- The special effects department used burning sanitary balls to create billowing black smoke in the bombing scene. The US Environmental Protection Agency supervised the filming of the film. The crew is responsible for assisting in filming more than 40 large and small ships. A total of 190 computer special effects screens appeared in the film.
- The old-fashioned fighters that appeared in the film included 3 Japanese Aichi 99 carrier-based dive bombers, 3 replicas of Nakajima 97 carrier-based attack aircraft, 3 Zero fighters, US P-40 fighters, and 1 DC- 3 transport aircraft, 4 B-25 bombers and 1 Messerschmitt ME-109 fighter.
- The prototype of Leif's role was fighter pilot Joe Foss. During World War II, Foss shot down 32 enemy aircraft.
- Jon Voight thought he was an expert on Roosevelt, so he proposed himself to Michael Bemo and got the role of Roosevelt in the film.
- Kevin Costner refused to play the role of Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle in the film. Adrian Brody refused to play Ryder in the film. Ashton Kutcher had hoped to play Danny Walker. In order to star in "Sweet November", Charlize Theron refused to appear in the film.
- The producers initially hoped that Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow would co-star, but later due to a contract conflict, Damon and Paltrow missed the film.
- The script was originally called "Tennessee," and Disney paid nearly $2 million for the script. To star in the film, Ben Affleck, Josh Harnett and Alec Baldwin have all received pilot training.
- In order to imitate the overturn of the Oklahoma battleship, special effects coordinator John Fraser spent 4 months designing the world’s largest universal joint, and built this 700,000-pound pure steel universal joint. It also took 4 months. Not only can it rise 25 degrees, it can also flip 180 degrees.
- The exterior scenes of the Texas battleship were used to film the attack scenes of the Tennessee, Oklahoma, and West Virginia battleships, while the interior scenes were used for the inside scenes of the USS Hornet.
- The film took 109 days to complete, one day more than originally planned, and there were as many as 3000 crew members. The production and promotion costs of the film are roughly the same as the damage to Pearl Harbor that year. The premiere of the film was held aboard the USS Stanislas docked at Pearl Harbor.
- When looking for a location, the filmmakers found that Gary in Indiana was very similar to Tokyo in 1942, so the crew used Gary’s aerial footage as Tokyo that was attacked by Dolittle.
- Before shooting the film, Michael Bay watched "The Battle of Midway Island" and "Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! ", "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo", "The Sea of Fire", "Memphis Belle" and a large number of battlefield videos.
- In order to reduce the filming budget, Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay gave up a $4 million box office dividend, and several leading actors were willing to drop their pay.
- Before the filming started, the producer provided the crew with a funding of 140 million U.S. dollars, which was the highest at the time.
Pearl Harbor behind the scenes gags
2021-10-20 17:21
Extended Reading
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Rafe: J, L, M, K, P, O, E, T, X. Eyes like an eagle, ma'am.
Evelyn: Slow down, flyboy. And instead of the bottom, read the very top. Both eyes.
Rafe: Yeah. C. Sorry, J.
[Clears throat]
Rafe: C, W, uh, Q, uh, Q
Evelyn: [Smiles] Read the bottom line again, please, but read it right to left and every other letter.
Rafe: E, X...
Danny: X, E.
Rafe: X, E. X, E, ma'am. Ma'am, I know how this looks.
Evelyn: I'm sorry, Lieutenant. I really am, but army and navy requires 20/20 vision.
Rafe: Oh, I... It's not a problem with my eyes. I mean, I can see. I mean I can hit a runnin' rabbit with a $3.00 pistol. I got a problem with letters, that's all.
Evelyn: Well, maybe after some schooling, you could come back and take the test again.
Rafe: No, I had schooling. I mean, the teachers just never knew what to make of it, I... It's just letters. I mix 'em up sometimes. That's all. I mean, I just get 'em backword sometimes. Look here. My math and spatial reasoning and my verbal scores are all excellent.
Evelyn: But you barely passed the written exam.
Danny: Yeah, but he did pass it. So it's my turn now?
Evelyn: No, you'll wait your turn.
Danny: Yes, ma'am.
Rafe: Ma'am, I'm never gonna be an English teacher. But I know why I'm here: to be a pilot. And you don't dogfight with manuals. You don't fly with gauges. I mean, it's all about feeling and speed, and lettin' that plane become like a part of your body. And that manual says that a guy who's a slow reader can't be a good pilot. That file says I'm the best pilot in this room. Ma'am, please, don't take my wings.
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Lt. Red Winkle: Can a guy propose?