Browse > Media Type > Films and Video
330 articles
Go for Broke! (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Drama, War
- War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Heroism - real or perceived, Hazards of passing judgment
- Widely available
1951 feature film that tells the story of 442nd Regimental Combat Team and that climaxes with the rescue of the "Lost Battalion." A popular and critical success, Go For Broke! represents a landmark in the representation of Japanese Americans in Hollywood films. The film focuses on the transformation of the initially bigoted Lt. Michael Grayson (played by Van Johnson), who is assigned to command the all-Japanese American unit. The members of the 442nd were mostly played by Nisei veterans. Producer and MGM studio head Dore Schary would produce another film centered around bigotry aimed at Japanese Americans four years later, Bad Day at Black Rock (1955).
G-Men vs. The Black Dragon/Black Dragon of Manzanar (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Thriller, Crime
- Fear of other, Good vs. bad, Nationalism - complications
- Available
A war-era movie serial produced by Republic Pictures in 1943 that pits Los Angeles-based American Special Investigator Rex Bennett against the Black Dragon Society (BDS), a Japanese led organization that is attempting to aid the Axis-war effort. There is a brief intersection of the BDS with the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans.
Hell to Eternity (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- War, Drama
- Evils of racism, Heroism - real or perceived, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
- Available
Hell to Eternity , directed by Phil Karlson and released in 1960, is a Hollywood war film that dramatizes the real-life story of Guy Gabaldon (played by Jeffrey Hunter), an American Marine who singlehandedly captured over 1,500 Japanese soldiers and civilians on the Island of Saipan during the fighting there in mid-1944. In addition to its portrait of Gabaldon's wartime heroism, Hell to Eternity is notable as the first Hollywood film to portray the wartime confinement of Japanese Americans.
The Yoke's on Me (film)
- Films and Video
Wartime comedy short subject starring the Three Stooges, whose plot involves in encounter with escapees from "a relocation center." The 79th Three Stooges short, "The Yoke's on Me" was released on May 26, 1944.
Chrysanthemums and Salt (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Immigrant experience, Importance of community, Self-reliance
- Available
Documentary film by Dianne Fukami on the Japanese American community in San Mateo, California, from its late 1800s origins to the outbreak of World War II. As hinted at by the film's title, Chrysanthemums and Salt largely focuses on two of the major industries that employed Japanese Americans before the war, growing and marketing chrysanthemums and salt companies that took advantage of the region's natural suitability for salt evaporation ponds. The film also covers Japanese American community life, the role of the churches and the outbreak of World War II and the reaction to the subsequent forced removal. Chrysanthemums and Salt is notable for including interviews with several Issei , conducted in Japanese with translated voiceovers. "Host" Jane Yanehiro narrates the film and also appears on camera.
Eyewitness: Stan Honda: Reflections of a Photojournalist (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary, Biography
- Expression through art, Facing darkness
- Widely available
Short documentary film about photojournalist Stan Honda, who gained fame for the photographs he took of the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Fighting for Justice: The Coram Nobis Cases (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Convention and rebellion, Evils of racism, Injustice, Power of the past
- Limited availability
Documentary film that provides a short overview of the coram nobis cases , based on interviews with attorneys Dale Minami , Peggy Nagae , and Rod Kawakami and television footage of other key figures.
Legacy of the Nisei: Stories of Japanese American Internment and World War II Veterans (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Heroism - real and perceived, Role of men, Injustice, Evils of racism
- Limited availability
The second video produced by the San Leandro Public Library built around interviews with Japanese American veterans and former concentration camp inmates from the San Francisco Bay area.
An American Story: World War II Stories of the Tragedy and Triumph of Our Japanese-American Community During Wartime (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Injustice, Importance of community
- Widely available
Video on the World War II odyssey of Japanese Americans from the Watsonville area based on interviews with survivors of that time. The video was part of a larger project that also included a curriculum guide/lesson plan kit for teachers and an interactive video kiosk available for display by community organizations. The project was sponsored by the Watsonville Public Library and Watsonville-Santa Cruz chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League and funded by a $14,000 grant from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program . The film's premiere screening took place on August 27, 2011. [1]
Point of Departure (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary, History
- Expression through art, Power of the past, Rebirth
- Widely available
Short documentary film that highlights the creation of interpretive artworks at the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial in 2022. Featuring interviews with Bainbridge Island incarceration survivor Lilly Kitamoto Kodama and artists Anna Brones and Luc Revel, we see the fabrication of the pieces and their installation, concluding with their September 2022 dedication. The film was funded by the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation and City of Bainbridge Island.
Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary, Biography, Music
- Expression through art, Identity crisis, Power of the past
- Widely available
Feature length musical documentary film that follows singer/songwriter Kishi Bashi as he writes and performs songs from a project inspired by the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans.
Nisei (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Drama, Short
- Facing darkness, Family - blessing or curse, Patriotism – positive side or complications
- Available
Narrative film about two Nisei brothers that begins with their visit with their Issei father at Tule Lake and follows them to the battlefields of Italy as members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team .
