When I got HBO in my apartment in 1981 while attending college, this movie was the main flick the first month of the service. This movie had so much impact on my life that eventually I served on the first Nimitz-class carrier in the Pacific Fleet, and subsequently the first Nimitz carrier at Pearl Harbor on December 7th. Sadly ... no Zeros were to be seen.
Great story. A similar thing happened to me after watching Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981. I went to college, earned a graduate degree and explored much of this ole' world while wearing fedora. :)
One of the Zero/T6 Texan pilots from the film passed recently. Tom Gregory, old P47 pilot. He was a good friend of my father. When I was growing up Tom would take me up for some flight time here and there. It was a blast. Thanks Tom.
Oh cool he was actually flying one of the zeros? Back when movies needed to use real people doing actual stunts but today they would have used cgi planes.
I was stationed on the USS Nimitz from 1981 - 1985 and saw this movie countless times. I was especially impressed with the F-14's maneuverability in this scene. I had already learned that at the time there were no actual Zeros flying, so Hollywood used T-6 Texans as "Hollywood" Zeros, so the speeds of the aircraft were much slower than an actual Zero. The F-14s still did a great job of maneuvering at what must have been just above stall speed.
at the Cleveland Airshow in the 90's they had a mock dogfight between an F14 and a P 51 Mustang.. the F 14 did EVERYTHING the P 51 could do... they broke and did an opposed circle ... the P 51 went by at full throttle at about 450 mph... then banked away.. from the opposing direction the F 14 came by with wings pulled back going almost 700.. full afterburner.... the sound was behind the plane by 200 feet or so ... very close to the sound barrier ... it took a couple days for my goosebumps to go back down ... whole demo reminded me of eagle chasing a crow ... F14 was huge by comparison... with wings forward, the F14 stuck to it easily ..
Certainly in the upper echelon for 1941 - there were faster planes available but not by a whole lot at the time and pretty much all carrier fighters had a top speed in the range of 325-340 mph. It wasn't until 1943-44 that the Americans had a decisive speed advantage with the Hellcat.
@@katherineberger6329 Yes...but compared to 2 F-14 Tomcats those Zeros were standing still.....the stunts they were doing were so they wouldn't stall out trying to keep pace with the zeros.
I saw this in the theater when it came out. It was fairly empty but there were a couple of sailors a few rows in front of me. When the Zero's were shot down they put their arms in the air crying out "YEAH!". Just one of those memories in life. Great movie.
when I started my 32 year career at Grumman I watched this movie many times,loved the flight deck scenes.A lot of people dont realize just how awesome the Tomcat was. I am proud to have worked on Hawkeyes , Tomcats, Greyhounds and Prowlers , all very awesome ,,the Hawkeye is still in service now.
We grunts are damn grateful to everyone involved in aviation, military and civilian. I worked closely with rotary-wing, of course. I also got to watch an F-16 smoke an insurgent strong point with a 500-pounder. Aviation has saved the lives of more ground-pounders than we could ever know. Sometimes the mere presence of aircraft was enough to deter any would-be attackers. If one of our birds even took fire, we were REDCON 1, if not already en route. Again, thank you very much. Charlie-Mike, we got your six.
Never would have been allowed. For one, the other commentors are correct in that the entire incident would have been classified top top top secret. Secondly, in the time period that the NIMITZ returns back to, the US Navy (including the Nimitz) would be participating in CIN-PAC maneuvers in the Pacific, and this includes our ALLIES the Japanese and the South Koreans. It would raise TONS of questions, why an American jet would have the kill mark for a (current) ally in the Pacific ;) LOL.
LOL, if he would have done that, then probably some weeks later, a US plane goes missing over Japanese controlled airspace... And then a Japanese fighter pilot suddenly would have appeared during joint maneuvers with a white star painted on the side of his F-15.
I was plane captain on the DET to Key West for filming the flying scenes. We painted 2 kill flags on 203. If you know where to look you can make them out in one of the scenes in the movie. I believe I am the only one with a photo - Link - i.imgur.com/kKD3Flw.jpg
Only two problems I've heard, 1. The Vulcan would have turned that Zero into confetti, no survivor. 2. The sidewinder wouldn't have been able to lock on the Zero because it wouldn't be hot enough for it. A missile shot was a waste of money anyway.
@@Folker46590 That version of the Sidewinder would've been able to lock a prop aircraft of the era no problem since they worked on the difference in temp of the target vs the background. The reality is that it would've tracked just fine, but the detonation would've resulted in the aircraft getting shredded rather than it exploding. Basically, the one hit by the Sidewinder would've been the one disabled, not the one hit by the Vulcan. But that also depends on where the 20mm round hit, and which of the mix hit it.
6:54 As goofy as this movie is, it's the ONLY movie that actually uses the real sound of a Vulcan cannon. So many movies make it sound like a freaking M-60 when they fire.
Not fast enough to save the SS Gatsby though. My Great Grand Uncle Harvey served aboard as captain and went down with the ship, because he couldn’t swim.
I feel exactly the same way when I see this scene. I don't know what it is but it makes me feel so proud to be an American when I see this and really proud of our Navy too. I'm really sorry that I never joined but that's another story. I feel like I really missed out on something. Oh well, what can you do.
The aerial photography on the F14s is what makes it. The pilots were really showing off for the camera. The F14 really looked pretty even with the wings spread wide, which was the only way they could possibly stay with those Zero err T6 Texans. Oh and did you notice the F14 using his flaps? Again in flying so slowly the pilot was using every trick in the book. I would even bet he split his throttles to get that big turkey to move like that.
and all the shots on the Nimitz, the crew was actually servicemen and film crew just had to film them. so yes in a way alot of this movie was paid for by taxpayers
I hope folks remember that this was BEFORE the age of CGI, so we're being treated to real and beautiful LIVE ACTION footage of actual planes flying around. There are some seriously beautiful aerial action cinematography in this sequence :)
Yeah, yeah. Except it never happened. All a lot of U.S. smug superiority. The reality of it was that the Japanese had air superiority over anything the U.S. had in planes in 1941.
