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Ãëàâíàÿ>Êèíîñöåíàðèè>Ïåðë Õàðáîð/ Pearl Harbor Ñöåíàðèé ôèëüìà Ïåðë Õàðáîð/ Pearl Harbor íà àíãëèéñêîì ÿçûêå áåñïëàòíî
Çäåñü âû ìîæåòå íàéòè ñöåíàðèé ê ôèëüìó: Ïåðë Õàðáîð/ Pearl Harbor. Ïåðë Õàðáîð/ Pearl Harbor Out of BLACK we hear the sound of an airplane roaring by. EXT. POV OF AN AIRPLANE Flying over American heartland. We see the earth through the pilot's perspective as sky and ground swap positions, the plane swooping down and storming over the ground. THE PLANE is a biplane, racing over a field lush with young plants. It releases a trail of crop spray, and climbs again... Up into a crystalline blue sky where sunshine pours like honey over family farms stretching to the horizon. Maybe it's not heaven, maybe it's just Tennessee. But as long as there's been an America, men have fought and died for this place -- as volunteers. Far off, but visible from the plane is A BARN - DAY The barn is unpainted except for hand lettering that says "McCawley Crop Dusting." Another plane noise, this one made by kids, brings us to TWO BOYS, sitting in the shell of an old plane propped on crates, scavenged of it's engine, seats, and wheels. The boys sit in it's cockpit, butts crowded onto the nail keg they've replaced the seat with. They've even attached a 2x4 as propeller, as if their imaginations needed any help. They wear overalls and have bowl haircuts: RAFE and DANNY, 10 years old. RAFE Bandits at 2 o'clock. DANNY Power dive! They buzz their lips in a flying noise and work the controls, Rafe's bare feet on one pedal, Danny's on the other. RAFE It's Germans! DANNY Kill the bastards! Rafe looks at Danny in shock -- then they both laugh and go right back into their game, manufacturing their own machine gun and engine sounds. RAFE Good shooting, Danny! DANNY Good shooting, Rafe! RAFE Land of the free... DANNY Home of the brave! RAFE There's another one! Their vocal motors roar again... But a man's hand grabs Danny by the straps of his overalls and jerks him from the cockpit. It's Danny's FATHER and he's a fearsome sight; drunk, his hair uncombed, his face unshaven, his teeth -- those still left -- are rotting. He's also missing an arm; but the one that's left is potent, and he's shaking Danny with it. DANNY'S FATHER You no count boy! Johnson come lookin', said he'd pay a dime for you to shovel his pig shed, and I can't find you no place. DANNY Daddy, I told you I was comin' here. His father slaps him off his feet. Rafe is so horrified he can't get a sound out. Danny isn't even surprised. But when his father snatches him up again, twisting the overall straps so tight they choke him, he struggles. It does no good; his father starts marching across the field, dragging and strangling Danny. DANNY Da!... Dad... The father's drunken anger makes him oblivious -- until CRACK! The 2x4 propeller slams him across the back, knocking him to the ground and making him drop Danny. The father rolls over to see 10-year-old Rafe, holding the 2x4 like a bat. RAFE Let him alone! The father's eyes bulge in rage; he struggles to his feet. DANNY Rafe... Daddy... No! The man looks murderous, but Rafe draws back the board. RAFE I'll bust you open, you...German! The words ring something deep in the man's booze-broken brain. He begins to cough, convulsively; it brings a blossom of blood to his mouth. He wipes it with his hand, but blood clings to his teeth. He chokes out -- DANNY'S FATHER I fought the Germans. He looks at Danny in shame, with the realization of what he's just done. He turns and staggers away. Danny looks at Rafe -- a communication between boys joined by something deeper than blood. Then Danny runs off after his father. DANNY Daddy! Daddy! Wait. Danny catches him, takes his father's hand, and walks away with him. The crop duster we saw in the air has just landed, behind Rafe. The pilot, RAFE'S FATHER, shuts off the engine. RAFE'S FATHER What's goin' on, son? RAFE Nothing. Danny's Dad just come to get him. Rafe turns back to the ramshackle plane and replaces the 2x4 propeller. His father looks toward Danny and his father, walking away, then looks at his own son. RAFE'S FATHER Hey, boy -- you wanna go up? Rafe can't believe it; he runs to the plane and hops into his father's lap. As his father cranks the engine and tucks him into the harness, Rafe says -- RAFE Daddy, sometime will you take Danny up too? RAFE'S FATHER Sure will, son. The engine races to life...and we -- DISSOLVE TO: EXT. NEW JERSEY AIR BASE - DAY American P-40 fighters blast through the air, props screaming and wind singing by their wings. There are eight pilots in their individual seats, and we focus on two: RAFE MCCAWLEY has grown lean and handsome. And DANNY WALKER is very much the same. Their planes start swapping positions in the formation; while the other guys are flying along in a tight line, Rafe and Danny are playing, one of them gunning his engine to go high, the other diving and coming back up in his place, leapfrogging. It scares the other guys, having their planes flashing in and out, so close. The TRAINING CAPTAIN, watching through binoculars on the ground, talks into his RADIO -- TRAINING CAPTAIN McCawley! Walker! Cut that out! RAFE I thought this was a training flight. I'm just trying to give Danny some training. DANNY Not on your best day, boy! Rafe grins and guns his plane low, in the opposite direction he was moving before. Danny reacts almost instantly... leapfrogging in the opposite direction, scaring the piss out of everybody else. TRAINING CAPTAIN That's it, get into a wedge! The squadron responds, forming up into a tight V, Rafe and Danny just behind and on either side of the center. RAFE Didn't you say test the limits? DANNY Hey, you wanna test my limits, you better line up a couple dozen women on the GROUND...cause I got NO limits in the air! Rafe grins, loving the challenge. Then he and Danny do the leapfrogging maneuver laterally, swapping sides in the V. TRAINING CAPTAIN Everybody down! EXT. NEW JERSEY AIRFIELD - DAY The planes land in tight order and taxi off the runway; shut down their props, slide back the canopies and hop down. We see young pilots we'll get to know: ANTHONY, BILLY, RED. TRAINING CAPTAIN Where are McCawley and Walker? EXT. RAFE AND DANNY - STILL IN THE AIR - DAY They've circled to opposite ends of the airfield and are now heading right at each other, like two bullets playing chicken. TRAINING CAPTAIN Aw shit... INT. THE COCKPITS From Rafe and Danny's POV, the rush is awesome. THE PILOTS ON THE GROUND watch in awe as the P-40's get so close they can't possibly get out of each other's way. Billy, the most boyish-faced of the pilots, yells to drown out the sound of the collision... At the last instant, both planes snap a quarter turn so that their wings are vertical, and they shoot past each other belly to belly. IN THE COCKPITS Rafe and Danny burst out laughing. THE PILOTS ON THE GROUND laugh and congratulate each other. TRAINING CAPTAIN You know what they say... You can take the crop duster out of the country -- but don't put him in a P-40. Rafe banks to land, and Danny tucks in behind him. Danny has Rafe's plane in his sights. DANNY If I had guns I'd be chewing up your -- Rafe feints left, banks right, and appears behind Danny. RAFE If you had guns, you'd be pissin' on 'em. They're almost to the landing strip, Rafe behind Danny. But as Danny's wheels are about to touch, he guns his engine and snaps the nose of his plane straight up. THE OTHER PILOTS stop laughing. ANTHONY He's doing an inside loop! TRAINING CAPTAIN Aw, shit... Danny pulls it off, just barely making a full circle to come in behind Rafe and bounce to a stop on the runway. DANNY Yee-hawww!!! Danny taxis his plane over to join the others. He's grinning as he slides back his cockpit cover; then -- DANNY Where's Rafe? Red, tall with flaming orange hair, tips his chin toward the air. Seeing Rafe's plane still in the air, Danny starts to refasten his harness. TRAINING CAPTAIN You're down, Walker! That's an order! DANNY What about him? TRAINING CAPTAIN He's not taking my orders anymore. Danny's just about to ask what the hell that means, when he notices Rafe climbing in