Conscience and the Constitution (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Convention and rebellion, Illusion of power, Injustice, Power of the past, Rights - individual or societal
- Widely available
Influential documentary film that tells the story of the draft resistance movement at Heart Mountain . Journalist Frank Abe produced, directed, and wrote the hour-long film, which was released in 2000.
Japanese War Bride (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Drama
- Evils of racism, Love and sacrifice, Family - blessing or curse
- Available
1952 movie directed by King Vidor about a white Korean War veteran who returns to his California home with a Japanese war bride. The couple faces subtle and overt opposition from his family and friends that comes to a head when the couple has their first baby. A Nisei neighbor discusses his family's wartime incarceration, one of the first mentions of this topic in any Hollywood film.
If Tomorrow Comes (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Drama
- Love and sacrifice, Evils of racism
- Available
Made for television movie that tells the story of a Romeo and Juliet type romance between a Nisei man and a white woman against the backdrop of World War II. Produced by Aaron Spelling Productions, "If Tomorrow Comes" debuted on CBS on December 7, 1971. It was directed by George McCowan from a teleplay by Lew Hunter and starred former child star Patty Duke opposite newcomer Frank Liu. The movie was originally titled "My Husband, the Enemy," with protests by the Asian American community leading to a name change.
Jimmy Murakami-Non Alien (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Injustice, Expression through art, Power of the past
- Widely available
Irish documentary filmmaker Sé Merry Doyle's profile of expatriate Nisei animator, filmmaker, and artist Jimmy Murakami.
Baseball Behind Barbed Wire (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice, Power of the past, Role of men
- Widely available
Documentary film on baseball in camp with a particular focus on the story of Issei baseball pioneer Kenichi Zenimura and Gila River . Filmmaker Yuriko Gamo Romer builds the story around interviews with Nisei Baseball Research Project Director Kerry Yo Nakagawa and Zenimura biographer Bill Staples, Jr., along with archival interviews with Tets Furukawa and Howard Kenso Zenimura, two Nisei who played under Zenimura, the latter interviews being augmented by Sabina Kariat's animation.
Lessons in Loyalty: One American's Internment Camp Experience (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Injustice, Power of the past, Wisdom of experience
- Widely available
Documentary film that profiles Masaji "Mas" Inoshita, a Nisei who was forcibly removed and incarcerated with his family at the Gila River , Arizona, camp during World War II and who subsequently served with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team . Lessons in Loyalty is built around interviews with Inoshita and also includes scenes of him visiting the Gila River site and speaking to a class about his experiences. Karen Leong, a professor at Arizona State University, provides the historical context. The film was produced by Ray Gonzales for the City of Chandler, Arizona in 2007.
Farewell to Manzanar (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Drama, History
- Evils of racism, Family – blessing or curse, Growing up – pain or pleasure, Injustice, Patriotism – positive side or complications, Power of the past
- Available
Made-for-television movie about a Japanese American family in Manzanar during World War II. Based on the book of the same name by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston, Farewell to Manzanar aired nationally on NBC stations on March 11, 1976, and remains one of the few mainstream dramatic films centered on the Japanese American concentration camp experience.
An Alien Place: The Fort Missoula Detention Camp, 1941–1944 (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Facing darkness, Injustice, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
- Widely available
Documentary film by Kimberly Hogberg on the Fort Missoula Detention Camp that covers the history of the Italian seamen and Issei community leaders who were imprisoned there during World War II.
The Ito Sisters (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Evils of racism, Family – blessing or curse, Immigrant experience, Role of women
- No availability
Documentary on three Nisei sisters from Central California who lived to see their beiju (88th birthday) celebration, exploring their lives to the end of World War II.
Kintsukuroi (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Drama, History
- Family – blessing or curse, Power of the past, Wisdom of experience
- Available
Feature-length family saga centering on a Japanese American family's wartime incarceration odyssey.
Community in Conflict: The Santa Fe Internment Camp Marker (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Change versus tradition, Patriotism – positive side or complications, Power of the past
- Available
Documentary film on the contentious effort to build a historical marker at the site of the Santa Fe Internment Camp in the late 1990s.
Visible Target (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Injustice, Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice, Progress – real or illusion
- Widely available
Documentary film on the forced removal of Japanese Americans from Bainbridge Island , Washington. Cris Anderson and John de Graaf produced Visible Target in 1984 for Seattle public television station KCTS, making it one of the earliest documentaries to tackle the exclusion and incarceration of Japanese Americans.
... I Told You So (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Expression through art, Importance of community, Power of words
- Widely available
Early documentary film produced by the Asian American arts organization Visual Communications that profiles the Sansei poet Lawson Fusao Inada . Shot in black and white, the film follows Inada through the streets of Fresno where he recites poetry from his 1971 book Before the War: poems as they happened over music by June and Dan Kuramoto, visiting friends and the family fish market. Later, he is shown working with other Asian American writers/editors on a new literary anthology (that will be published as Aiiieeeee!: An Anthology of Asian American Writers ), at work teaching at Southern Oregon University and walking among the ruins at the Tule Lake site. Between the poetry, Inada talks about his upbringing in Fresno where he related more to Chicano and African American classmates than to Japanese Americans, his family background, and the impact of wartime incarceration. No director, producer or writer is listed in …