Truth is stranger than fiction. The X wing foils being moved to attack position is a fictional nod to the sweep back of real life variable geometry aircraft. Not explaining myself very well here.
Should have been in New Zealand when it came out. We were at Wellington during a port call and were specially invited for the showing. We started cheering and shouting kick there asses etc. I looked over across the aisle at the important older invited New Zealanders in suits and nice dresses thinking were gonna get kicked out. And they were smiling and laughing at us. They knew we had just come from the Indian Ocean during the hostage crises and wanted some payback. Also I think a lot of them were WWII vets.
Oh and here is a random thing that will interest very few people. The black or Dominican officer that was always with the captain was Ron O’Neal. He played Youngblood Priest in the Blaxploitation film “Super Fly” and “Super Fly T.N.T.” He was also an enemy Colonel in “Red Dawn.”
I really loved this movie as a kid. Too bad F-14s were just too expensive for the USN to maintain. I mean Super Hornets are great and all and far more cost effective, but the Tomcat's looks and performance was just so awesome.
This scene gave me so much pride in America as a teenager, and quite the woody too! Back in the day when Ronald Regan was in charge and the America was great!
I watched this as a kid. My dad explained to me how much damage one tomcat could do. Then now I go to explain it to my kids. My kid asked me the same question I asked my dad. Loved it. Just the jet wash from the tomcats cutting close and cutting turns in front of those zeros would most likely down them.
If I remember correctly, Ward Carroll did a video about the filming of this movie, and said that the wild maneuvering when the Tomcats passed the Zeros wasn't scripted, but they actually almost went down due to the jet wash.
almost did. I saw an interview about this movie some years ago where the pilot related to the person being interviewed that when the F14s flew by the backwash is what flipped him up on his wingtip and he nearly lost the plane. The Tomcats were going 300 mph faster than they were scripted too for the scene cuz the pilots ere hotshoting.
Epic on board and in-flight photography highlight this imaginative adventure tale. Kirk Douglas, at this late stage of his career, was excellent, and the supporting cast was terrific. The time travel aspects of the movie are very interesting. It is a shame that more roles are not available for older actors like Douglas.
The man on the yacht in the blue shirt is Charles Durning who went ashore at Omaha beach with the Big Red One in one of the first assault waves. Severely wounded later in the bocage, he spent 6 months recovering before he supposedly broke out of the hospital to rejoin his unit just in time for the Battle of the Bulge. He was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, 3 purple hearts and a boat load of other citations. Durning might be best know for his "wonderful performance" as Pappy O'Daniel in 'O Brother Where Art Thou.'
no shit right? a million dollar missile t take out a 30 thousand dollar zero? that's like using a sledgehammer to kill an ant. and what pilot would do that when the most desired kill to this day is a gun kill.
RIP Charles Durning, the actor playing Senator Samuel Chapman. (February 28, 1923 - December 24, 2012) He was a decorated WW2 vet & he was in first wave of infantry landing on Omaha beach during D-Day. He was the ONLY survivor of his unit that day. Just nine days after D-Day he severely wounded by a German anti-personnel mine, taking six months to fully recover. He later saw action in the Battle of the Bulge. By war's end he was decorated with the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts.
@@larrymor I'm not sure there's that many.....but by God, even at 82 I still hear well enough to man a sonar and I would love to ride a modern boat.....ETR2(SS)
Charles Durning was a big hit with the sailors during filming, when they were at the hotel bar. If he saw anybody from the ship he would tell them to join him and he'd buy them a beer. Ironically the only actor/actress they had a sour experience with was Katherine Ross who wasn't very nice. They wanted to say hi and she was like no I don't want to meet them, they were getting ready to film the refueling scene and another plane flew up next to them with a camera and asked if ready. Nodded and held up a sign to the camera then the plane returned back to the ship so the scene can be shot. Next day in the daily screenings first thing comes up was the camera shot of the plane with the sign reading " F U Katherine Ross! We didn't want to meet you anyways!"
As a helicopter pilot, I met the guy who flew the camera ship. Getting a 90 knot helicopter, 140 knot T6, and a 500 knot F14 in the same place at the same time was somewhat challenging
On the DVD, interview with The Jolly Rogers. They said it's like trying to get 3 pool balls hitting each other at same time which was impossible, they reached out to Frank Pine who had a B-25 camera plane and helped a little bit to get the scene. They said we got it 1 out of 5 times lol. Oh the camera guy in the back of the camera plane was shooting down the nose of the F-14 for the refueling scene, wanted to touch the probe with his foot. Even though Mullens shook him off, he went ahead and got launched back in the plane from the static charge. Camera guy showed up later with huge curly hair lol
@@ussakira7294 mhm ok grandpa, go back to watching films which looks like theyre just satire cabaret. Like, grandpa, if u watch marvel movie what do you expect? Practical effects? Watch the movie that doesnt need cgi, and u wont have cgi.
Wedge Antilles And to add to that, the F-22 and F-35 are late-80s to late-90s designs that are put into production in the 2000s. Just some fun facts. :)
And the F/A-18 started life as the YF-17 that lost the lightweight fighter competition to the F-16 and they Navy went hmm let's take a closer look at that.
Wedge Antilles F/A-18 is a beautiful little plane. A worthy replacement for F-14. But personally, I don't like Super Hornet's design. It's like the cute lil' F/A-18 had a plastic surgery and some ridiculous boob job, and end up becoming Super Hornet. Those square air intake really turned me off.
One of my favorite movies! My friend Bob Lambert who retired as the "top" film editor at Warner Brothers Burbank (around 20 years ago), was the editor and 2nd Unit Director on this film. He also was the editor on the original Rollerball (with James Caan) and Red Planet. Now he just plays mechanic on his permanently garaged Formula 1.
