This week’s pick is Midway (1976) which depicts the U.S. and Japanese naval battle which turned the tide of the war in the Pacific. Director Jack Smight assembled some of Hollywood’s A-list talent including Charlton Heston (Capt. Matt Garth), Robert Mitchum (Vice Adm. William “Bull” Halsey), Henry Fonda (Adm. Chester Nimitz), James Coburn (Capt. Vinton Maddox), Glenn Ford (Rear Adm. Raymond Spruance), Hal Holbrook (Cmdr. Joe Rochefort), Steve Kanaly (Lt. Cmdr. Lance Massey), Tom Selleck (Capt. Cyril Simard), Robert Webber (Rear Adm. Jack Fletcher), and Toshiro Mifune (Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto).

Midway is best known for two things, its Academy Award winning Sensurround pre-surround sound/William Castle inspired movie experience, and as a war film which was shot using mostly colorized combat footage from World War II, and scenes from Hollywood greats like Tora! Tora! Tora! and Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.

Jack Smight had stated in an interview years later that the footage was meant to show the scope of the battle and that these were scenes shot under real battlefield conditions. Despite these flaws, the film does have a wide array of well orchestrated scenes, and the action is quite convincing in that many historical moments are made through matters of sheer luck and through careless actions.

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Ever sinse actor Christoph Waltz burst onto the scene in Quentin Tarantino’s terrific Inglourious Basterds, I’ve been waiting for him to have another amazing role to follow that film. Now, it appears he’s found one.

Alongside Reese Witherspoon and Twilight’s Robert Pattinson, Waltz stars in the Francis Lawrence-directed drama Water for Elephants. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Sara Gruen, the story concerns a love triangle under the circus Big Top.

In the film, Pattinson’s character, a veterinary student named Jacob, abandons his studies after his parents are killed in a car accident and joins the traveling circus as their vet. Of course, complications ensue when he falls in love with Marlena (Witherspoon), the wife of the brutal yet charming head animal trailer (Waltz).

Regardless of the subject matter, the presence of Pattinson and the seemingly melodramatic nature of the plot, I’m in because of Christoph Waltz. Plus, I love the circus.

Check out the first trailer for the film after the jump and decide for yourself if this film’s for you. Water for Elephants hits theaters on April 15, 2011.

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