White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
by Steven Okazaki
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Harold Agnew, Kiyoko Imori, Lawrence Johnston, Morris Jeppson, Shuntaro HidaDirector: Steven Okazaki
Brand: HBO Home Video
Writer: Steven Okazaki
Producer: Atsuko Shigesawa
Producer: Jason Cohen
Producer: Jules Greenberg
Producer: Kathleen Sullivan
Producer: Michael Wilson
Producer: Robert Richter
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; Japanese (Original Language); Korean (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Unknown
Running Time: 86 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-08-07
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: 94389
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Product features:
- Through the powerful recollections of atomic bomb survivors, White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, an extraordinary new film by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Okazaki, presents a deeply moving look at the painful legacy of the first -- and hopefully last -- uses of thermonuclear weapons in war. Featuring interviews with fourteen atomic bomb survivors - many who
Movie Reviews of White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Movie Review: Devastatingly Powerful, Emotional and Effective
Summary: 5 Stars
I have seen and own many, many documentaries on all kinds of subjects; war, music, science, WWI, WWII, art, biography, history, nature and politics, but WHITE LIGHT, BLACK RAIN: THE DESTRUCTION OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI is one of the most effective and gut-wrenching documentaries I have seen, or ever hope to see, on the horrors of war. I literally sat in stunned silence for several minutes after it was over.
This emotional and graphic film expertly weaves a hard-hitting tale of suffering and terror. The film gets its power from interviews with several survivors of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings, who describe in vivid detail what they saw the day their cities were bombed, what they felt and how they survived history's only nuclear attacks. Most of the survivors are horribly scarred physically and emotionally, and even with years of treatment and plastic surgery, all are still suffering the pain and ill effects of those two horrible events. One survivor removes his shirt to show us the still-shocking sight of his upper torso and arms, ribs caved in, sunken chest and skin still painfully scarred. The narration is provided only by the survivors, which adds immensely to its effectiveness, although the screen is frequently filled with supplemental facts to ensure that the viewer is able to grasp the full impact of what happened on those early August mornings some 60-odd years ago.
In addition to the victims, several surviving members of the American bomb crews are interviewed, while archival footage of the actual bombings, the suffering, the injuries and the devastation are shown with no censure, in all their abject horror. By and large, the survivors were mostly children at the time of the attacks, describing their frantic searches for their family or parents. One tearfully describes finding her mother, barely recognizable and literally burned to ashes. Graphic footage of the burn victims, many missing limbs, fingers, eyes, ears or noses, are examined by American and Japanese doctors shortly after the bombs dropped. There is extensive examination of the attitudes of the conquered Japanese, and their subsequent renouncement of war. We are told that many victims of the bombs blamed not their American attackers, but the Japanese government for starting the war, a war they were sure to lose. We learn that large numbers of Americans gave of their time and money to help the survivors and provide medical treatment and plastic surgery. We find out, while the tears build in our eyes, that even to this day, many of the innocent civilians who lived through the bombings are shunned and scorned by their own neighbors, perhaps because of memories that are too painful to bear, and many who still wrongly believe that the victims carry some type of contagion, even after all these years. Above all, the film is permeated with heartbreaking stories of courage, loss and pain. So much pain!
Brilliantly directed, produced and edited by Stephen Okazaki, the story is enhanced by an excellent soundtrack of moody music, which packs an emotional punch that drags the viewer into the horror and suffering. Be warned; there are images so unforgettable you may not sleep for weeks. This film is not for those easily disturbed, but should certainly be required viewing for anyone who thinks that nuclear weapons should ever again be an option. As one of the original bomb crew of the Enola Gay puts it, "When I hear somebody say, `We ought to nuke Iraq' I think, `That fool can't even know what nuke really means; if he did, he wouldn't say that". Exactly. Above all, no one who views this film will ever see nuclear weapons the same way again.
Not to be missed, and highly recommended.
Summary of White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
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