Strike Fighter Squadron 103 (the Jolly Rogers), assigned to Carrier Air Wing Seven, currently flying the FA-18F Super Hornet. See the Wikipedia article: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VFA-103
Absolutely one of my favorite Navy movies. A spectacular "what-if" scenario. I watched this movie when it was released while I was in the Navy at NTTC Meridian, MS
You know, Iran still has some in active service. Big part of why the US was too afraid to attack them. Iran has not only maintained theirs, but they have MODERNIZED theirs, to use 21st Century munitions.
This is probably one of the coolest, one sided, what if stories that could've ever been told if they had gone through with their defence of Pearl Harbor.
I remember watching this movie when it first came out in 1981 I was in Navy A School and saw it in downtown San Diego. The theater was full of Sailors and Marines.
I was on the boat when they were filming. I also made t into some of the GQ scenes. All of us on the boat were used as extras. It was fun to be part of it.
I love this flick!! Can you image the shock of sitting in tranquil waters in 1941, and two F-14 Tom Cats fly over you at about 300 mph, 50 feet off the deck!! Such a great scene!!
They were doing more than 300mph,planes of the 4th generation if they fly slow as 300,more than half the time would have the air brakes out. But,you're right,it was a cool scene.
Would this be like today, only UFO's come flying overhead at about 100' and hovering, then a bright light shines down on you and you wet your pants???? LOL
I didn't see an A6M Zero anywhere in this movie. I did see a couple of converted AT-6 Texans. WWII ace-in-a-day Archie Donahue was one of the Zero pilots. The script called for the Japanese pilot to try to force the F-14 into the water. The pilot who basically did a hammerhead and pulled out real close to the water was Richard "Fox" Farrell (VF-84 XO)
Not that it's a true representation, but in the old Jane's simulations, it wasn't a walk in the park to take out WW2 aircraft with modern fighters. You damn near had to stall just to get your guns lined on them, and a lot of missiles were useless as they didn't give off a large heat signature. This would be a dream simulator game though 😉
I imported a F-14 into the old MS combat flight simulator, was impossible to hit any of the ww II planes. It just go to fast. Not that MSCFS is a accurate representation of the planes but anyway.
@@thomass4471 Yes, that was so. The only way to get an advantage against the Zero in such a scenario was not in a turning duel, the Tomcats were in a continuous 'rolling scissors' bleeding energy, to try and stay with the Zero. The only realistic way to defeat them would be to make high speed passes and not try and turn with them. In a turning battle, the advantage would actually be with the Zero. The Argentinians in their Mirages discovered this to their cost when trying to dogfight with British Harriers. The Harriers were slower, but turned far better and could use their vertical thrust capability to pretty much stop dead and let the Mirage zip past, which made them a perfect heat seeker target as they tried to break clear on afterburner.
I remember the very first time I saw this movie, I was about 14 years old which was around 2004, and at that time my mom worked late nights and I would always try to stay up to make sure she got home OK. One of those nights around 1230 I'm changing the channels on TV and came across this movie like what the hell is going on here. To say the least I ended up loving this movie and I remember staying up until 230 to finish it. Great times back than 😁
It's a very good movie! One of my all time favorites!! 😉🥰 And this scene with the F-14's taking down those pathetic little Mitsubishi Zeros is hilarious!
Seeing those two magnificent planes sweep their wings back reminds me of two thoroughbred horses laying their ears back and going into a full-speed gallop. What a plane.
GreenCrim I’n reality they’d be extremely hard to hit I’d imagine, in a dogfight the zeros would turn on a dime, the F14s would need to zoom and boom them from a distance.
Worked alongside Nimitz in late 81 in the med when i was serving in the Royal Navy. We had a few USN ships with us… think the Forrestal was there and the USS Donald B Berry.I was like … “ Look at the bloody size of that” Our frigate looked like a rowing boat. And seeing that film years later always brings a smile to my face. Respect to the USN from an old ex matelot
@@tenfourproductionsllc They had their time, yes they did. Then we captured a Zero, sent it back to the states, and built the F6F-5 Hellcat, which just shredded the Zeros from then on.
I just love this sequence. And when the Zero's try to stay with the Tomcats. The F-14's are like, "Your puny 1,115-horsepower 14-cylinder does not impress me!"
The only part of the movie that I liked. But it's interesting to think 1 aircraft carrier from today could have wiped out the entire Japanese invasion fleet.
The Nimitz was (is) nuclear armed, so it could have defeated the entire Axis, not just the invasion fleet, limited only by its supply of jet fuel and ability to somehow get more if needed.
Yeah, the Japanese carrier strike force was really lousy! Just to think we could have wiped them all clean out of the ocean by simply sending one "Nimitz" class carrier back in time...
those tomcat wont need sidewinder to shoot down the 'zeros' wont even need the 20mm vulcan just go supersonic and do a close flyby, sonic boom and jet wash will handle those 'zeros'
When this movie first came out, I was hoping they were going to splash the zeroes by going supersonic. A much original tactic than simply shooting them down.
This is when the fleet aircraft had that gorgeous gull gray and white paint scheme,with full color insignia
When I got HBO in my apartment in 1981 while attending college, this movie was the main flick the first month of the service. This movie had so much impact on my life that eventually I served on the first Nimitz-class carrier in the Pacific Fleet, and subsequently the first Nimitz carrier at Pearl Harbor on December 7th. Sadly ... no Zeros were to be seen.
Great story. A similar thing happened to me after watching Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981. I went to college, earned a graduate degree and explored much of this ole' world while wearing fedora. :)
@@perrywidhalm114 I use to watch adult vids and then learned to pork myself, kind of the same thing.
I was there!!
@@perrywidhalm114 *tips hat*
That was the Navy's goal. Showcase to enlist
One of the Zero/T6 Texan pilots from the film passed recently. Tom Gregory, old P47 pilot. He was a good friend of my father. When I was growing up Tom would take me up for some flight time here and there. It was a blast. Thanks Tom.
