Otoko-tachi no Yamato (2005)

[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/feature...mato/index.htm

[Johann]

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

http://bismarck-class.dk/miscellaneo...e_nuttall.html

[Johann]

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

http://www.bismarck-class.dk/miscell...e_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!