How do films such as Midway and Pearl Harbor compare with naval comedies as history?
Short answerHe has major problems with Pearl Harbor and the newer Midway, prefers the older Midway, and forgives comedy films more readily because errors can serve the joke.
NotesThe personal ranking names Pearl Harbor and the newer Midway as naval films with serious problems. The older Midway is preferred, while comedies such as Watch Your Stern receive more leeway because their errors often serve the joke. Serious historical dramatizations still need some compression to tell a coherent story. They become misleading when they sacrifice basics such as command structure and change how an operation is understood.