Rest in peace, never forget him.
May Wallahu Snackbar embrace Tom in His warm glow.
Oh cool he was actually flying one of the zeros? Back when movies needed to use real people doing actual stunts but today they would have used cgi planes.
I was stationed on the USS Nimitz from 1981 - 1985 and saw this movie countless times. I was especially impressed with the F-14's maneuverability in this scene. I had already learned that at the time there were no actual Zeros flying, so Hollywood used T-6 Texans as "Hollywood" Zeros, so the speeds of the aircraft were much slower than an actual Zero. The F-14s still did a great job of maneuvering at what must have been just above stall speed.
The scene with the T-6 (fake zero) and the F14A where really quite good it was kirk Douglas and his son Peter who fought to keep that scene in
I think the Zero's would have wrecked the f-14's in real life since there a lot faster.
@@Ono-Lin_Tam Not only that, but the Zero had no armor to speak of. It was nimble, but it was fragile.
at the Cleveland Airshow in the 90's they had a mock dogfight between an F14 and a P 51 Mustang.. the F 14 did EVERYTHING the P 51 could do... they broke and did an opposed circle ... the P 51 went by at full throttle at about 450 mph... then banked away.. from the opposing direction the F 14 came by with wings pulled back going almost 700.. full afterburner.... the sound was behind the plane by 200 feet or so ... very close to the sound barrier ... it took a couple days for my goosebumps to go back down ... whole demo reminded me of eagle chasing a crow ... F14 was huge by comparison... with wings forward, the F14 stuck to it easily ..
@@retrostuff8976 depends. the f-14 is faster but you can see in this video it is struggling to turn as well as the 'zero'.
The F-14 was a god damn beauty
The F-14 and the Submarine Spitfire are the most Beautiful Fighter Aircraft of all Time !
The F-22 is sexier, and deadlier.
@@StudleyDuderightI won't agree but it's definitely dangerous
@@StudleyDuderight deadlier? Maybe. Sexier? NEVER. The F-14 is a god damn prom queen!
I flew tanker support in a KA-6D from VA-35(Black Panthers) for this movie. My one and only Hollywood moment!
Thank you and how awesome! Love this movie! my youngest son is an 0861 USMC Artillery.
I give the zero pilots credit. To go from the shock of "what the hell are you?" to shooting at an f14 is quite the recovery.
At a guess, they saw the star and bars (and English writing on the planes) and put 2 and 2 together.
indeed, given how the F-14s blew straight past them, given they were flying what they'd think is the fastest plane in the world.
they do it all the time in warthunder. . . . . . .
Certainly in the upper echelon for 1941 - there were faster planes available but not by a whole lot at the time and pretty much all carrier fighters had a top speed in the range of 325-340 mph. It wasn't until 1943-44 that the Americans had a decisive speed advantage with the Hellcat.
@@katherineberger6329 Yes...but compared to 2 F-14 Tomcats those Zeros were standing still.....the stunts they were doing were so they wouldn't stall out trying to keep pace with the zeros.
I saw this in the theater when it came out. It was fairly empty but there were a couple of sailors a few rows in front of me. When the Zero's were shot down they put their arms in the air crying out "YEAH!". Just one of those memories in life. Great movie.
when I started my 32 year career at Grumman I watched this movie many times,loved the flight deck scenes.A lot of people dont realize just how awesome the Tomcat was. I am proud to have worked on Hawkeyes , Tomcats, Greyhounds and Prowlers , all very awesome ,,the Hawkeye is still in service now.
My dad worked at Grumman in the 1970s. I still have one of the original Iranian air force tie clips and IAF (pre revolution) tomcat decal.
I worked on the F14A, hysterics and airframe. 88-92. Love the plane. Hated the snap rings on the screws. Always popped off pulling panels. FOD
We grunts are damn grateful to everyone involved in aviation, military and civilian. I worked closely with rotary-wing, of course. I also got to watch an F-16 smoke an insurgent strong point with a 500-pounder.
Aviation has saved the lives of more ground-pounders than we could ever know. Sometimes the mere presence of aircraft was enough to deter any would-be attackers. If one of our birds even took fire, we were REDCON 1, if not already en route.
Again, thank you very much. Charlie-Mike, we got your six.
The Tomcat is still the best looking jet ever built, only one that come even close is the F22.
Wish Grumman would have stayed separate instead of merging with Northrop.
Now the Tomcats are just as old to us as the Zeros were to them back then. Time flies! 11 years since I posted a comment on here too!
Dang that's a scary thought...
@@bradleymcwilliams6348 Man fears the Sphinx. The Sphinx fears time.
1 year now since this comment . Time sure does fly
The sad part is the Tomcats probably didn't even need to waste the ammo, just fly by on burner and the jet wash would probably shake the Zeros apart.
Of course it would
+likemynewname During the filming of this movie, they nearly killed a pilot by doing just that.
Zeros for all their strengths were notouriously fragile, a single burst of .50 from a Wildcat or Hellcat would cause them to fly apart.
+Wedge Antilles All it would take is a supersonic flyby and the shock wave would practically vaporize the Zeros.
bionicsjw um no it wouldn't
I love that Robotech and this film both fly the same squadron colors
VF-84 Jolly Rogers
VF-84 Skull Squadron
If I was one of those Tomcat pilots, I'm painting a "Rising Sun" kill marker by my cockpit. I don't care what questions it raises later..
Lexington73300 if they got back*
Never would have been allowed. For one, the other commentors are correct in that the entire incident would have been classified top top top secret. Secondly, in the time period that the NIMITZ returns back to, the US Navy (including the Nimitz) would be participating in CIN-PAC maneuvers in the Pacific, and this includes our ALLIES the Japanese and the South Koreans. It would raise TONS of questions, why an American jet would have the kill mark for a (current) ally in the Pacific ;) LOL.
LOL, if he would have done that, then probably some weeks later, a US plane goes missing over Japanese controlled airspace... And then a Japanese fighter pilot suddenly would have appeared during joint maneuvers with a white star painted on the side of his F-15.
