Above and Beyond

This is the classic 1952 docudrama that everyone should see, for the true story about the development and absolutely necessary use of the atomic bomb, for one purpose: To end World War II as soon as possible and without the sacrifice of one million American lives that would have been the price of invading Japan and clearing out all resistance. Many efforts had been made to negotiate a surrender. As noted by many who lived through those times: "The Japanese would just not stop." As said often by American servicemen: "It wasn't the Japanese people. It was their leaders." The Japanese population was being trained to defend the homeland with everything, even kitchen knives if needed, to the last man, woman, and child. An armada of American ships and thousands of Marines, soldiers, and sailors were already on their way to Japan, and the men were ready to lay down their lives in the invasion, to end the war. When news came that the bomb had been dropped, they (and all Americans) broke out in celebration. All knew then that the war would be over. As people who worked on the atomic project said: "It was a race, just a race. The first nation to get that bomb would win the war." The Japanese peace faction saw the bomb as a route to ending the war as well. Navy Minister Yonai called it "a gift from heaven." Japanese scientists had been working on an atomic bomb themselves, and they determined that the bomb at Hiroshima (an industrial war products city) was a uranium bomb requiring a long time to make. They gambled that it was the only one. Without surrender, three days later the plutonium bomb (fast to make) was dropped on Nagasaki, and the Japanese scientists saw that now the Americans could bring many more (seven more were on the way). The Japanese leaders took a vote on whether to end the war and surrender, and it was a tie. War Minister Anami proposed national suicide, suggesting that the entire nation could be destroyed like a beautiful flower. Emperor Hirohito broke the tie and ordered surrender. These facts are from historians, many expertly-researched news articles, and from people who lived through those times, were on the scene, and experienced it all. Col. Paul Tibbets, an expert aviator and survivor of 25 harrowing bombing missions over Germany, was selected to lead the atomic effort to end the war as soon as possible without sacrificing more American lives. He said, "When you're fighting a war to win, you use every means at your disposal to do it. Most writers have tried to find answers for the use of these atomic weapons. The real answers lay in the thousands of graves from Pearl Harbor around the world to Normandy and back again." Many hard decisions had to be made, as always when a nation is pulled into a war it had hoped to avoid. Even Japanese admiral Yamamoto, who was ordered to plan the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, saw the futility of it, seeing America as "a sleeping giant" that could eventually outpace Japan in production of war weaponry and forces. As those in the defense industry know, when in a war, a nation is forced to either 1) kill the enemy or 2) break his will to fight. In reality, both are done as much as much as possible and as fast as possible. The development of a weapon so awesome was necessary to END THE WAR by breaking the will of the enemy to fight, in a war that had cost an estimated 900,000 American lives up to that time, and Japan was still fiercely fighting with many powerful methods of its own, including suicide pilots who inflicted terrible sinkings of American ships and loss of many American lives. Let us remember that both Japan and Germany were also working on atomic bomb programs of their own, and this was a war that America had to win.

This seems like a fair examination of one man's monstrous moral dilemma about nuclear war. It's unusually candid about what the secrecy did to his marriage, and you have to recognize the national sentiment at the time. The film does not judge; just covers the ground from start to finish.

This movie was exceptional and based on actual events that led up to the dropping of the first atom bomb that led to the end of WW2 in 1945. The acting was first-rate and the story was gripping and realistic. The only thing that was mostly left out was that two bombs were dropped and nothing is mentioned about the second group of heavy bombers that dropped the second bomb. There was also nothing mentioned about the other bombers that were shot down and lost prior to the A-bomb attack or the protective planes that flew in support of the big bomber. What this was really about was the personal experiences of the most famous crew and aircraft associated with the events. Well worth your time if you are interested in WW2 history.

We watched this movie on Memorial Day. Excellent portrayal of Col Tippits who flew the plane that dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima. Robert Taylor did an excellent job as Col Tippits. There was drama and tension that held our attention the whole time.

Paul Tibbets story during the was well told as there was much information to cover in only two hours but I believe they did it.

Time has not aged this subject - the events leading up to and including the dropping of the A-bomb on Hiroshima. The subject has been sensitively and truly presented. Outstanding performances by Robert Taylor as Paul Tibbets and Eleanor Parker.as his wife, Lucey. Tibbets was chosen to command a tight operational training base where everyone was sworn to secrecy regarding the nature of the operation, ie the use of a new bomb. The air crews were only informed of the target when in the air on the way to the drop zone.This secrecy and hard-line discipline required caused friction and uncertainty within the Tibbets's relationship. The stunning and under-rated Eleanor Parker is magnificent as she tries to be the supportive and loyal wife while she knows nothing of her husband's need to enforce harsh discipline. Robert Taylor portrays the grim determination of Tibbets to see the operation succeed from the start. His acting is magnificent, particularly in the cockpit scenes during the flight to the drop zone and culminating in the unbelievable comprehension as he watches the resultant mushroom cloud, This is truly a great picture with wonderful performances, well worth watching several times to catch nuances throughout the story.

Above and Beyond is the story of Col. Paul Tibbets. This courageous man flew the Enola Gay and dropped the first atomic bomb, destroying Hiroshima. It reveals the host of complex, practical problems that he was personally responsible to overcome, but is much more. It is also an intimate portrait of the impact of his work on his marriage and family. The secrecy of the project, his patriotic allegiance to his country, and his fervent desire to see the war come to as swift a conclusion as possible all combined to create a relentless attack on his relationship with his wife. This unintended picture of the difference between how men and women see marriage is the film's greater strength. The military aspect of the film is fascinating; the familial aspect is compelling. Robert Taylor was an incredibly underrated actor. Eleanor Parker was always good and always lovely. Only the technical limitations of the 1950s film production reduce the rating to 4 stars.

Great movie had no idea how much he had to do with this event just thought he dropped the bomb. Had a friend who knew him personally.

Great!

excellent dvd

Above and Beyond is a movie everyone should see. The extreme burden placed on Paul Tibbets, Jr to drop the bomb on Hiroshima can only be imagined. He and his crew spent untold hours training and perfecting the operational aspects of this mission as there was zero tolerance for error. They only had the one chance.Without meaning to he made his mother an important part of this high secret mission. Her name was Enola Gay. In order to find out why her name was so important you have to watch the movie.

Dvd reçu très rapidement.C’est l’histoire du colonel Paul Tibbets, pilote de bombardier Enola Gay , qui largua la première bombe atomique sur Hiroshima.......Un film remarquable et très bien interprèté

Great movie anout the a bomb