Hiroshima - The Complete Miniseries Event

Remarkable "made-for-cable" docudrama, easily one of the highest-quality productions I have seen in a "TV movie." Fascinating if you care about turning points of modern history (which tend to affect us all, care or not). The story begins April 12, 1945 (one of those Infamous Dates in the US, like December 7, 1941 and November 22, 1963, and more recently, of course, September 11, 2001) and continues beyond Truman's "Rain of Ruin" speech in August, heard live around the world, declaring in essence that the Second World War would soon end and that the era of nuclear terrors had begun.At the time, that first point made a much deeper impression than the second on the 12 million people in US armed services who were expecting a long and bloody invasion of Japan. After years of a war not of their country's choosing, they had thought that the worst remained ahead. It was also a war with a history of atrocities committed in the name of Japan against civilians and military prisoners in several Pacific-Asian countries. The peoples of those countries remember (some of them have told me first-hand) even if others prefer not to learn. Goldstein, in the photographic history _Rain of Ruin_ (ISBN 1574880330), which this film partly parallels, argues that selective awareness of the many horrors in the Pacific war is a factor impeding perspective today. Another factor is modern "Japanese history books [with] very little about World War II, its origins and progress ... One gains the impression that modern Japanese history begins with the atomic bomb ... leaving conveniently vague the chain of events" before it.Truman spoke August 6 (midmorning in the Americas, afternoon and evening in continental Eurasia, and midnight August 6-7 in Japan). A great many people worldwide were awake and had access to radios. One of them was my father, a GI in France, having a glass of wine in the restaurant on the Eiffel Tower. To the serving US soldiers, Truman's words were profound; it was as if their futures had been handed back to them. "We then had several more glasses of wine."This film stresses intrigues and negotiations in the US and Japanese governments near the end of the war. A few scenes echo the spate of Manhattan-Project documentary in the 1980s that commenced with the great film _The Day After Trinity_ and extended to TV movies, mini-series, and books. It's rich in complexities and details (some of them recently available) absent from lesser documentaries and from popular treatments like Hersey's or Hachiya's books. Central is the struggle of clear-headed Japanese civil and court officials, and some in the military, who were ready to accept peace terms even before the atomic bombings, but feared a seizure of power by military leaders (who had a strong hand in the government anyway, by the constitution at that time). The production is a collage of re-enactment, wartime footage, and recent interviews with people bearing witness, from Hiroshima residents to Clark Clifford to Edward Teller. It is tied together with narration, sometimes poignant, in subtitles.There was little US involvement in this film. It came from parallel production teams in Canada and Japan (reminiscent of _Tora, Tora, Tora,_ which had a US rather than Canadian team, but also for which the 1995 film could possibly be seen as a very apt sequel.) As with TTT (despite the break with Kurusawa in that film and the subsequent omission of most of his footage) the Japanese unit is superb, with sensitive, nuanced portrayals of key figures such as Kido (Kei Sato), War Minister Gen. Korechika Anami (Kohji Takahashi), and the new Prime Minister ex-Adm. Bn. Kantaro Suzuki (Tatsuo Matsumura). (For some reason, even such a comprehensive source as the IMDB currently omits most of the Japanese cast.) They got a good ringer for the young emperor too. But also, the Canadian team succeeded in something notoriously hard: a faithful portrayal of Truman complete with mannerisms and rough edges (Kenneth Welsh). He and they deserve enormous applause, for this has scarcely ever been achieved (it is the film equivalent of getting a good blue fire in fireworks). Truman, the new, politically chosen vice president to FDR, left out of executive activity until FDR's sudden death, was a statesman conscious of his responsibilities before history, but he also had a crude streak, illustrated in his offhand dismissal of Stalin (who was not even Russian) as a "little Russian twerp."At one point in the film Marquis Kido (one of the pivotal figures) asks Prince Konoye to go to Russia to persuade Stalin to mediate with the Americans. Kido pushes his servants from the room, prompting Konoye's observation "it's rather bourgeois to abuse one's servants, Kido!" Kido complains "your servants probably aren't someone else's spies."If you've seen _Tora, Tora, Tora_, you remember the slow building of tension while Wesley Addy, as the Navy crypto officer, makes the rounds of Washington at night delivering intercepts of impending trouble, chauffeured by his wife, who presses him with limited success for hints of what's up (the "look, step on it, dear" scene). Addy reappears in this 1995 film as Secretary of War Stimson, especially in a crucial argument with Groves, vetoing Kyoto as a nuclear target.Naval aviator Capt. Mitsuo Fuchida, the Japanese military hero who managed to be on the scene at both Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima, is among those who have remarked that Japan tried to develop atomic bombs and would certainly have used them if successful. Goldstein points out "it is possible to pity the victims of the atomic bombs without attempting to rewrite history" to suit one's preferences. As far as I can tell, this 1995 film is faithful to that goal.