I was plane captain on the DET to Key West for filming the flying scenes. We painted 2 kill flags on 203. If you know where to look you can make them out in one of the scenes in the movie. I believe I am the only one with a photo -
Link - i.imgur.com/kKD3Flw.jpg
@@jimf4036 I enjoyed the heck outta that! Thanks for posting the pic; and thank you for your service.
this is like the BR system in war thunder
Omg I just died XD
lmao so true!!
+TheAttack Cheese Oh, don't I know it. XD
+TheAttack Cheese N1K vs F-80C very fair komrade
n as
The best part of this is that the Vulcan actually sounds correct for once in a movie.
and the Zero engines thumping sounds too
Only two problems I've heard, 1. The Vulcan would have turned that Zero into confetti, no survivor. 2. The sidewinder wouldn't have been able to lock on the Zero because it wouldn't be hot enough for it. A missile shot was a waste of money anyway.
They fired the Vulcan and one of the guys gave me some of the brass straight out of the aircraft.
@@Folker46590 That version of the Sidewinder would've been able to lock a prop aircraft of the era no problem since they worked on the difference in temp of the target vs the background.
The reality is that it would've tracked just fine, but the detonation would've resulted in the aircraft getting shredded rather than it exploding. Basically, the one hit by the Sidewinder would've been the one disabled, not the one hit by the Vulcan. But that also depends on where the 20mm round hit, and which of the mix hit it.
@@Tank50us So the engine isn't to cool for the sidewinder to see? Ok.
6:54 As goofy as this movie is, it's the ONLY movie that actually uses the real sound of a Vulcan cannon. So many movies make it sound like a freaking M-60 when they fire.
doggonemess
wow, step it up, cinema.
The movie probably modeled the Vulcan's damage the way War Thunder models MK 108s.
And bottom gun wasn't goofy?
It's actually a Zero. From What I know, the Zeke was mainly used by the IJA
@@derptank3308 The "Japanese" aircraft in this move WEREN"T Zeros. They were modified AT-6s
The F-14 is such a beautiful aircraft. I remember watching this movie in complete awe when I was 12 years old.
I've seen this movie growing up enough to wear out three VHS copies, and I still get chills when those two tomcats charge in to save the day!
Not fast enough to save the SS Gatsby though. My Great Grand Uncle Harvey served aboard as captain and went down with the ship, because he couldn’t swim.
More like the Wrath of God
I feel exactly the same way when I see this scene. I don't know what it is but it makes me feel so proud to be an American when I see this and really proud of our Navy too. I'm really sorry that I never joined but that's another story. I feel like I really missed out on something. Oh well, what can you do.
The aerial photography on the F14s is what makes it. The pilots were really showing off for the camera.
The F14 really looked pretty even with the wings spread wide, which was the only way they could possibly stay with those Zero err T6 Texans.
Oh and did you notice the F14 using his flaps? Again in flying so slowly the pilot was using every trick in the book. I would even bet he split his throttles to get that big turkey to move like that.
For a relatively low budget film, the aerial cinematography is outstanding. This is one of my favorite rainy day movies.
This is because they didn't have to pay for the actual cost of the flying. Taxpayer did.
and all the shots on the Nimitz, the crew was actually servicemen and film crew just had to film them. so yes in a way alot of this movie was paid for by taxpayers
My grandparents who fought in the Pacific WW2 loved this scene. One was a 1LT US Army AirCorps fighter pilot.
No lie, my favorite time travel movie. One of the few to actually do a predestination paradox right.
I hope folks remember that this was BEFORE the age of CGI, so we're being treated to real and beautiful LIVE ACTION footage of actual planes flying around. There are some seriously beautiful aerial action cinematography in this sequence :)
Cats love to play with their prey before the kill.
Too Funny Dude!!
You win the comment section, good sir
'Prey' not 'pray'
Those damn tomcats
🤣
I was always left feeling unfulfilled after watching this movie. I loved it but desperately wanted to see the Nimitz destroy the Japanese task force!
Absolutely same
We need a remake or sequal!!
True but it is one of the few time travel movies to get it right.
When those F14s streaked by the A6M's, I had the biggest smile on my face...
ikr i loves jets i need 2 fly 1
Same
they we're like
HOLY SHIT WHAT IS THAT?!
Yeah, yeah. Except it never happened. All a lot of U.S. smug superiority. The reality of it was that the Japanese had air superiority over anything the U.S. had in planes in 1941.
thomas Romano no shit sherlock. The japanese had the best Navy in late 1941 and the US didnt have anything but maybe P-40s
It gave me wood.
Awesome movie, and cannot be duplicated, thank God. RIP to the many main actors no longer with us.
My father took me to watch this movie 42yrs ago...wow the memories
Still my favorite part of this movie is after the "splash the Zeros" order is given the wings come back, the music changes....and the FANGS come out!
Truth is stranger than fiction. The X wing foils being moved to attack position is a fictional nod to the sweep back of real life variable geometry aircraft. Not explaining myself very well here.
The one order Captain Yelland never thought he'd ever have to give.
Should have been in New Zealand when it came out. We were at Wellington during a port call and were specially invited for the showing. We started cheering and shouting kick there asses etc. I looked over across the aisle at the important older invited New Zealanders in suits and nice dresses thinking were gonna get kicked out. And they were smiling and laughing at us. They knew we had just come from the Indian Ocean during the hostage crises and wanted some payback. Also I think a lot of them were WWII vets.
I was stationed with vf 171 at key west saw the whole thing it was great
One of my favorite movies. I watch it regularly.
The soundtrack for this scene was just out of this world.
Oh and here is a random thing that will interest very few people. The black or Dominican officer that was always with the captain was Ron O’Neal. He played Youngblood Priest in the Blaxploitation film “Super Fly” and “Super Fly T.N.T.”
He was also an enemy Colonel in “Red Dawn.”
