO Uchida's friend and escort for his daughter 60 years later has a scare while heading out for the wreck- his health is failing, and Ms. Uchida and the boy deckhand help to revive him. They almost head back, but Kamio is adamant that he'll take Ms. Uchida to her destination. And when they get there, an emotional turning point occurs. I won't ruin it for you. Just see it.
The final battle that doomed the Yamato is incredible, and the sinking is handled with the same epic intensity that James Cameron gave us with Titanic.
So many attack planes..so many killed and injured....that war was brutality incarnate.
Yamato is a first-class film, one that provides an alternate view of WWII, one that is important and relevant to understanding the full context of the war. I'm no expert on this- I'm just trying to impart some interest in this fascinating period of history.
Ever since the Yamato story came into my knowledge last year I've been fascinated by it.
I even want to go to Kure someday to visit that museum..(and visit Ozu & Kurosawa's graves while I'm at it)
There's something very noble and mysterious about the Yamato and Musashi & Shinano that grabs me.

[Johann]

If anyone knows where to buy a blu-ray copy of YAMATO, please let me know!