Carrier
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Movie Reviews of Carrier
Movie Review: Best documentary I've seen in years
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm starting out by saying that even though I had some problems with this show, I'm giving it 5 stars. I'm actually giving it 6 stars, it's so good, and then subtracting 1.
I've always been interested in the Navy. I come from a Navy town and several members of my family were either in the Navy or were civilians working building ships in the Navy Yard. I didn't really know what went on board an aircraft carrier until I saw this program. I found the stories of the regular crewman pretty interesting. They work 16-18 hours a day, then try to sleep in a tiny bunk separated from the corridor with a little curtain, all while planes are landing overhead every couple of minutes. And if you work on the flight deck in the Middle East, it's 130 degrees while you're wearing a long-sleeve turtleneck and a nylon vest. I didn't find the stories of the pilots to be as interesting and think too much time was spent on their frat-house antics.
I think the Navy is to be commended for the frankness of this program. Even something shocking like the sexual assault prevention officer being suspected of rape wasn't whitewashed at all. Those interviewed gave their opinion, good and bad, of their mission. Even on the topic of 'don't ask, don't tell', I was surprised how near some sailors came to admitting being gay. And for those who complained about the swearing: they are SAILORS. Have you ever heard the expression 'swear like a sailor'?
On the downside, there was too much time spent on one particular sailor whose pregnant girlfriend was obviously giving him the brushoff for the entire 10 episodes. I felt bad for the guy, but by the 3rd episode, I was yelling at the TV for him to get a clue. The other thing that got a little tiresome were the little 'music videos' interspersed. Most of the music was good, but they just went on too long and there were too many of them.
Movie Review: American Society in Miniature
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a sucker for documentaries. Even though PBS comes in with lots of ghosting and static, I watched the first five episodes, then bought the DVD to watch the rest. My father was a carrier pilot, but beyond that personal connection, it is interesting to see the different military mindsets up and down the ranks. To some extent, our American class structure replicates itself on board the Nimitz. Non-commissioned support grades are highly integrated while command is still largely, though not entirely, white and male. Command staff are generally gung-ho patriotic; Lower ranks are often just as intense but some express, "It's just a job" or, "We're here for the oil" opinions, too. If Carrier is any indication, the Navy offers full employment, hard work, intense supervision and the sort of camaraderie you don't always find on dry land. That so many of these folk admitted they needed all that is a sad commentary on parenting, schooling and society.
The documentary is definitely character-driven, with some personal revelations drawing gasps from my wife, who identified all too well with the working class element on board. One episode featured a good ol' OK boy that tragically couldn't (or wouldn't) get past his racist upbringing. Another sad moment was the fallout from an inebriated sexual encounter, while on liberty, between two shipmates that barely even knew each other.
Update: I think I can see why some have complained about the personal stories. Whereas the first five or six hours struck a good balance between the requirements of the mission and the personal stories of the crew, the last three or four hours focused almost entirely on personal situations. To some extent this is understandable since the primary mission was completed, but as much as I connected with their stories, all that personal griping did become a bit tedious.
Movie Review: As an actual service member,
Summary: 5 Stars
Serving under worst conditions (USS Kitty Hawk CV-63)than the Nimitz, I must say that this documentry has to be the absolute best portrayal of what life is like on an aircraft carrier. Yeah, maybe there was too much focus on just a few of the 5000 ships company and air wing crew members (as mentioned from one of the reviews)... but i'm gonna tell you it only a few people to describe what life is like on a aircraft carrier...it doesn't take all 5000 sailors and marines to tell you what its like. In other words, the director showed enough people do give a full perspective of what life is like on a carrier. Take it from me... I can relate to all of the feelings and opinions that was expressed on the show. On that note, I am very surprised that the Navy allowed that much exposure to be revealed to the public. Usually, they hide this exposure and allow camera crews to look at all the "good" aspects of being on a boat (I forgot the name of that show on Discovery which showed how good life is like on the Reagan..and I hear life sucks more on that ship than the Nimitz or even the Kitty Hawk). I am glad that this show was made though. My family now knows the sacrifice, the commitment and the stress that people like myself go through on a daily basis. Anyway: Bravo PBS! I highly recommend this show to anyone who is thinking of joining the Navy... This show puts perspective on the kinds of people you'll meet..all the ups and downs..and opinions of such.
On a side note: the Nimitz and CAG 11 are very lucky that they go on cruise at 18 month (excluding Surge cruises and/crisis) intervals. Kitty Hawk and CAG 5 (aka: me) deploy twice a year. Maybe PBS should've went to Japan and filmed us for a whole year. Now that would be a show!
Movie Review: 5 stars for the content; waiting on the DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
I just watched most of the series off my DVR at one sitting. "HD Collector's" anti-pre-review opinion baffles me. We who have seen the show have every reason to review it here. Since this hasn't been released yet, one important reason to do a review here and now is to help encourage Amazon and PBS and whoever to put this series out on the market. Why should they publish it if there's no buzz, no viewer support?
I'm writing this to help get it out there so HDCollector actually has the option of collecting it. Duh.
But also, of course the DVD itself and the extras are worth knowing about, and when/if this comes out I'll report on those aspects. But whether it's a superb DVD set or just average in terms of the extras and the quality of DVD reproduction, at least 90% of the overall value of the set is the content--is what I just watched on my big screen.
And that was amazingly good, as most of the other reviewers have noted--it didn't impose a Navy PR scam or an antiwar screed on the story. You get the an honest, nuanced view of life on an American carrier.
It even got me a little weepy at the end, watching the air controller's reunion with her two kids after moving heaven and earth to get them there.
A truly worthy show, and one other documentarians should watch to see how you can do a great job with the sort of thing that usually just gets a propaganda treatment, either pro or con. The praise from the Navy guys who wrote reviews says it all.
BTW this is being offered by PBS Home Video for [...] but I'm inclined to wait for it to go through Amazon, because I want to support Amazon's great peer review system.
Movie Review: Changed but still the same
Summary: 5 Stars
My wife's name may appear as the author of this review.
I was on the maiden cruise for the Nimitz back in 1975, a NATO cruise to the North Atlantic following workups in the Caribbean. I was then on the first full Med cruise in 1976.
Much has changed aboard the ship, and yet so much is still the same. The mess deck (chow hall) looks a lot nicer, the workout area far exceeds the dinky gym we had, there is no comparison to our little stores and what is there now, and of course no phone calls or email. And most notably, no women.
But beyond that I felt like I could nearly recognize many of the sailors and marines portrayed in the show. The same kind of emotions, doubts, enthusiasm, and bonehead actions were there 30 years ago as are there now. The documentary did a wonderful job of showing what life on a carrier is like.
And that seemed to be the point of the show. There are other documentaries, many of which get rather boring, that go through and talk about all the technical aspects of a carrier, but you get the feeling the people there are just a highly evolved ant taking care of the machine. This documentary showed the people and how it is a microcosm of America. Very rightly so we often referred to it as the small town of Nimitz, Virginia.
I look forward to passing this DVD set on to my daughter and her family so they can see where I spent a year and change and understand a bit of what my life was like.
RVAH-9 Hoot Owls - HHMF!