I really loved this movie as a kid. Too bad F-14s were just too expensive for the USN to maintain. I mean Super Hornets are great and all and far more cost effective, but the Tomcat's looks and performance was just so awesome.
Phrancis5 yeh, the f14 is my favorite fighter. probably the f16 after that.
Dirt Muhgert
don't forget the air force's F-15. that plane is the bad ass of them all.
The best fighter ever made. The D version F-14 with the upgrades was the most lethal fighter when it was retired in 2005.
kcirred nosrednad yes, the f-15 is a nasty aircraft as well.
Dirt Muhgert Yeah, F15 is an awesome fighter as well.
This scene gave me so much pride in America as a teenager, and quite the woody too! Back in the day when Ronald Regan was in charge and the America was great!
America was Great under Reagan, no question.
Under Reagan, we had the best woodies.
I watched this as a kid. My dad explained to me how much damage one tomcat could do. Then now I go to explain it to my kids. My kid asked me the same question I asked my dad. Loved it. Just the jet wash from the tomcats cutting close and cutting turns in front of those zeros would most likely down them.
If I remember correctly, Ward Carroll did a video about the filming of this movie, and said that the wild maneuvering when the Tomcats passed the Zeros wasn't scripted, but they actually almost went down due to the jet wash.
almost did. I saw an interview about this movie some years ago where the pilot related to the person being interviewed that when the F14s flew by the backwash is what flipped him up on his wingtip and he nearly lost the plane. The Tomcats were going 300 mph faster than they were scripted too for the scene cuz the pilots ere hotshoting.
Epic on board and in-flight photography highlight this imaginative adventure tale. Kirk Douglas, at this late stage of his career, was excellent, and the supporting cast was terrific. The time travel aspects of the movie are very interesting. It is a shame that more roles are not available for older actors like Douglas.
One of my all time favourite movies!!!! I've seen it about 10 times and would watch it again anytime!!!
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The man on the yacht in the blue shirt is Charles Durning who went ashore at Omaha beach with the Big Red One in one of the first assault waves. Severely wounded later in the bocage, he spent 6 months recovering before he supposedly broke out of the hospital to rejoin his unit just in time for the Battle of the Bulge. He was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, 3 purple hearts and a boat load of other citations. Durning might be best know for his "wonderful performance" as Pappy O'Daniel in 'O Brother Where Art Thou.'
Not even close. Snyder in "The Sting"
Oh come on. Firing the Vulcan was enough of an overkill. What a waste of a Sidewinder.
no shit right? a million dollar missile t take out a 30 thousand dollar zero? that's like using a sledgehammer to kill an ant. and what pilot would do that when the most desired kill to this day is a gun kill.
I just spit my milk through my nose. Thanks.
Yes, but you can never over estimate the "cool" factor in a movie scene!
just showing off, lol
Relax its just Holywood
RIP Charles Durning, the actor playing Senator Samuel Chapman.
(February 28, 1923 - December 24, 2012)
He was a decorated WW2 vet & he was in first wave of infantry landing on Omaha beach during D-Day. He was the ONLY survivor of his unit that day. Just nine days after D-Day he severely wounded by a German anti-personnel mine, taking six months to fully recover. He later saw action in the Battle of the Bulge. By war's end he was decorated with the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts.
We have maybe three actors who would serve now....
@@larrymor I'm not sure there's that many.....but by God, even at 82 I still hear well enough to man a sonar and I would love to ride a modern boat.....ETR2(SS)
Charles Durning was a big hit with the sailors during filming, when they were at the hotel bar. If he saw anybody from the ship he would tell them to join him and he'd buy them a beer. Ironically the only actor/actress they had a sour experience with was Katherine Ross who wasn't very nice. They wanted to say hi and she was like no I don't want to meet them, they were getting ready to film the refueling scene and another plane flew up next to them with a camera and asked if ready. Nodded and held up a sign to the camera then the plane returned back to the ship so the scene can be shot. Next day in the daily screenings first thing comes up was the camera shot of the plane with the sign reading " F U Katherine Ross! We didn't want to meet you anyways!"
As a helicopter pilot, I met the guy who flew the camera ship. Getting a 90 knot helicopter, 140 knot T6, and a 500 knot F14 in the same place at the same time was somewhat challenging
On the DVD, interview with The Jolly Rogers. They said it's like trying to get 3 pool balls hitting each other at same time which was impossible, they reached out to Frank Pine who had a B-25 camera plane and helped a little bit to get the scene. They said we got it 1 out of 5 times lol. Oh the camera guy in the back of the camera plane was shooting down the nose of the F-14 for the refueling scene, wanted to touch the probe with his foot. Even though Mullens shook him off, he went ahead and got launched back in the plane from the static charge. Camera guy showed up later with huge curly hair lol
In spite of everything, seeing the big cat flying makes the chills always come. Those pilots who have ridden him are blessed
Love the music change when the fangs come out on the tomcats! Still one of my favorite (though silliest) USN movies.
2 tomcats vs 2 zeros... no debate is needed
the scene where the f-14 pops out of the clouds behind the zero is so epic. i hate all the cgi crap in the movies today.
Ok grandpa
Grandpa: 60
cgi fans: 3
I totally agree movies 2day have 2 much cgi
@@ussakira7294 mhm ok grandpa, go back to watching films which looks like theyre just satire cabaret.
Like, grandpa, if u watch marvel movie what do you expect?
Practical effects?
Watch the movie that doesnt need cgi, and u wont have cgi.
I dont get it they didnt have f 35 at that time
RIP, F14. A creation of pure beauty, and a scary beast too. They don't make warplanes like they used to.
Milander just milander So is the F-14, the A-10 and F/A -18 are products of the 70's.
Wedge Antilles And to add to that, the F-22 and F-35 are late-80s to late-90s designs that are put into production in the 2000s. Just some fun facts. :)
And the F/A-18 started life as the YF-17 that lost the lightweight fighter competition to the F-16 and they Navy went hmm let's take a closer look at that.