a deliberate spiral. DANNY He's gonna do it. BILLY Do what? DANNY It. (beat) Aw, shit. Aw shit shit shit... RAFE'S PLANE reaches two thousand feet, just a speck above them, and seems to pause in the air. DANNY I shouldn't'a done an inside loop. I shouldn't'a done an inside loop. BILLY Why? DANNY Cause now he's gonna do an outside loop. TRAINING CAPTAIN Aw shit. Aw shit shit shit... Anthony and Billy join in, like an involuntary chant -- ANTHONY & BILLY Aw shit shit shit... RAFE, IN HIS COCKPIT, is tightly controlled, yet serene. He noses the plane into a power dive. The P-40 screams toward the ground, picking up speed, going so fast it begins to shudder. THE OTHER PILOTS are transfixed. Red is so nervous he can't get the words out. RED Aw sh- sh- sh- sh- BILLY Shit. RED Yeah. DANNY You can do it, Rafe. You can do it. The P-40, hurtling toward the ground at nauseating speed, snaps into a half roll, streaking upside down over the runway. Rafe hangs inverted in his flight harness, the asphalt of the runway shooting past, ten feet beyond his head. He pushes the plane into a climb, his cockpit on the outside of the circle. The plane reaches the top of its arc, and almost stalls; but Rafe noses it over again, toward the earth, only this time he has very little altitude. The plane hurtles down, still with it belly on the inside of the curve... And makes it full circle. Rafe's head now is barely a foot off the asphalt as the plane shoots past, still inverted. THE OTHER PILOTS burst into cheers. RAFE, IN HIS COCKPIT permits himself a smile. He lands, and the guys run out to meet him...all except for the Training Captain, who stands there shaking his head. Danny jumps on the wing, as Rafe stops and slides back his canopy. Danny grabs him by the harness and shakes him. DANNY You could've killed yourself, you stupid bastard! He dives into the cockpit, hugging Rafe. DANNY That was the most beautiful thing I ever saw. INT. COLONEL DOOLITTLE'S OFFICE - DAY COLONEL JIMMY DOOLITTLE, mid-forties, is commander of the base. He's as tough as he is good in the air. And right now he's frowning at Rafe McCawley, standing at attention before him. DOOLITTLE There are some people who think the outside loop is reckless and irresponsible. RAFE How could it be irresponsible, Sir, if you were the first man in the world to do it? DOOLITTLE Don't get smart with me, son. RAFE Never, Sir. I just meant it's dangerous only for the kind of pilot who wants to show off, rather than inspire the other pilots in his unit. And all you've done for me, Sir, working out the transfer, I did it to say thanks. To honor you, Sir. What the French call a "homage." DOOLITTLE That's bullshit, son. But it's really good bullshit. RAFE Thank you, Sir. Doolittle stands, moves around his desk, and shakes Rafe's hand. DOOLITTLE Good luck over there McCawley. I admire your decision. RAFE Thank you, Sir. INT. NEW JERSEY AIRFIELD - BARRACKS - NIGHT The pilots are getting slicked up for a night on the town. Danny's at the mirrors with the others; he's putting on cologne, and looks terrific in his uniform. Anthony and Billy are combing their hair at the sinks. Billy declares to his image in the mirror -- BILLY You good-lookin' sumbitch...don't you EVER die! ANTHONY That's your line for tonight, ya know. BILLY What, good-lookin' sumbitch? ANTHONY No, numbnuts, die. You get your nurse alone, you look her in the eye, and say, "Baby, they're training me for war, and I don't know what'll happen. But if I die tomorrow, I wanna know that we lived all we could tonight." I've never known it to fail. Red finishes brushing his teeth at the sink beside them. RED He's n-never known it to work, either. The guys head out laughing, running into Rafe coming in. DANNY Doolittle didn't kill you? Attaboy! Rafe catches Danny's arm. RAFE Danny, there's something I gotta tell you... EXT. NEW JERSEY BARRACKS - NIGHT Rafe and Danny are walking on the parade ground; the other guys are already on the bus that will take them into town. Danny's upset by what Rafe just told him. DANNY How could you do this? RAFE The Colonel helped me work it out. DANNY I don't mean how'd you do the paperwork, I mean how the hell did you do it without letting me in on it? RAFE I'm sorry, Danny, but they're only accepting the best pilots. DANNY Don't make this a joke, Rafe. You're talking about war, and I know what war does to people. RAFE Danny, you know how many times I saw you come to school with a black eye or a busted nose, and couldn't do a thing about it -- for you, or for your mother... or your father, with his lungs scorched out with mustard gas, and more left of his lungs than there was of his spirit? You've made your sacrifice, Danny. It's time I made mine. BILLY (from the bus) The nurses are waiting! RAFE Let's go. DANNY Nah, you go on. RAFE I have to talk to Evelyn. And I want you to meet her. DANNY Some other time. I don't feel like a party. Danny walks away. The bus driver's ready to leave, and Red is honking the horn for Rafe to come. Rafe reluctantly lets Danny go, and heads for the bus, where the pilots are chanting -- PILOTS VOICE Nurses! Nurses! Nurses! INT. A MOVING TRAIN - DAY The trains of 1942 have their own beauty, with felt seats, shaded lamps, and paneled compartments even in the economy section. But the glow of the train is outshone by EVELYN STEWART. She's one of ten young women, Army nurses, gathered at one end of the car as it rattles along the track. The other nurses are pretty and ripe -- maybe a bit too ripe. Their lips painted bright red, their faces powdered, their spirits high. Evelyn listens in amusement to BETTY, a cute blonde with unmissable boobs, and BARBARA, a burnette equally endowed. BETTY Do you have trouble with your boobs in the uniform? BARBARA You mean hiding them? BETTY Hide them? On a date with pilots? I'm talking about how you make them show! SANDRA, another nurse, speaks up. SANDRA Loan 'em to me, I'll make 'em show. BETTY The boobs or the pilots? The girls laugh and shove each others' knees; it's a party wherever they go. But Evelyn can't keep her mind on the frivolity. She looks out the window and her thoughts drift away. BARBARA We'll ask Evelyn. Evelyn? Evelyn! BETTY Ooo, she's thinking of her date! Come on, you've been dating a pilot. We want to know what we can expect. Suddenly all the girlish faces are looking at Evelyn. EVELYN I've been dating one pilot. And only for a few weeks. But I know he's different from all the others. Sandra throws up her arms and swoons onto her friends. SANDRA True love!... BETTY Morphine, give her morphine! BARBARA Give her an enema. EVELYN But I do have a warning for you. There's one line you all need to know, and you're likely to hear it from any man in a uniform. It goes like this: "Honey, Baby... We never know what's gonna happen, and I may die tomorrow...so, let's live all we can tonight." A silence among the nurses. BARBARA I tell you. Any one of those arrogant, leather-jacketed, slick-lookin' flyboys tries that line on me...he's gonna get anything he wants. As the nurses laugh -- EXT. NEW YORK TRAIN STATION - NIGHT Our pilots -- indeed leather-jacketed and handsome -- are waiting on the platform. Among then is Rafe, holding something behind his back, as the train pulls in and shudders to a stop, clouds of steam jetting onto the platform and giving the moment a dream-like haze. INT./ EXT. TRAIN - NEW YORK TRAIN STATION - NIGHT The nurses start stepping out; both pilots and nurses pretend surprise to see each. At the door of the train, Evelyn whispers to Betty -- EVELYN Stick with me, I'll find you somebody good. Betty spot's Rafe. BETTY I'll take that one. EVELYN He's taken. But come on, I'll introduce you. They move to Rafe; he crosses the platform to meet them, his eyes holding Evelyn. RAFE Hello, Lieutenant. Good to see you. EVELYN You too, Lieutenant. Betty clears her throat. EVELYN Oh, this is Betty. RAFE Nice to meet you, Betty. He draws his hand from behind his back; he's holding two roses. He hands one to Evelyn and the second to Betty. RAFE Danny would'a brought this. He escorts them along the platform. EVELYN Danny's not coming? RAFE No, he...got some news today. He'll be okay, he