UPDATE: The documentary will now be available to stream beginning on Wednesday, Dec. 7, the 75th anniversary of the deadly attack on Pearl Harbor.
In 75 years, little has lessened the horror of the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
That’s partially due to the shock factor: World War II was being fought by other countries “over there” in Europe and Asia when the Japanese unexpectedly bombed the U.S. Naval base in Hawaii at 7:48 a.m. The Japanese had intended it to keep the U.S. out of the fray, but instead, the next day, we were at war.
The loss of life also was dramatic, in every sense of the word. Of the 2,390 American service members and civilians who died as a result of the 90- minute attack, 1,177 were on the USS Arizona, which exploded and sank to the bottom of Pearl Harbor, where it still lies today.
Now a new documentary takes viewers where they’ve never gone before: To the lower decks of the Arizona, where haunting “frozen in time” images — an officer’s dress uniform still on its hanger, an unassuming foot locker — give a sense of what everyday life must have been like on board — right up until the moments when the first bombs hit.
The 60-minute film, "Pearl Harbor: Into the Arizona," premieres Wednesday on CuriosityStream, the world's first ad-free, on-demand streaming service for documentary and nonfiction programming. Working in conjunction with the National Park Service Submerged Resources Center (the NPS operates the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center, which straddles the sunken ship's hull) and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, the filmmakers got the never before seen images using what's been dubbed "The 11th Hour:" The world's first self-spooling submersible Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV).
“With only a handful of USS Arizona survivors still living today, and so few others who were alive when the attacks took place, we have an obligation to preserve and record these lessons of history for future generations,” said CuriosityStream producer Jorge Franzini. “It’s an honor to have witnessed these images firsthand and to share them with the world.”
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Due to NPS restrictions, no human has ever seen inside the USS Arizona below her second deck. But the 11th Hour, which is equipped with ultra-HD 4K and 3D image capture and recording technology, could go where humans couldn’t: Indeed, based on advance clips provided by CuriositySteam, the documentary is a bit of a starmaking turn for the self-spooling submersible.
Still, nothing can compete with the haunting images of naval life remarkably preserved in their watery resting place. Even the documentary’s makers initially seem unsure of, then incredibly moved by, what they’re seeing transmitted onscreen.
“What is that, a button?” one of them asks in one of the clips as the ROV gradually pulls back to show an official military cap with some sort of metal insignia on it. “No, it’s a hat!”
Says another, almost wonderingly, upon seeing an officer’s dress uniform still hanging neatly on its hanger: “75 years, just hanging there perfectly. It looks like it’s pressed.”
"Pearl Harbor: Into the Arizona" will be available to watch for free on any streaming-enabled device with a 30-day trial at www.CuriosityStream.com.
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