Wedge Antilles F/A-18 is a beautiful little plane. A worthy replacement for F-14.
But personally, I don't like Super Hornet's design. It's like the cute lil' F/A-18 had a plastic surgery and some ridiculous boob job, and end up becoming Super Hornet. Those square air intake really turned me off.
*****
But... I wasn't arguing. :|
One of my favorite movies! My friend Bob Lambert who retired as the "top" film editor at Warner Brothers Burbank (around 20 years ago), was the editor and 2nd Unit Director on this film. He also was the editor on the original Rollerball (with James Caan) and Red Planet. Now he just plays mechanic on his permanently garaged Formula 1.
saw this movie as a kid on cable long ass time ago. always been one of the guilty pleasure movies. Love anything time travel.
Love the jolly rogers on the Tomcat. What an aircraft.
I noticed too--BAD ASS for sure!!
Strike Fighter Squadron 103 (the Jolly Rogers), assigned to Carrier Air Wing Seven, currently flying the FA-18F Super Hornet. See the Wikipedia article: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VFA-103
@@jamesdarnell8568 Used to be VF-84 Jolly Rogers during this time. Fighter squadron.
Skull squadron - Robotech
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This was great scene, & a great sci-fi movie with a great story & several top of the line actors
My favorite Kirk Douglas movie!!! Seen it at the theater when it first came out
Still one of my favorite time travel movies. Great cast and the story might be a little silly but i still love the ending.
The ending is the worst. Missed an opportunity to have the coolest movie ending of all time
Absolutely one of my favorite Navy movies. A spectacular "what-if" scenario. I watched this movie when it was released while I was in the Navy at NTTC Meridian, MS
Hands down, one of coolest movie sequences ever made. Easily in the top 5.
Zeroes: We got this in the bag. Nothing could ever stop us.
F-14s: Allow us to introduce ourselves
* Tomcat has entered the chat
Tomcat go Brrrrrrrr
That woke em up!!
Absolutely my favorite movie at the time. 15 years later I was working on their sibblings in the Marines.
This scene never gets old. A couple of Tomcat sledgehammers vs a couple of Zero walnuts.
Coolest movie ever ! I too remember watching this movie as a kid. Me and my dad! Modern technology vs yesterday’s technology.
One of my favorite all-time scenes from one of my favorite movies.
Watching this reminds me of what a beautiful aircraft the F-14 was.
It reminds me of what a load of sh*t Hollywood can put out! ;-)
You know, Iran still has some in active service. Big part of why the US was too afraid to attack them. Iran has not only maintained theirs, but they have MODERNIZED theirs, to use 21st Century munitions.
The Harley of the fleet.They even leaked hydraulic fluid like Harleys leak oil!
This is probably one of the coolest, one sided, what if stories that could've ever been told if they had gone through with their defence of Pearl Harbor.
One of the greatest time travel movies ever.
关公 战 秦琼 。。 ^O^
I remember watching this movie when it first came out in 1981 I was in Navy A School and saw it in downtown San Diego. The theater was full of Sailors and Marines.
I love how on the Nimitz the 50 star flag is present and the 48 star flag on the fishing boat
I was on the boat when they were filming. I also made t into some of the GQ scenes. All of us on the boat were used as extras. It was fun to be part of it.
I love this flick!! Can you image the shock of sitting in tranquil waters in 1941, and two F-14 Tom Cats fly over you at about 300 mph, 50 feet off the deck!! Such a great scene!!
They were doing more than 300mph,planes of the 4th generation if they fly slow as 300,more than half the time would have the air brakes out. But,you're right,it was a cool scene.
More like Mach 1.5. Over 1000 mph they blink and your gone.
Would this be like today, only UFO's come flying overhead at about 100' and hovering, then a bright light shines down on you and you wet your pants???? LOL
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@@trevorwerkheiser934 As a top speed. But they certainly were not going that fast in these scenes.
imagine if four F-14 Tomcats take on Messerschmitt Me 262s shooting down B-17s.
Unless, If the US invested on Rocket Technology back in the 1920's.
That would be cool
Weird, considering that an F-14 is almost as big as a B-17.
more like a b-25 size wise
It's all german tech in the end.
Great movie, and my favorite scene. Imagine if your on a boat and a fighter from 40 years in the future did a flyby.
20 mm Vulcan probably would have completely shredded a Zero rather than just making it puff some smoke out
The rounds would have gone thru it like shit through a goose. But perhaps the didn't have the budget to trash it.
+BTL Y-Wing He had it set to "splash only"
+BTL Y-Wing lol well yeah, and also a Zero's machine guns would leave giant holes in the boat and people on it, too. Limited budget I guess
+sentient02970 LOL! underrated comment
I didn't see an A6M Zero anywhere in this movie. I did see a couple of converted AT-6 Texans. WWII ace-in-a-day Archie Donahue was one of the Zero pilots. The script called for the Japanese pilot to try to force the F-14 into
the water. The pilot who basically did a hammerhead and pulled out real
close to the water was Richard "Fox" Farrell (VF-84 XO)
"Why are we playing with these guys??" ...who were some of the best and most experienced combat pilots in the world at that time.
REAL tricky scene to make and record - @ 5:50 : multi-million buck F-14 nearly goes splash and is only saved by going full afterburner.
This movie actually holds up very well when it comes to effects. And there was great acting.
This has to be coolest scene in any movie I have ever seen. Love watching F-14's in action
Good thing F-14 has swing wing technology. Must be close to stalling speed just to stay behind the A6Ms.
In the one scene where the Tomcat lights the burners low on the deck he had stalled according to the pilot.
The A6m could easily do 300 mph. Giving the gap between stall on the F14 and the Zero plenty of maneuvering room.