just didn't feel like coming tonight. EVELYN I was hoping to meet him. BETTY I was hoping to meet him. RAFE We'll just have to find a substitute, won't we? Betty stops, and faces Rafe. BETTY I just want to tell you one thing. If you're thinking this might be your last night on earth?... I'm prepared to make it meaningful. (leaning close) Very meaningful. EVELYN At ease, Betty! INT. CITY NIGHT CLUB - NIGHT It's a party in full swing; swing music, jitterbugging, beautiful young men and women in high spirits. Rafe and Evelyn are sitting at a big table with the other pilots and nurses. Anthony's paired up with Sandra, Billy with Barbara, and Red, shyest of the group, finds himself next to Betty. Betty's already found a companion in Red Strange. RED He, I'm R-Red. Red S-Strange. BETTY Red...Strange? RED You know the football player, Red G- Grange? Well the guys called me R-Red, cause you know, I'm red...and they thought I was strange, so, you know, Red G-Grange, Red Str-Strange. BETTY But...they called you Strange? Because of Red Grange? I don't get it. Was Red Grange strange? RED How would I know. Beside her beer is an open ketchup bottle; he picks it up and swigs from that. Rafe and Evelyn see this, and try to keep from laughing. BETTY Do you always stutter? RED Only when I'm n-n-n- BETTY Nervous? RED Yeah. But if I have to get something out, I c-can always s-s-s- (he sings) SIIING! She covers his hand with hers. BETTY Don't be nervous. Red looks at Betty with love in his eyes. Under the table, Rafe and Evelyn join hands too. EVELYN There shipping us out. Hawaii. The Germans are overrunning Europe, and we're sent to paradise. How about you? Have you heard anything? He hesitates; then Evelyn is distracted by the conversation beside them, between Barbara and Billy. BILLY You're a very special woman, and...well baby, they're training me for war, and we don't know what happens tomorrow. So we gotta make tonight special. Barbara shoots a look at Evelyn, before she answers. BARBARA I hope you can back that up, flyboy. Cause you're not ever gonna forget tonight. She takes him by the hand and pulls him to his feet... They start dancing, sexy movements that won't stop till they've been in bed. Rafe pulls Evelyn to her feet, and leads her through the dancers, outside. EXT. THE NIGHT CLUB - NIGHT They find a quiet place on a balcony that overlooks the river, and Manhattan beyond. Evelyn takes in the view, breathes in the air; she still holds the rose. EVELYN Whatever you're trying to tell me isn't good, is it. Or it wouldn't be so hard to say. RAFE The only reason it's hard to say is that I keep thinking I don't have the right to say it. But I've got to because it's true. I love you. (beat) That must surprise you. EVELYN It surprises me that I'm not the only one on this balcony who feels that way. The power of hearing this from each other grips them both. RAFE There's one thing I have to say. I'm going away. EVELYN We're all going away. RAFE I'm going to the war. The real war. Hitler's taken Europe. The Brits are hanging on by their fingernails, and If they lose, there'll be more people killed than anybody can imagine. And not just there, but here. EVELYN But you're in the U.S. Army, how could you -- RAFE Colonel Doolittle pulled the strings, and put me on loan to the R.A.F. They need pilots, and we need experience. I leave tomorrow. EVELYN You waited til tonight to tell me? RAFE I had to tell you in person. Because there's something else I need to say. He studies her face, burning it into his memory. RAFE Evelyn...you know the line -- let's make tonight memorable. What I feel about you makes it impossible for me to say something like that. If I don't come back, I don't want to saddle you with regret and sadness you'll carry the rest of your life. EVELYN I don't know if you can choose that, Rafe. RAFE Maybe not. But I need you to know. I love you. And I will come back. I'll find a way. And then we'll get a chance to know if what I felt the first moment I saw you, and every minute since then, is real. EVELYN Do one thing for me, before you go. She takes his hand and leads him inside. INT. NIGHT CLUB - NIGHT She leads him onto the dance floor, and they dance, among the others, yet in a world apart from everyone else. And then they stop while all the others move around them, and kiss the kind of kiss that lasts a lifetime. EXT. HOTEL - NIGHT The nurses are entering the hotel. Pilots are going in with them. But Rafe and Evelyn stop on the street. A last kiss. Their hands touch a final time, and then part. She moves inside the lobby, and looks out the glass doors as he walks away. EXT. TRAIN STATION - DAWN Rafe and Danny stand on the platform. Rafe's got his gear packed in a bag slung over his shoulder. CONDUCTOR'S VOICE All aboard! Rafe glances once more toward the revolving doors from the station that lead onto the platform. DANNY Didn't you say you told her not to come? RAFE Yeah. DANNY Then why are you looking for her? RAFE It's a test. If I asked her to come and she came, it wouldn't tell me anything. If I tell her not to come, and she comes...then I know she loves me. VOICE ALL ABOARD! DANNY You're still a kid, ya know that? Take care of yourself. RAFE You too. Rafe sticks his hand out to Danny. Danny knocks it away, and hugs him. Rafe steps onto the train, and it pulls away. Rafe waves. Danny waves back and smiles, but he whispers like a prayer... DANNY Give 'em hell, Rafe. INT. TRAIN - DAWN Rafe finds a seat and sits down. He's the only one in the car, and he's deeply alone. EXT. TRAIN STATION - DAWN Danny walks to one of the three revolving doors back into the station. He takes the one on the far right. As he passes through it, he doesn't see Evelyn rushing through the door on the left side. She's told herself she wouldn't come, but couldn't help it, and now as she sees the last car of the train disappearing around the corner the pain of it all hits her. She stands on the empty platform, as lonely as Rafe. MONTAGE - THE JOURNEYS Rafe and Evelyn travel in opposite directions, toward opposite ends of the earth... EXT. A GRAY, COLD, CANADIAN SEAPORT - DAY as Rafe boards a Canadian naval vessel headed into the North Atlantic. EXT. TRAIN - TRAVELING THROUGH THE AMERICAN WEST - DAY Evelyn and her fellow nurses ride the train through the American southwest. The scenery outside the window is beautiful, but her thoughts are far away... EXT. NORTH ATLANTIC - DAY Rafe's ship is in a convoy through the rough gray waters. The deck is loaded with military supplies bound for Britain. Rafe stands among the drab crates and seems oblivious to the rain, his thoughts on Evelyn. He looks toward the eastern horizon, where his ship is heading. A deep, dark storm is brewing before them... EXT. PACIFIC - DAY Evelyn stands on the deck of a ship headed in the opposite direction, on another ocean, the sky is clear, the breeze is warm, the light of a glowing sunset bathes her face. The MONTAGE ENDS, with them heading to different ends of the earth. EXT. BASSINGBORNE AIRFIELD - BRITAIN - DUSK In the eternal dusk of England, everything is cold and gray. British fighter planes -- Spitfires and Hurricanes -- are surrounded by mechanics hurriedly ripping off bullet riddled fuselage panels and digging into overworked aircraft engines. Rafe walks across the tarmac, still carrying his duffel bag. He moves up behind a slim, pale BRITISH AIR COMMANDER who is surveying engine damage on one of the Spitfires. RAFE Rafe McCawley, Sir. Rafe salutes as the Air Commander turns and then returns the salute, with his left arm -- his right arm is gone. Rafe freezes at the sight, reminded of Danny's father. BRITISH AIR COMMANDER On loan from Colonel Doolittle, is it? RAFE That's me, Sir. BRITISH AIR COMMANDER Good on you, then, Rafe McCawley. We'll get you situated in some quarters, and then introduce you to the equipment you'll be flying. RAFE If you're patching up bullet holes right here on the runway, maybe we should skip the housekeeping and get right to the planes. BRITISH AIR COMMANDER Are all the Yanks as anxious as you are to get yourself killed, Lieutenant? RAFE Not anxious to die, Sir, anxious to matter. EXT. BASSINGBORNE