Gave a good view of both side's.

To wards the end of the WWII Hitler had been taken care of and things were being divided up in Europe. OnApril 12, 1945 Franklin Roosevelt passed away making Vice President Harry S Truman President. Truman was all of a sudden aware the USA had been working on the Atomic Bomb which it was called a gadget for a long time. The military wanted to use it right away and politician wanted to know more about this gadget. This story goes through the whole process and what was at stack.

Few decisions have been debated as long, fiercely or futilely as the decision to drop the Atomic Bomb on Japan at the end of the Second World War. Few situations involved as many diverse factors and none had the far-reaching ramifications of this one.Hiroshima is a straight-forward, documentary-styled portrayal of the many problems facing the political and military leaders of the major powers in 1945. The choice made by President Truman was based on the advice of an extremely diverse group of advisors, both military and civilian, most of whom knew the war was nearing its end and many of whom had personal agendas which influenced their input. Additionally, the involvement of allied heads of state, particularly Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Josef Stalin, played a significant role and are carefully addressed in the film.What I found most impressive was the objective and somewhat sympathetic treatment of the Japanese political leadership, who faced nearly insurmountable odds in dealing with an intractible military hierarchy which was unwilling to acknowledge defeat, complicated by the delicate need to negotiate a rapid settlement so as to avoid further civilian casualties, avoid further loss of national honor, and maintain the deified status of the emperor.The failure to understand culturally dictated diplomatic subtleties is quietly yet forcefully examined, alongwith sometimes intentional disregard of more obvious overtures.Hiroshima interweaves historical fact with a number of political assumptions that have come to be accepted as fact. While many of the film's apparent conclusions are conceivable and even probable, the viewer is cautioned to remember that this is a drama, not a documentary. Many of the character depictions are superbly accurate, while others are composites of several historical figures and yet others only loosely based on reality.Another impressive feature of this film is its sensitive portrayal of the actual employment of the "Special Bombs." There are the expected views of boiling mushroom clouds. As the story continues to unfold, still photos of the devastation are displayed. However, the producers successfully resisted the temptation to use footage of the human damage, and the often utilized scenes of grotesquely burned victims receiving medical treatment are tactfully absent.While Hiroshima may not be entirely reliable in a historical context, the personal and emotional processes that went into the decision making process are intelligently and accurately dealt with. If the viewer takes only one lesson from watching the film, it should be that all of those involved, from the scientists to the citizens of the ill-fated target cities, were not simply historical figures or statistics, but living human beings. Perhaps the most laudible accomplishment of this superb film is bringing a human perspective to the most inhumane (however necessary) event in the history of mankind.For anyone who would like to better understand the who's, what's, where's and especially the why's of the destruction of Hiroshima, this movie is a must see.

This movie shows what was going on in both Japan and the United States politically. It shows neither side had total agreement with the military. It shows why the war was fought and how each country thought it would end. It doesn't show a lot of Los Alamos but does show how the bombs were created and their destruction. It shows you when Harry Truman found out about them and the choice he made to use them. It shows you the conflict Hirohito had with his Army to end the war peacefully. It makes you think.