Not that it's a true representation, but in the old Jane's simulations, it wasn't a walk in the park to take out WW2 aircraft with modern fighters. You damn near had to stall just to get your guns lined on them, and a lot of missiles were useless as they didn't give off a large heat signature. This would be a dream simulator game though 😉
I imported a F-14 into the old MS combat flight simulator, was impossible to hit any of the ww II planes. It just go to fast. Not that MSCFS is a accurate representation of the planes but anyway.
@@thomass4471 Yes, that was so. The only way to get an advantage against the Zero in such a scenario was not in a turning duel, the Tomcats were in a continuous 'rolling scissors' bleeding energy, to try and stay with the Zero. The only realistic way to defeat them would be to make high speed passes and not try and turn with them. In a turning battle, the advantage would actually be with the Zero. The Argentinians in their Mirages discovered this to their cost when trying to dogfight with British Harriers. The Harriers were slower, but turned far better and could use their vertical thrust capability to pretty much stop dead and let the Mirage zip past, which made them a perfect heat seeker target as they tried to break clear on afterburner.
My Uncle Robert showed me a few movies and this was one of them. Awesome movie!
My wife’s stepdad was serving onboard the Nimitz when they were filming this. Always loved this movie
I remember the very first time I saw this movie, I was about 14 years old which was around 2004, and at that time my mom worked late nights and I would always try to stay up to make sure she got home OK. One of those nights around 1230 I'm changing the channels on TV and came across this movie like what the hell is going on here. To say the least I ended up loving this movie and I remember staying up until 230 to finish it. Great times back than 😁
It's a very good movie!
One of my all time favorites!!
😉🥰
And this scene with the F-14's taking down those pathetic little Mitsubishi Zeros is hilarious!
Jet Pilot: 'why the hell are we playing with these guy's'
LOLZ😂
Not very sporting.
Imagine being the inventory officer at Pearl.
IO: Why are you one Aim9 and 200 rounds short?
LT: Well there were these two Zero’s.
Would love to see this amazing movie remade today.
Love this movie. And in particular, this scene!
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I can imagine those zero pilot were like "What in the world is that plane what kinda planes are the Americans developing now"
You as an enemy know you're screwed if you see those Tomcats wings retracting. Your done!
Seeing those two magnificent planes sweep their wings back reminds me of two thoroughbred horses laying their ears back and going into a full-speed gallop.
What a plane.
1:14 "Oh my god...he was a tomato!"
lmfao, this made my day.
Wonderful movie. Must have watched it at least a dozen times.
Is it me or would those Japanese pilots have been thinking "oh F#CK!" when they saw the F-14s stop playing and move to kill positions.
Probably more like "what the f#ck?!?"
Per the novelization, they had no clue what to think.
GreenCrim I’n reality they’d be extremely hard to hit I’d imagine, in a dogfight the zeros would turn on a dime, the F14s would need to zoom and boom them from a distance.
It was a hate crime.
@@Jester123ish well at super sonic speeds vs no where near supersonic speed, that is not realy a problem
Saw this when I was in college. I still love this part.
Worked alongside Nimitz in late 81 in the med when i was serving in the Royal Navy. We had a few USN ships with us… think the Forrestal was there and the USS Donald B Berry.I was like … “ Look at the bloody size of that” Our frigate looked like a rowing boat. And seeing that film years later always brings a smile to my face. Respect to the USN from an old ex matelot
God the F-14 was awesome! They were carrying Phoenix's along with the Sidewinders
The Zero's were also awesome at the time, a great plane, and a zero vs and equal American plane in 1941, the zeros win.
@@tenfourproductionsllc They had their time, yes they did. Then we captured a Zero, sent it back to the states, and built the F6F-5 Hellcat, which just shredded the Zeros from then on.
I just love this sequence. And when the Zero's try to stay with the Tomcats. The F-14's are like, "Your puny 1,115-horsepower 14-cylinder does not impress me!"
What a spectacular movie. Then and now.
The only part of the movie that I liked. But it's interesting to think 1 aircraft carrier from today could have wiped out the entire Japanese invasion fleet.
+Hendo56 or even from 35 years ago when this movie came out.
+Hendo56 Besides the fact that the nimitz would run out of ammo before hand
The Nimitz was (is) nuclear armed, so it could have defeated the entire Axis, not just the invasion fleet, limited only by its supply of jet fuel and ability to somehow get more if needed.
Insane, right?
Yeah, the Japanese carrier strike force was really lousy! Just to think we could have wiped them all clean out of the ocean by simply sending one "Nimitz" class carrier back in time...
I love it how you can see in some scenes how much the F-14 pilots are struggling to keep from stalling when trying to stay behind the zeros.
A Tomcat will do as little as 90 mph without falling out of the sky with wings extended.
Not while, doing heavy maneuvers.
The J pilot reaction shots look like the cockpits are stationary in a studio somewhere. They don't even bother with fake wind.
Great white shark vs. guppy.
Great White Shark wins.
lmao
Or Eagles vs Pigeons. ;-)
4:39 specially in this frames!.
@ Mick Silva: do you really want to know what happens when an eagle accidentally gulps down a hummingbird?
One of the great time travel movies ever. The ending blew my mind.
love it spalsh the zeros best line in the movie
those tomcat wont need sidewinder to shoot down the 'zeros'
wont even need the 20mm vulcan
just go supersonic and do a close flyby, sonic boom and jet wash will handle those 'zeros'
not enough heat signature for sidewinder lock anyway would of had to use guns or close flyby as you mentioned
I agree. Why waste a half a million dollar missile when a one second burst from a cannon will do? Becaue its a move of course.
I see you're a man of ammo efficiency
Enrico Satria
Lol
When this movie first came out, I was hoping they were going to splash the zeroes by going supersonic. A much original tactic than simply shooting them down.
Tomcats are one of the most badass looking machines ever...
Tomcat even today a new one fully upgraded can still dance with the best.
One of the most capable and amazing aircraft ever flown by the US Military.
FIRST PILOT: "I'm too close for missiles, I'm switching to guns."
SECOND PILOT: "Hold my beer!"