AIRFIELD - BRITAIN - DAY A Spitfire sits on the runway, and it's badly mangled -- a string of bullet holes punched through at mid-fuselage; a shot-off chunk of wingtip; but most striking is the blood still splattered over the inside of the cockpit. BRITISH AIR COMMANDER Good lad. Didn't die till he'd landed and shut down his engine. Welcome to the war. He walks away, leaving Rafe to stare at the bloody cockpit. EXT. PEARL HARBOR - MILITARY BASE - DAY Evelyn and the nurses enter the base, riding in two jeeps. As they stop at the gate, the guards look at them, especially Evelyn in the lead jeep; one guard mumbles to the other -- GUARD I've died and gone to heaven. The guards lift the bar and smile at the nurses. The jeeps drive through. The nurses are loving this island paradise already. BARBARA You know the ratio of men to women on this island? Four-thousand...to one. Barbara slides on a new pair of sunglasses with plastic palm trees glued on the sides, and calls back to the guards as the jeeps pull away -- BARBARA See ya on the beach, boys! EXT. MILITARY BASE - NURSES' QUARTERS - OAHU - DAY As the other nurses happily unpack, Evelyn leaves and crosses the grass in the drenching sunshine. We follow her into -- INT. BASE HOSPITAL - DAY She finds a small, immaculately clean hospital, twenty beds with luminous white sheets, all empty. Then she notices the view. It's of Pearl Harbor, with the entire American Pacific fleet riding at anchor. Battleships all in a row. Aircraft carriers too, in perfect stillness on the aqua blue water with a white sand bottom. The view is expansive and beautiful. The sound of an approaching fighter plane with wing guns firing as we -- CUT TO: EXT. THE DARK SKIES OVER THE ENGLISH CHANNEL - DAY Rafe, in the middle of an aerial dogfight, throws his Spitfire into a tight turn, swinging around to fire again into a squadron of Messerschmidts; they outnumber the British planes, and they're tougher and faster. Rafe darts through their line, machine guns blazing. One of the Spitfires in Rafe's squadron has taken hits in the engine compartment and is sputtering, losing power, its pilot, NIGEL, frantic as the German planes swarm into finish him. BRITISH PILOT (NIGEL) I need help! Someone get them off me! Rafe slams his control stick hard right and goes into a power dive at one of the Messerschmidts. Rafe's bullets chew up its cockpit and the plane goes into a fast corkscrew spiral, down into the water. Rafe instantly climbs again. Nigel, in the moment of safety Rafe has bought him, bails out, his chute blossoming and carrying him toward the water. The OTHER BRITISH PILOTS are impressed. OTHER BRITISH PILOT (into radio) Nigel's out! I'll call in the position! (to himself) That Yank is bloody good. Rafe swings his plane right back at the Germans; he attacks them head on, just like he went at Danny, only this time he's firing his machine guns. And OVER THIS ferocious dogfight, we hear his letter to Evelyn... RAFE'S VOICE (LETTER) Dear Evelyn... It is cold here. So cold, in a way that goes deep into your bones. The Messerschmidt in Rafe's sights breaks apart with the stream of precise fire he pours into it, its prop flying into pieces, its disintegration accelerated by its airspeed. Before it completely comes apart, it explodes. Rafe goes into another tight turn, to get at them again. RAFE'S VOICE (LETTER) It's not easy making friends. Two nights ago I drank a beer with a couple of the R.A.F. pilots -- beer's the only thing here that isn't cold -- and yesterday both of them got killed... As Rafe starts another attack we see him in the cockpit, in the trance of battle, as other Spitfires around him are getting shot out of the sky...as we -- DISSOLVE TO: EXT. HOSPITAL - PEARL HARBOR - DAY Evelyn, receiving the letter at mail call. She sits on the grass under a palm tree, in paradise, reading his letter. RAFE'S VOICE (LETTER) There is one place I can go to find warmth, and that is to think of you. EXT. OUTDOOR RESTAURANT - OAHU - DAY Evelyn is off duty, and wears a light cotton dress. She's let her hair down, and her skin has the sheen of light sweat in the tropical heat. The restaurant is barely more than a shelter of palm wood posts with a frond roof, and it looks out over the harbor. Evelyn sits alone. She's brought writing paper. As the Hawaiian waiter serves her an icy tropical ambrosia with chunks of pineapple and a fresh plumeria flower floating at the rim of the glass, she lifts her pen. But before she can start to write, three naval officers move over to her table from the bar. They're out of uniform too, wearing garish tropical shirts. NAVY GUY 1 A woman beautiful as you shouldn't be sitting alone. Buy you a drink? EVELYN Thank you...Ensign. The guys look at each other, impressed that she could tell. NAVY GUY 1 Ensign! Smart too! NAVY GUY 2 So how about that drink? Or dinner? EVELYN Thank you, but...I really want to be alone right now. NAVY GUY 3 Want to see something long and hard? He shows her the tattoo of an anchor on his forearm. Evelyn looks away from them, toward the harbor. EVELYN I'm sorry. I've got a letter to write. NAVY GUY 3 Cold bitch. His friends start to pull him away, but Evelyn's eyes flare. EVELYN What did you say? NAVY GUY 3 I said you're cold. EVELYN Cold? No, I'm just thinking about a war. And maybe you should be too. They leave, shaking their heads. Evelyn picks up her pen, and writes. EVELYN'S VOICE (LETTER) Dear Rafe... It's strange to be so far from you in body, and so close to you in spirit. But if our spirits really give our bodies life, then you should know this: Every night I look at the sunset, and try to draw the last ounce of heat from its long day... She looks toward the sunset now; then she writes again... EXT. BASSINGBORNE AIRFIELD - BRITAIN - NIGHT Rafe brings his battered plane in for a landing... INT. BRITISH AIRFIELD BARRACKS - NIGHT Rafe sits on his cot, reading her letter. EVELYN'S VOICE (LETTER) ...and send it from my heart to yours. Rafe is startled as the Air Commander appears beside his bunk. BRITISH AIR COMMANDER Air-Sea Rescue picked up Nigel. He'll be back with us tomorrow. Rafe nods, glad to hear the news. The Commander starts to walk away, then turns back. BRITISH AIR COMMANDER Some of us look down on the Yanks for not yet joining this war. I'd just like to say that if there are many more back home like you, God help anyone who goes to war with America. The Commander salutes, with his left hand. And Rafe salutes too -- with his left hand. EXT. ESTABLISHING THE WHITE HOUSE - WASHINGTON D.C. - DAY The White House looks somehow whiter and purer in the glow of 1941. INT. PRESIDENTIAL CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY GENERALS, ADMIRALS, and other advisors sit around the polished table -- all males, in suits and in uniforms. The door opens, and the men all stand. PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT appears, in a wheelchair, pushed by a huge black valet, GEORGE. The President's legs are shriveled, braced with the iron supports that attach to his shoes and are apparent beneath the cloth of his pin-striped pants. From the waist up Roosevelt is heavily muscled, powerful, and handsome even in his little spectacles. The valet rolls him to the head of the table; he's speaking even before he settles in. PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT Please be seated, gentlemen. They sit, as one. PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT Churchill and Stalin are asking me what I'm asking you: How long is America going to pretend the world is not at war? GENERAL MARSHALL We've increased supply shipments to them, Mr. President, and we're losing merchant vessels every day. PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT Shift in every destroyer and anti- aircraft weapon you can find. ADMIRAL Sir, our Pacific Fleet is already down to almost nothing. PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT Gentlemen, at this moment the nation of Hungry has a larger military then the United States. We have no choice but to draw from whatever we can. EXT. ESTABLISHING TOKYO - JAPAN - NIGHT INT. JAPANESE HIGH COMMAND - NIGHT The Conference Room is