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Pearl Harbor on the big screen

Frank Sinatra, right, stands with fellow actors Montgomery Cliff, left, and Burt Lancaster in this scene from the film “From Here to Eternity.” Sinatra’s performance won him an Oscar as best supporting actor in 1953. (Associated Press)
Frank Sinatra, right, stands with fellow actors Montgomery Cliff, left, and Burt Lancaster in this scene from the film “From Here to Eternity.” Sinatra’s performance won him an Oscar as best supporting actor in 1953. (Associated Press)
By Scott Maben scottm@spokesman.com(509) 459-5528

Seven films about the attack on Pearl Harbor and its aftermath:

“December 7th” is a 1943 propaganda film about the day of infamy, directed by John Ford and Gregg Toland and produced by the U.S. Navy. Scenes include the recovery of damaged ships and shoring up Oahu’s defenses.

“From Here to Eternity,” 1953, a drama set on Oahu in the months before the attack and depicting the troubles of three Army soldiers played by Frank Sinatra, Montgomery Clift and Burt Lancaster. The cast also includes Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Ernest Borgnine and Jack Warden.

“In Harm’s Way,” a 1965 epic by Otto Preminger, explores the lives of naval officers and their significant others through the Pearl Harbor attack and the following year of war. It stars John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, Patricia Neal and Burgess Meredith.

“Tora! Tora! Tora!” from 1970 sought to depict the Pearl Harbor attack from both the U.S. and Japanese points of view. It stars Joseph Cotten, Sō Yamamura, E.G. Marshall and Jason Robards.

“1941” is a 1979 comedy directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi and John Candy. It portrays panic in and around Los Angeles after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

“The Final Countdown,” 1980, is a science fiction flick in which the modern-day aircraft carrier USS Nimitz transports through time to the day before the Pearl Harbor attack. Stars Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen and Charles Durning.

“Pearl Harbor,” 2001, is director Michael Bay’s action-romance epic, with graphic special effects of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Doolittle Raid on Japan in 1942. It stars Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Josh Hartnett and Cuba Gooding, Jr.