[ZzZ]

O.k.

just a telegram from me.

1.) I'm living in Germany. The movie is not in theatres here yet. So I haven't seen it.

2.) I first wanted to see it because I'm specially interested in the Pearl Harbor incident. I already visited Hawaii and the Arizona Memorial and read lots of books and articles about it. I also know Tora Tora Tora.

3.) Later I decided NOT to see that movie because all major german movie critics called it historically and politically inaccurate.

4.) I personally don't focus on ship designs and stuff like that. I want a true perspective behind the mask of official statements. What is the truth? Today many historians believe that the U.S. government knew about the Pearl Harbor attack before. Some even say Roosevelt provoked the attack on Pearl Harbour to have a reason for the US entering WWII. I don't know yet whether this part is implemented into the movie or if there will only be some nasty yellow Kamikaze pilots, that kill innocent Americans. But I will go and see for myself.

5.) The winner writes history - that's damn true. And war is ugly. But when you look back my personal opinion is that you should stick to historical details as much as you could. Unfortunately Hollywood movies nearly never achieve this.

My greatest disappointment on this was Private Ryan. Did you notice that there was not one afroamerican soldier in the whole movie? And that right after Amistad which has been a financial desaster for Dreamworks and Spielberg in special ... What I read in books says that about 30% of the US forces personell had been afroamerican people. Most of them in the lower rank (cannonfood ... that kind of peole that most Generals would use for a mission like Omaha beach).

An anti-war movie for me should never contain hope and it must show both sides of the fighting forces. Does anyone here know some German anti-war movies ... like Stalingrad, Das Boot (a Wolfgang Petersen film BTW) or Die Brücke (sorry, don't know the english titels)? They are great ... realistic, hopeless, show what everyone would experience when being part of a war ... you would hate it. This is what most Hollywood dierctors never found out ...

ZzZ