similar to that of the White House. But this table is low and all the men sit on the floor. And there are no civilians here; Japan is now a nation ruled by its warriors. The last man to enter the room and take his place is ADMIRAL YAMAMOTO. Harvard educated, Yamamoto is an object of veneration and suspicion among the men of the war council. Yamamoto bows, sits, and looks across the table at his friend Genda, who can't hide his fear. Yamamoto glances to the far end of the table where NISHIKURA, chief of the War Council, sits glowering. (Their discussion is in Japanese, with subtitles.) NISHIKURA So you join us, Admiral. Some of us thought your education at an American university would make you too weak to fight the Americans. YAMAMOTO If knowledge of opponents and careful calculation of danger is taken as weakness then I have misunderstood what it means to be Japanese. NISHIKURA The time has come to strike! Or to sit and let the Americans cut off our oil and our future. I know what you whisper to the others, Yamamoto -- that the Americans are strong. Yet look at their leader. He motions to OYAMA, an intelligence analyst, who opens a file and lays out pictures of Roosevelt. OYAMA Franklin Roosevelt. Born into great wealth. Fifteen years ago, he was stricken with polio. Now he cannot walk, or even stand without help. Photographers will not take pictures of him in his chair; Americans do not wish to know how weak their President is. Yamamoto makes a low grunt. NISHIKURA You have something to say, Yamamoto? YAMAMOTO The Council knows I have opposed fighting the Americans. No matter how great our resolve, they have resources beyond ours. If we must go to war, there is only one way -- deal them a blow from which it will take them years to recover. In that time we can conquer all of the Pacific, and they will have no choice but to ask for peace. NISHIKURA You see us as capable of such a blow? YAMAMOTO The Americans themselves have made it possible. We will annihilate them in a single attack -- at Pearl Harbor. The members of the war council are so pleased with Yamamoto that they bow to him. Only Genda keeps his eyes raised long enough to see the sadness in Yamamoto's face. EXT. PEARL HARBOR - AIR BASE - BARRACKS - DAY Danny Walker and his pilot buddies have just arrived; they enter the barracks, talking happily. RED If I ain't n-never on a b-boat again, it'll be too s-soon. BILLY Where are the women on this -- Danny has stopped before the others; now all of them see that the other pilots who inhabit this air base are still in their beds, sleeping off hangovers. They wear Hawaiian shirts; they haven't shaved. RED They're s-still asleep! Danny pauses for a moment, then shouts -- DANNY Drop your cocks and grab your socks, boys! The terror of the skies are here! The sleeping pilots groan, and cover their heads with their pillows. ANTHONY They're all drunk. One guy sits up in bed, his hair pointing every direction of the compass, his tongue working as if to wipe a terrible taste from his mouth. As his feet dangle over the side of the bunk and one of them touches the floor, a sensation reaches his sotted brain; he raises that foot to look at its bottom, and finds a new tattoo, on the sole of his foot; he blinks as if trying to remember how it got there. Danny moves over to him, and dubs him with a name, COMA. DANNY Hey. You. Mr. Coma. COMA Where's that lizard? DANNY What lizard? COMA The one that slept in my mouth last night. DANNY What the hell happened to you guys? Coma is one of those drunks who speak as if he's always about to burp. COMA Ever hear of mai-tai's? Comes in a big...pot. Like...like... RED A m-missionary? COMA No, like... Coma emits a pukey, toxic burp that has Danny and his buddies wincing back from the fumes. DANNY This is an Air Base? Where's your squad commander? The question soaks through to Coma's brain. His right hand points...and his left hand points...in different directions. His hands float around in the air until finally both of them are indicating the same direction, behind his back. In the bunk beyond Coma's is another drunk pilot in a Hawaiian shirt...and to judge by the shapely bronzed leg that protrudes from under his damp sheet, there's a woman with him too. Danny and his buddies are speechless -- except for Red Strange. RED I th-think I'm gonna like it here. COMA You guys are new? DANNY Yeah. COMA Mai-tai's. I got this to tell ya, about mai-tai's. Coma's head drifts forward slowly; they think for a moment he's looking for something under the bed. Then he pukes. Danny leaps back from the splatter, and marches out of the barracks; his friends follow. EXT. PEARL HARBOR - AIRFIELD - DAY Danny and his buddies stride up to the airfield. It's full of fighter planes -- and they're all bunched together in clusters on the field. Danny grabs a MECHANIC. DANNY Hey! What is this, the planes all bunched up like that? MECHANIC The brass is afraid of sabotage. This makes 'em easier to protect -- and easier to service. DANNY What about easier to hit in an air raid? MECHANIC Who's gonna to that? Japan is four thousand miles away. So you guys just arrived, huh? DANNY Yeah. MECHANIC We got a saying here. A-low-HA! The mechanic walks off. Danny and the guys are left standing on the tarmac. DANNY Well guys...I reckon there's just one thing to do... INT. OAHU BAR - DAY Danny and the pilots are in Hawaiian shirts, their party in full swing. A bucket-sized hollowed-out volcano sits in the middle of the table, with twelve straws emerging from the crater. It's full of booze -- or was; Danny and the other guys are pulling heartily at the straws, and they gurgle as the last liquid is sucked dry. RED More m-mai-tai's! Coma is sitting there with them, beside Red. COMA Absolutely right. Everybody's having a ball, the new arrivals fitting right in with the others. Danny's a bit off to himself, lost in his own thoughts. Billy and Anthony are doing the hula to the Hawaiian music playing. COMA No, you guys aren't doing it right. It's in the hands. They talk story. Coma stands and starts demonstrating, explaining the gestures of his hula. COMA Fish swim in ocean... Happy in the Mother Sea... Girl, beautiful girl, with big jugs, walks into water...waves lapping at her thighs... ANTHONY I never knew those dances were so sophisticated. COMA ...Fish nibble at her breasts... Coma's really into his dance, his hands over enormous imaginary breasts; but as he turns toward the windows -- COMA A more beautiful girl walks by... The guys see Evelyn passing on the other side of the street, gorgeous in the sunshine. Coma's hands start squeezing the imaginary breasts of his hula. BILLY Hey, isn't that Evelyn? Danny moves up to look. DANNY Rafe's girl, Evelyn? COMA You guys know her?! I gotta have an intro! Man, I'd like to -- Danny's hand is suddenly around Coma's larynx. DANNY A friend of mine's in love with her. So you don't even look -- not ever. Danny releases him and Coma staggers back to the table to nuzzle up to one of the straws of the mai-tai volcano. Danny looks out the window again and sees Evelyn's beautiful form disappear around the corner, on her way back to the base hospital. Danny moves back to the table, and as two burly Hawaiian waiters set another full loaded mai-tai volcano onto the center of the table, he picks up a glass and dips it full of the potent liquid. He shouts to the whole room -- DANNY I'm a better pilot than any son-of-a- bitch on this island! So I'm the one to say this! Here's to Rafe McCawley! A better pilot...and a better man...than me. The other pilots drink up -- from glasses or from straws. OTHER PILOTS To Rafe. Danny drains the whole glass at one chug, and slams it down onto the table. Then he blinks, puts a hand on his stomach, and frowns. Coma recognizes the look. COMA Uh oh. Volcanic eruption! Danny bends at the waist; his head obscured by the table. COMA Shit, he's puking on my feet! RED Well, you p-puked on his feet. COMA Yeah, but he was wearing shoes! INT. ADMIRAL KIMMEL'S OFFICE - OAHU - DAY ADMIRAL KIMMEL is Commander of the American Pacific Fleet. Two members of his staff are standing uncomfortably in front of him, having delivered a message