After FDR passes away Vice President Harry Truman is brought in to be the 33rd President. He is told that a secret new weapon is being worked on. There is great discussion as to if it should be used and where, meanwhile. in Japan there is talk to fighting to the last person as they are teaching children how to fight with...STICKS!Eventually two of the weapons are dropped and Japan decides to not die for honor of...death.

Es Región 1, mis aparatos no lo leen 🙁

Love the meticulous methodical way the plot is laid out (read the other terrific reviews of this miniseries) but what a shame that there are no English subtitles for such an important work as 'Hiroshima'.This version is 178 minutes long with chapter selection, Region 2, 4:3 full screen.Sit down, put your brain in drive and be enthralled by the plot and the unfurling events. No big stars to distract you. Just solid acting.DVD jacket shows a mushroom cloud fronted by a Japanese artefact.Another dvd version on the site has Truman, Churchill and Hirohito pictured on the front cover : 177 minutes, Region 0 and NTSC, and again NO SUBTITLES.These two versions are by Prism Leisure and Boulevard Entertainment, lazy not to include captions.

I found those Canadian-Japanese miniseries excellent, I spend a very good moment watching it and even if I was already a little bit familiar with the story, I still learned a lot. Some limited SPOILERS below."Hiroshima" tells the story of the circumstances in which president Truman decided to drop the first atomic bomb on a Japanese city. The story begins immediately after the death of president Franklin D. Roosevelt, when Truman is briefed about the existence of project "Manhattan" - indeed on Roosevelt's orders the secret surrounding this project was such, that even the vice-president of Unites States was left in the dark. The story progresses then to show the whole story of how the decision to use the new weapon was debated and ultimately taken - it also shows how Hiroshima ended being the first primary target (with the city of Kokura being the secondary or "replacement" target, if Hiroshima couldn't be reached).Although the whole story happens mostly in the offices of White House or other similar places, it is as dramatic and tense as any war movie. Amongst the best moments (to my taste) were Truman's meeting with Stalin at Potsdam in July 1945, the debate following Japanese rejection of Potsdam declaration and Truman's voyage back from Europe to USA on board of heavy cruiser USS "Augusta". This last moment is maybe the most touching part of the film and helps to understand better than anything else why Truman stopped hesitating and ordered the attack on Hiroshima...As it is not fully explained in the film, it is not exactly a SPOILER to say something about the scene in which, at Potsdam meeting, Truman tells Stalin about the existence of the atomic bomb - in fact Stalin already knew about project "Manhattan" BEFORE Truman, as Soviet spies (extremely active in USA during the WWII) managed not only to learn about this super-secret project already in 1944, but even to some degree infiltrate it!All actors did a great job in "Hiroshima" but the greatest performance is that of Canadian actor Kenneth Walsh, who plays president Truman.Those miniseries last 180 minutes, but frankly I didn't even notice the time passing. "Hiroshima" is an excellent quasi-document, very well made, very dramatic and worth every penny spend on it. I am so keeping this DVD for a future re-viewing and later for my children (when they are big enough to watch it). Warmly recommended.

Well done and most interesting, giving the reasons for the use of the bomb, though any attempt to justify the bomb on a city, for any reason, does little for me. Yes, I know it 'saved lives', though I'm sure the people of Hiroshima valued their lives too, but it could have been dropped in the countryside or on a military base, not a city full of innocent people. If Japan had done the same thing it would have been a 'war crime'. But the DVD is a fine account of the views of those involved, and is really well made, which is I suppose all that concerns us regarding it. As to history? Well, the people who win wars write the history. Enough said.

This is a well produced documentary type film. Although it is a long duration you feel it could have lasted hours longer to deliver all the facts leading up to and including this world changing event.It illustrates the speed needed to end WW2 but also the attitudes and opinions of the politicians, military and scientists developing and prepared to use this 'new secret weapon'.Overall an interesting and sobering account of the first atomic bomb detonation and how it changed the world we now live in forever.