Pearl Harbor is a 2001 war romantic drama starring Ben Affleck, Colm Feore, Tom Sizemore, Josh Hartnett, Kate Beckinsale, Jon Voight, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Alec Baldwin. Michael Bay directed the movie while Randall Wallace wrote the story. The director Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer produced the film. Walt Disney Studios distributed it.
The film is the fictionalized story that happened on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese army attacked Pearl Harbor during World War II. And, it also involves a love story before, after the attack, and in the Doolittle Raid.
Even though it received four nominations in Academy Awards and won the Best Sound Editing category, it was also recognized as the first worst movie to win an Academy Awards.
It was set in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. But, most of the production was not filmed there. Instead, the filmmakers used a naval base in Hawaii. The Rosarito Beach in Baja California was also used. Other filming locations are in Texas, England, Mexico, Indiana, and Nevada.
Where was the movie ‘Pearl Harbor’ Filmed?
Los Angeles Harbor
Pearl Harbor is the central location of this movie. But, many scenes involving the shipboard were shot in the ship used for the film, known as S.S. Lane Victory, which was anchored near the Vincent Thomas Bridge.
The ship is an American merchant ship with guns outfitted in several areas, used in World War II. In 1989, it was preserved and converted into a floating museum. Because of her rarity, she was included in the list of U.S. National Historic Landmarks.
Sometimes, S.S. Lane Victoria provides a little tour to Catalina, featuring enemy aircraft’s mock attacks.
Address: 3011 Miner St, San Pedro, CA 90731, United States
Visiting Cost: $130 for an adult and $80 for children under the age of 15.
Fort MacArthur Army base
The Japanese high command would plan the attack in a row of the battleship. This scene was shot in a park known as Angels Gate Park, a Fort MacArthur Army base region. That hilltop park is known as the home of Korean Friendship Bell. It also has breathtaking ocean views. The park is a shrine-like historical landmark with a unique Asian Motif.
Address: 3601 S Gaffey St, San Pedro, CA 90731, United States
The army base was built in 1914. In the 1920s, it was filled with 16-inch cannons in order to protect the coastline. You can still witness the gun emplacements in that place.
One of the emplacements was intentionally flooded to get a pool where Yamamoto (aka Mako) would exploit the ships during the attack’s planning.
Address: Meyler Rd, San Pedro, CA 90731, USA
Hospital in Hawaii
The hospital scenes were shot in two hospitals – Linda Vista Hospital and Camarillo State Hospital.
Linda Vista Hospital has also appeared in many movies and T.V. shows, including 13th Floor, End of Days, Inspector Gadget, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The hospital was opened in 1924 and shut down in 1991. After that, it became a famous filming location for various productions like movies, shows, and music videos.
Address: 610-30 St. Louis Street, Los Angeles, California
Camarillo State Hospital was built in 1933 and closed in 1997. It has a Mission Revival Style architecture structure.
Address: 1878 South Lewis Road, Camarillo, California, USA
Kualoa Ranch
There is a scene where the American has no idea what is happening, but the soldiers in the bunker find something huge on the radar. This was filmed in the Cooper Battery, Kaaawa Valley in Kualoa Ranch Private Natural Reserve. You can visit the valley as a part of a tour around that region.
Cooper Battery was an active World War II coastal region defense battery. It was opened in 1943, but now it is used as a museum for movies and T.V. series like Jurassic Park.
Address: 49-855 Kamehameha Hwy, Kaaawa, HI 96730, USA
Warner Grand Theatre
After the presumed death of Rafe (aka Ben Affleck), Evelyn (aka Kate Beckinsale) and Danny (aka Josh Hartnett) would go for a movie night in Hawaii. First, they would watch a newsreel about Hitler being ascended to power in Europe. Then, they would stop by the Black Cat Cafe for lunch. During this sequence, Red (aka Ewen Bremner) proposes to his girlfriend on the opposite side of the street.
This scene was filmed in Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro. Both sides of the theatre’s street were changed according to the timeline. The cafe was created in the vacant storefront of the road as an elaborate set.
Warner Grand Theatre was opened in 1931 and is one of the lucky buildings that survived the war. The theatre is still open and mostly shows classic movies daily. Films like 7th Heaven, Melrose Place, The Ghosts of Mississippi, and What’s Love Got To Do With It have used this location for shooting.
Address: 478 W 6th St, S Pacific Ave, San Pedro, CA 90731, United States
Union station
Rafe decides to participate in the air war in England. The New York Railway Station where Danny says bye to Rafe is an actual Union Station in Los Angeles. This station was used in many movies, including The Driver, The Replacement Killers, and The Way We Were.
It was built in 1939 and named the massive railroad passenger terminal in the Western USA.
Address: 800 N Alameda St, Los Angeles, CA 90012, United States
RAF Oakley
RAF Oakley is a former Air Force military base between Oakley and Worminghall. It was Rafe’s U.S. base in the movie. However, the actual location of the base is a Badminton House, Tetbury near Bath, Gloucestershire.
This place was used in 1993, The Remains of the Day, as a double to the Darlington Hall. Now, the house is not open for any public visit.
Address: South Gloucestershire, Badminton GL9 1DD, U.K.
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
There is a scene where the American President Franklin Roosevelt (aka John Voight) would be in the White House’s Rose Garden and receives the news about the Doolittle raid. It was filmed in the Exposition Park rose garden located in the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM).
It is the largest museum in the Western United States and is known for its 35 million specimens and records covering the history of over 4.5 billion years.
This location has appeared in Pretty Woman.
Address: 900 W Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007, United States
Van Nuys Airport
The Mitchell field where Jimmy Doolittle (Alec Baldwin) lectures Rafe and Danny is the Van Nuys Airport in San Fernando Valley. The vintage plane taking off and general airfield scenes were filmed in this area. The famous farewell scene of Casablanca was also shot in that place.
It is a public airport and one of the busiest places in the world, owned by Los Angeles World Airports. Almost all the medical, tour, news, and transport helicopters are based from this airport.
Address: 16461 Sherman Way, Van Nuys, CA 91406, USA
Other filming locations include Queen’s Salon in Long Beach, a private ranch in Placerita Road, U.S. Steel Gary Works in Indiana, California State University, Ford Island in Oahu, Channel Islands, and the Westward Beach in Point Dume, which was used in Planet of the Apes’ climax.
The film came into theatres on May 21, 2001, and became successful at the box office. The motion picture earned around $450 million worldwide with a budget of $140 million. However, it received overwhelmingly negative reviews from the critics for its longer runtime, story and screenplay, dialogue, cast performance, pace, and inaccuracies in history.