from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. ADMIRAL KIMMEL ...transfer twelve more destroyers to Atlantic Fleet, and all the available anti-aircraft weaponry?! Washington has gone insane! Kimmel's STRATEGIC ANALYST speaks up. STRATEGIC ANALYST We've done what you ordered, Admiral, and war gamed the likely outcome of a Japanese attack against each of our major bases in the Pacific. Wake, Guam, Midway, the Philippines. In each case, we lose. ADMIRAL KIMMEL You left out Hawaii. STRATEGIC ANALYST Pearl Harbor can't be attacked effectively from the air. It's too shallow for an aerial torpedo attack. Pearl Harbor's safe. It's everywhere else that we're vulnerable. ADMIRAL KIMMEL Step up surveillance of Japanese communications. They're gonna do something somewhere. I can feel it. EXT. THE SKIES ABOVE OAHU - DAY A seaplane takes tourists on an excursion above Pearl Harbor and around the island of Oahu. One Japanese tourist shoots pictures rapidly...first of the ships as seen from overhead; then he leans to the other side of the plane and shoots pictures of the airfield below them. EXT. PEARL HARBOR - DAY Another Japanese tourist hikes through the hills above Pearl Harbor. He takes an excellent camera from his picnic basket, and shoots pictures. CLOSE - THE PICTURES, being carried down a hallway, into -- INT. JAPANESE PLANNERS OFFICE - DAY The courier places the pictures onto the table in front of Yamamoto, Genda, and the other JAPANESE OFFICERS. GENDA Look at the ships -- all grouped. Perfect targets! JAPANESE OFFICER And the planes! They are -- what is that American expression? Sitting geese? YAMAMOTO Sitting ducks. JAPANESE OFFICER How can they be so foolish? YAMAMOTO They think no one would be stupid enough to attack them at Pearl Harbor. GENDA Or perhaps they think no one is capable. Look at this... He moves to a diagram displayed on the wall -- a simple display showing water depth and ship displacement. GENDA Pearl Harbor's depth of only forty feet makes them feel safe. A torpedo dropped from an airplane plunges to one hundred feet before it can level off. That is a conventional torpedo. But we have been experimenting. From a stand beside his diagram he takes a set of wooden fins, attached to a circular metallic band. GENDA Wooden fins. We are testing them tomorrow. EXT. JAPANESE ISLAND - DAY Yamamoto and his planners have flown to a quiet Japanese island, sunlit and pleasant. They are gathered on the shore of the island's natural harbor. Wooden targets -- basically huge plank barriers -- are sunk into the water like ships at anchor. A squadron of Japanese planes zooms overhead, taking up attack positions. GENDA We have chosen this place because its depth is exactly the same as Pearl Harbor's. Genda speaks into a field radio. A lone plane drops out of formation and goes into a low-level approach, speeding up and dropping its torpedo. BELOW THE SURFACE we see the torpedo as it plunges at two hundred miles an hour into the sunlit sea. With the wooden fins the torpedo makes a sharp dip and levels off above the sea floor. ABOVE THE SURFACE the planners see the path of the torpedo; it hits the wooden barrier with a satisfying THUNK. The planners are impressed -- but Yamamoto is not satisfied. YAMAMOTO Uncharged torpedoes have different balance. GENDA I have arranged a live fire drill -- with your permission. Yamamoto nods; Genda speaks again into his radio, and another plane swoops down and drops a torpedo. Genda holds his hands to his ears, causing the others to do the same; even though they wonder at the need. The torpedo hits the barrier, and the explosion is deafening, and of shocking force; the entire barrier is blown to toothpicks. GENDA Of course against a ship the explosion will not be dissipated, and will have more force. The planners, nearly blown off their feet, nod as if they knew that all the time. INT. MILITARY BASE - PILOTS' BARRACKS - NIGHT The pilots are getting slicked up. BILLY Are you sure they're here? ANTHONY If Evelyn's here, the rest are here! Red moves up beside him to frown at the mirror. His hair is plastered down and parted, his uniform's immaculate. ANTHONY Looking good, Red. RED Shut up. Red moves away, to polish his shoes. ANTHONY What is it with Red? I've never seen him this way. BILLY He's been like that all day. Hey Danny, you coming? DANNY Nah, I'm gonna stay here. Read. Anthony and Billy look at each other; Danny's in his bunk, and he's not reading, just staring at the ceiling. INT. NURSES' BARRACKS - PEARL HARBOR - NIGHT The nurses are primping to go out; Evelyn is in her uniform getting ready to go back to work. BARBARA Now listen, it's hands off Billy. I mean, you can put your hands on him if you want to, but then my hands will break yours. BETTY He was that good? BARBARA No, I was. EXT. NURSES' QUARTERS - OAHU - NIGHT Creeping through the vegetation, Red leads Anthony and Billy to a spot outside the nurses' barracks; they can see the girls through the barracks window. BILLY Red, Peeping Tom stuff can get us court- marshaled. RED Shhh! Anthony and Billy are baffled, even more so when Red strides into the open, right outside the nurses' window. And then, Red begins to sing. RED (singing) Oh...Betty, Betty, Betty, you're the one for me, Betty, Betty, Betty, Betty, can't you see... Anthony and Billy look at each other, dumbfounded. The nurses move to the open windows. Red's singing is pretty good -- though not that good. But he doesn't stutter when he sings. RED (singing) I'll be yours for eternity, Betty, Betty, Betty, Betty, Betty! Anthony and Billy are hysterical, trying to keep their laughter hidden. But then they see the effect this is having on the women -- especially on Betty. She's smitten. Red repeats the verse, really getting into it; when he finishes, Betty runs out and hugs him, as all the nurses applaud. They move off into the darkness, arm and arm. The nurses go back to their primping. Anthony and Billy are changed men. Anthony stands up; Billy's baffled. Anthony moves out and starts singing. ANTHONY (singing) Oh Sandra...I like you...love you... He's terrible. The nurses pelt him with hairbrushes, curlers, shoes... EXT. BASSINGBORNE AIRFIELD - BRITAIN - DAY Coming out of the blustery skies at the end of another deadly day, a squadron of Spitfires chirps in for landings. The planes are shot up and battered. Rafe is one of the pilots; the fuselage below his cockpit is marked with four swastikas, symbols of his victories. He taxis to a stop, and is met by IAN, a Scottish mechanic, who is dismayed at the state of the plane. IAN Leapin' Jesus! RAFE (climbing down) The struts are loose, the hydraulics are leaking, and the electrical system's shorting out in the cockpit. IAN Well which of those three ya want fixed? RAFE All of 'em. Rafe starts away, and Ian calls to his back -- IAN If ye'd wanted a bloody Cadillac ya should'a stayed in the bloody States! RAFE And if you don't give me a plane that can handle combat, you better start learning to speak German. IAN Fook ya! RAFE Learn English, then! IAN Fook ya dooble! Rafe moves to the barracks; Ian keeps the fueling hose going, and moves to help the armorers reload the guns. INT. BRITISH AIRFIELD BARRACKS - NIGHT Rafe falls down onto his cot, exhausted. The other pilots do the same, everybody spent from the day's combat. Then they hear the SIREN. Rafe's out of his bunk, with the others, everybody running. BRITISH PILOT Bloody Krauts! Night raid! EXT. BASSINGBORNE AIRFIELD - BRITAIN - NIGHT They race across the runway. Rafe reaches his Spitfire, just as Ian is removing the fueling hose. IAN I have'na been able ta -- RAFE Crank her! Ian gives the prop a spin, and the engine roars to life. IAN God speed ya, laddie. EXT. SKIES OVER THE ENGLISH CHANNEL - NIGHT It's dark, but there are breaks in the clouds, giving way to patches of light from a full moon. The squadron of Spitfires tightens up for battle. Rafe is positioned just right of the squad leader; he sees planes breaking out of the dark clouds ahead. RAFE Here they come. The clouds break, revealing a huge attack formation. BRITISH SQUAD LEADER Alpha group, on the bombers! Beta group, take the fighters! They peel off, into