Hiroshima (1995)
Hiroshima is a 1995 Japanese / Canadian film directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara and Roger Spottiswoode about the decision-making processes that led to the dropping of the atomic bombs by the United States on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki toward the end of World War II. Except as actors, no Americans took part in the production. The three-hour film was made for television and evidently had no theatrical release, but is available on DVD for home viewing. A combination of dramatisation, historical footage, and eyewitness interviews, the film alternates between documentary footage and the dramatic recreations. Both the dramatisations and most of the original footage are presented as sepia-toned images, serving to blur the distinction between them. The languages are English and Japanese, with subtitles, and the actors are largely Canadian and Japanese.
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This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place
It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.
The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
So many others have given excellent comments about this made-for-TV film and so I shall not add any more to that except to say this is a very excellent film. Its use of historical footages add to the authenticity of its depiction. All i can say is that I found tears falling down my cheeks as the film ended--with the Emperor of Japan telling his military advisers that they too must endure the unendurable as he must. While I somehow felt some sympathy for him, I cannot understand why he did not use his imperial powers to stop these madmen from starting the war in the first place. The footage showing the soldiers with Gen. Wainwright need no words to describe the brutality of the Japanese occupation. Neither has Japan apologized for the atrocity done on so-called "comfort women." On the other hand, the photos taken right after the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki are too painful to look at. Dr. Oppenheimer was right in his assessment--(I paraphrase--)"We may developed a weapon that will put an end to all wars...but can man be trusted not to useit for evil purposes?" The good book tells us, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" I cried for all who suffered during the Bataan Death March, those who lived through the barbaric occupation of the Japanese Imperial Army but I also cried for the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki who had to endure the unendurable. In war, everyone loses. This film did not glorify war but gave a factual presentation of the events that led to the bomb which changed the course of modern history...it showed both sides--good and bad...and so I gave it the highest rating.
Excellent. Recounted are the events leading to President Truman's decision to drop an A-bomb on Hiroshima in 1945 and its aftermath. Filmed primarily in "tinted" black and white with the weaving of newsreel and stock footage. Witness testimonials put the explanation point on the haunting depictions. Kenneth Welsh is uncanny in his portrayal of Truman. Other stars of note are: Richard Masur, Leon Pownall, Wesley Addy, Daisaku Akino, David Gow, Ken Jenkins and Naohiko Umewaka. A must for WWII and history buffs.
This is an outstanding production. And I think it no coincidence that it wasn't produced in the US.Over 50 years later, American emotions still run high about our use of nuclear weapons against Japan; the recent backlash against the Smithsonian exhibit is proof. This film is a nuanced, balanced, objective treatment with, as far as I can tell, remarkable historical accuracy. One sees just how simplistic and myopic the leaders of both sides were as they made (or avoided making) momentous decisions that affected the entire future of the human race. The one voice of reason, scientist Leo Szilard, is brushed off with hardly a hearing.This film is an effective indictment of our human propensity to place enormous powers in the hands of just a few individuals. I doubt any American producer could have made it.The film deftly mixes historical footage with re-enacted scenes using actors. Normally this sort of thing is rather jarring, but here it works. Even the transitions between the real Truman in newsreel footage and the actor playing him work well.
This is a brilliant, meticulous recreation of the events, both political and military, leading up to the tragic attack on Hiroshima in August 1945.Brilliant performance by Kenneth Welsh as the Missouri haberdasher President Truman, strangely ill-dressed throughout this film in his trademark double-breasted suit and multi-coloured shoes. Here, Truman is a simplistic, Forrest Gump style president grappling with enormous moral issues about using the new gadget'.The excellent cinematography recreates the story in newsreel style footage, intercut with interviews with several people from the time. Also, shows the Japanese situation in Tokyo and the hardline military people on both sides.