Roland Emmerich is best known for his disaster films, starting with The Day After Tomorrow up to 2012. He also likes to mix in fantastic creatures, such as Godzilla and Independence Day. With Midway – For Freedom, published in 2019, he embeds his Destruction cinema into a true story a.
As the title suggests, the war film tells the story of the Battle of Midway. Specifically, this is a sea battle in the Second World War that was fought from June 4th to 7th, 1942. American soldiers fought against the Japanese navy near the Midway Islands in the Pacific.
The Battle of Midway as an epic war film blockbuster by Roland Emmerich
Emmerich recounts the Battle of Midway different perspectives. We follow the events through the eyes of pilot Dick Best (Ed Skrein) and engineer Bruno Gaido (Nick Jonas), among others. They are joined by Lieutenant Commander Edwin Layton (Patrick Wilson) as well as the leadership team around Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (Woody Harrelson) and Vice Admiral William Halsey (Dennis Quaid).
You can watch the trailer for Midway – For Freedom here:
Midway – Trailer 2 (German) HD
The Battle of Midway is as crucial turning point entered the history books in the Pacific War. Emmerich’s film adaptation is based on true events, but also relies on the possibilities of blockbuster cinema and transforms Midway – For Freedom into a war film epic.
The film was not a success in the cinema. With an impressive budget of 100 million US dollars (excluding marketing costs), Midway – For Freedom only managed to gross 127 million US dollars. The flop was particularly bitter in the USA. Here the film only made $59 million, even though it was the project’s main market.
War film epic: When is Midway – For Freedom on TV?
Midway – For Freedom is playing tonight, September 18, 2023, at 10:15 p.m. on ZDF. The film will be shown without commercial breaks and will run until 12:20 a.m. The repetition takes place on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday at 00:45 a.m.
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