action. EXT. THE AIR BATTLE OVER THE CHANNEL - NIGHT We stay with Rafe as he and the Squad Leader rush side by side at the lead bomber, blasting away with their guns. INT. GERMAN BOMBER - IN THE AIR - NIGHT The Spitfires' bullets rip into the pilot and also kill the nose gunner; the bomber dips as the copilot struggles to take control. INT. RAFE, IN HIS SPITFIRE - NIGHT As he streaks past, Rafe sees the bomber wobble in the air. RAFE We've got him hurt, stay on him! Rafe throws his plane into an ultra-tight, high speed turn, right between the tails of the leader German group and the noses of the second. His turn is so tight that the plane flexes with the g-force. Rafe comes out of his turn ahead of the Squad Leader, and races back up through the formation of German bombers, moving above them where their weapons and armaments are the weakest. He stitches a trail of bullets from tail to nose of the wounded lead bomber; it begins to smoke. The second Spitfire, the Squad Leader's, takes fire from the other German bombers, and shears off, heading through the smoke of the plane Rafe has on the ropes. RAFE We've got him going! Rafe does a half-loop and half-spin, to bring him around to face the bombers again. This time the g-force of the turn pops an oil line inside Rafe's cockpit; hot, pressurized oil begins to spray everywhere -- all over Rafe, his controls, and worst of all, over the inside of his cockpit glass. He wipes at the oil with his hands and that just smears it and makes it worse. His wingman sees him veering away from the bombers...and sees the German fighters moving up to meet him. SQUAD LEADER McCawley! Get to the clouds! Get into the clouds! RAFE, IN HIS PLANE, is flying blind. RAFE I can't see the clouds! His problems are just beginning; the fluid is dripping down onto his cockpit's corroded electrical wiring; the fluid causes an arc...a spark...and suddenly a fire is spreading through Rafe's plane. He grabs his fire extinguisher and triggers a cloud that snuffs the fire but fills the entire cockpit with choking smoke; between that and the smeared fluid on his glass, he can't see a thing. And the Messerschmidts are swarming over him. Rafe's wingman dives in, raking the German planes as he passes. Rafe tries to open his cockpit cover to clear the smoke, but it's jammed; he pulls out his .45 pistol and BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! He blows out the glass; the smoke clears enough for him to take a breath and try to see. He fights the stick, but the plane won't respond. The Messerschmidts rake him again, bullets riddling his engine. SQUAD LEADER Get out of there, McCawley! Get out of there! Rafe's plane descends, ever faster, passing through clouds, then clear air again. The Squad Leader tries to chase and cover him, but Rafe's dropping fast, and still isn't out of the plane as the Germans dive on him again, firing. Rafe's Spitfire hits the broken fog over the water -- the Squad Leader loses sight of it for a moment -- and then the plane hits, splashing and exploding all at once. The Squad Leader winces, and ducks into the clouds as he reports on his radio... SQUAD LEADER McCawley down. No 'chute. EXT. BATTLESHIP WEST VIRGINIA - PEARL HARBOR - DAY The sailors have assembled on deck for the ship's heavyweight championship fight, a contest made more interesting to the sailors because one of the combatants is white and the other is black. The battle is more toughness than technique. The guys throwing haymakers and shoving each other around the roped area, as their shipmates cheer and make wild bets. The white guy digs a punch deep into the black guy's ribs, and the black guy slams a double left hook into the white guy's belly, making him back up and say -- WHITE BOXER You hit hard -- for a cook. The black guy rushes the white guy, only to catch a right cross that wobbles his knees and makes him stagger, with a fresh cut over his right eye. The white guy now rushes in, and the black guy (his name is DORIE MILLER) throws an upper cut that drops his opponent like a sack of rocks. The sailors cheer wildly. Dorie steps back, and rubs his glove across his brow. It's really bleeding now. EXT. MILITARY BASE - DAY Evelyn is returning from church with six of her nurse friends. It's very quiet on a Sunday morning, almost nobody at the base; they walk along the path. BARBARA Let's get into civvies and find a bar. MARTHA Right after church? BARBARA You've gotta sin some, to get forgiveness. Come with us, Evelyn. You need some sin. EVELYN I've got to write some requisitions. We're undersupplied with morphine. BETTY Morphine? We've been here a month and nobody's had worse than a sunburn. Evelyn smiles softly and walks toward the base hospital. BETTY I wish she could forget him. BARBARA You don't forget love, Honey. Not ever. EXT. HOSPITAL - PEARL HARBOR - DAY Evelyn approaches the hospital and finds the black boxer peering in the window. He's in a T-shirt and navy pants. EVELYN Can I help you, sailor? As Dorie turns, she sees the cut on his head, closed only with a band-aid; it's dripping blood down his T-shirt. DORIE 'Scuse me, 'Mam. All the ship's doctors is golfing, and I couldn't find nobody to look at this. EVELYN Our doctor's gone too. DORIE Sorry to trouble you. EVELYN Wait, let me look at that... You better come in here. INT. MILITARY BASE HOSPITAL - DAY Miller is sitting on a stool; Evelyn bathes the wound. EVELYN How'd you get this? DORIE Boxin'. EVELYN Win? DORIE Yes'm. He says it without pride. She puts down the basin. EVELYN What's your name? DORIE Dorie Miller, 'Mam. EVELYN I'm Evelyn. And I'm just a nurse. But I'm not playing golf, and that cut needs sewing, or else it's gonna make a big lumpy scar. Whatta ya say? INT. HOSPITAL - PEARL HARBOR - LATER Evelyn clips the ends of her carefully applied stitches; Dorie's eyes are rolled up as if he could watch from inside his skull. EVELYN How often you fight like this? DORIE Every other Sunday. I'm heavyweight champion of the West Virginia. EVELYN What do you get for winning? DORIE Respect. She hands him a mirror. He studies her work. DORIE No doctor would'a give me that good. She walks him to the door. DORIE Thank you, 'Mam. EVELYN Tell me something, Dorie. A man as big as you -- and smart too, you knew where to come when your ship couldn't help -- do you still have to fight with your fists to get respect? DORIE I left my Mama and joined the Navy to be a man. They made me a cook -- and not even that, really -- I clean up after the other sailors eat. I shine the officer's shoes. In two years, they've never even let me fire a gun. Now Evelyn understands. EVELYN You take care, Dorie. DORIE You too, 'Mam. EXT. MILITARY BASE HOSPITAL - SUNSET Dorie walks away, down the path between the palm trees. She watches him go, and then is transfixed by someone else coming, silhouetted by the light of the setting sun. She can't make out his face, but he's wearing a pilot's dress uniform, and coming to her right out of the warm orange sunset that she has stared at so many times. Her heart slams against her ribs; she takes a few steps forward. EVELYN ...Rafe... She moves toward him, and he draws near her, walking slowly. And then she sees his face... It's Danny. His face as sad as death itself. And even before he tells her, she knows. DANNY Lieutenant... I'm Danny Walker. I'm Rafe McCawley's best friend. EVELYN Were. Isn't that what you mean? Were. Because he's dead, isn't he? And that's why you've come. EXT. A BENCH - OVERLOOKING PEARL HARBOR - SUNSET Evelyn and Danny sit on the bench, with a sweeping view of the harbor and the lights winking on all around it as the sun settles beyond the horizon. Evelyn is stoic, numb; Danny is the one who is struggling. DANNY Before Rafe left, he asked me to be the one to tell you, if it happened. EVELYN He told me about you. That he had no other friend like you. DANNY Rafe's folks had a crop dusting business, owned their own planes. Real straight, frugal. My father was the town drunk. Went to sleep one night on the railroad tracks and was still there when the Dawn Express came along. Rafe and I were the only ones at the funeral. He took me back to his house, and I never left. EVELYN