The Battle of Midway (1942)

Were it not for the fact that this comes with Adm. John Ford’s provenance attached to it, this short feature really wouldn’t amount to much more than a collection of newsreel-style actuality as the battle of Midway took place in the summer of 1942. It’s interesting that he chose enthusiastic Briton Donald Crisp to lead the narration with the likes of Henry Fonda, and there is a plethora of real-time action photography from aboard ship and plane to give this an authentic feeling of explosive and perilous reportage, but much of it’s value lies in it’s context: showing that barely six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor the United States military was wreaking revenge and taking the fight very much to the enemy - and that it is winning too.