You were more like brothers. DANNY I taught him to drink beer. He taught me how to fly. EVELYN He said you're the only one he ever saw who was better in the air than him. DANNY ...He said that? Evelyn nods, still staring away from Danny. This pierces Danny; he looks away, struggling not to let the emotions pull him completely under. DANNY Look, uh...Rafe's dad...he wrote me with the news, and it took me a couple of days to work up the guts to come here and tell you. I'm not as brave as Rafe, or as noble. But if there's anything I can ever do to help -- you let me know, okay? She stares into the distance. He stands and puts his hand on top of hers, as much for his comfort as for hers. DANNY I understand why Rafe loved you. You're as strong as he was. Since she's still not looking at him, he starts to move away. When he reaches the turn in the path, he looks back, and sees her figure in the gathering darkness. She's begun to break down; and as he watches, her whole body starts convulsing, and she doubles up in shattering grief. Danny can't just stand there; he moves back to her, and puts a hand on her shoulder. He sits beside her again, and suddenly she turns to him and sobs upon him. Danny wraps her gently in his arms, and then he breaks down, having found the first place he can truly grieve. EXT. JAPANESE BOMBING PRACTICE - JAPANESE ISLAND - DAY The Japanese have constructed a replica of Pearl Harbor on their practice island; erecting new target barriers and silhouettes of the various ships anchored at Pearl. Streams of Japanese planes skim overhead in practice bombing runs, dropping dummy torpedoes and bombs. From a control platform erected on the beach, Yamamoto and Genda oversee it all. YAMAMOTO Everything real except the fact that no one is shooting back at us. GENDA If we achieve surprise, they will offer little resistance. YAMAMOTO Set up teams of radio operators to send out messages the Americans will intercept, concerning every potential American target in the Pacific. Include Hawaii -- the clutter will be more confusing that way. GENDA Brilliant, Admiral. YAMAMOTO A brilliant man would find a way not to fight a war. He looks out at the planes roaring into his practice harbor at top speed... INT. PRESIDENTIAL BEDROOM - NIGHT Roosevelt's valet leans over him. Roosevelt wakes; beside the valet is a Presidential AIDE. AIDE Mr. President, we've received a message from the Argentinian ambassador to Japan. His sources tell him the Japanese are assembling their fleet to attack us. PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT We're picking up warnings for every American base in the Pacific. Does this ambassador know the target? AIDE Not for sure. But he thinks it's Pearl Harbor. PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT Tell the Pentagon. The Aide leaves quickly and Roosevelt starts to get out of bed; his valet comes to help him. PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT No, George, I need the practice, in case there's a fire. Roosevelt drags himself out of bed, crawling toward the bathroom, his powerful arms dragging his lifeless legs. INT. PENTAGON - DAY ADMIRALS and other OFFICERS are gathered around a giant map of the Pacific. ADMIRAL The attack seems inevitable. The question is where? The way to answer that question is to ask: if we were the Japanese, how would we do it? He nods to a VICE ADMIRAL, who stands over the map. VICE ADMIRAL Between America and the Far East are the sea lanes where the winds and the currents make the best route for shipping. Far above is the northern route, between Canada and Russia. Between these two is something they call the Vacant Sea. If I were the Japs, I'd send a task force there. You could hide the entire land mass of Asia in the Vacant Sea, and nobody would know. ADMIRAL So they pop out and attack where? VICE ADMIRAL That's the problem, Admiral. They could hit anywhere they want. Nobody has any solution. EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY A huge Japanese fleet steams toward Hawaii. It is an awesome sight. Carriers, battleships, destroyers, and entire battle group, traveling under complete radio silence, their hulls power through the waves. On the lower decks of the carriers are hundreds of planes -- fighters and bombers. EXT. PEARL HARBOR - DAY The American ships are lined up at anchor, calm, placid. EXT. BEACH - DAY The sailors and soldiers bask in the sun, play volleyball. The aircraft carrier Lexington steams past toward the harbor entrance. VOLLEYBALL PLAYER 1 Where's the Lexington going? VOLLEYBALL PLAYER 2 Out on maneuvers, like the Enterprise. EXT. GOLF COURSES - OAHU - DAY Men in military haircuts -- officers -- stroll the golf courses, enjoying themselves. INT. DENTIST'S OFFICE - DAY The DENTIST, an ethnic Japanese, is working on a patient with his mouth agape. The DENTIST ASSISTANT intrudes. DENTAL ASSISTANT Dr. Takanawa, you have a call from Tokyo. DENTIST Please excuse me. Just relax. Leaving his patient with a mouth full of instruments, the Dentist moves to his outer office, which looks directly out over Pearl Harbor. He speaks in Japanese. DENTIST Takanawa... Yes?... He seems confused by the call, but he responds by looking out over the harbor, then saying into the receiver -- DENTIST Yes, they are all...no wait, I see the big one moving. The one that's flat on top, what do they call it?... INT. SURVEILLANCE BASE - DAY Some tired Army Intelligence types -- A LISTENER, a TRACKER, and an INTELLIGENCE SUPERVISOR, are sitting at a bank of phones. The LISTENER is a Japanese-American. LISTENER Here's something, over the line from Tokyo. He switches on the recording equipment and looks to the TRACER, sitting at a battery of equipment. TRACER It's connected to a local dentist. His office is beside Pearl Harbor. INTELLIGENCE SUPERVISOR This dentist, is he a spy? LISTENER Sounds too innocent. His accent is from the old country. Somebody official- sounding calls, he thinks it's discourteous not to respond. INT. BARBER SHOP - DAY Admiral Kimmel is settling into the barber chair when his AIDE enters and nods for the barber to move a few paces away, so that he can speak privately. AIDE Sir, we just had an intelligence intercept. Someone from Tokyo called a local dentist whose office looks over Pearl. They wanted to know the exact location of the ships. ADMIRAL KIMMEL Someone from Tokyo asks a dentist how the ships are sitting... What are we supposed to do about that? AIDE I...don't know, Sir. But it just seemed significant. ADMIRAL KIMMEL Have intelligence keep monitoring him. The Admiral sinks back into the chair. EXT. MILITARY BASE HOSPITAL - DAY A young amateur PHOTOGRAPHER, about 16, wearing a hat with "PICTURES OF PARADISE" printed on it's crown is ready to snap a shot of Evelyn and her nurse friends having a picnic lunch on the lawn outside the hospital. PHOTOGRAPHER Closer, ladies! Closer! Now smile!... Great! Next week I'll show you a print and you can order your Pictures of Paradise! He hustles off. Betty hands out picnic baskets. BETTY Barbara, here's yours...and Evelyn, here you are. Evelyn opens her basket, and finds a lei of Hawaiian flowers stuffed in the top. Betty scoots over and puts the flowers around Evelyn's neck. BETTY It's been a month and you haven't smiled. We just want you to know we love you. Evelyn's touched -- but before she can react two P-40's zoom out of the skies, wings clipping the tops of the palm trees as they blast over head. INT. COCKPIT'S OF THE P-40'S - DAY Danny and Anthony are the pilots; as they pull up and away, they pass over some officers on the golf course, scaring the shit out of them as they putt. EXT. MILITARY BASE HOSPITAL - DAY The nurses have sprawled to the ground; now even Evelyn is smiling. BARBARA What is it with nurses and pilots? EXT. MILITARY BASE HOSPITAL - PEARL HARBOR - EVENING Evelyn walks out of the hospital. She's still wearing her lei. The sun is going down in a spectacular sunset. She stares at the orange glow at the edge of the world. She breathes in the sea air, and tries to breathe out the sadness. The water of the harbor laps close to where she stands, the sunset polishing its surface. She takes the lei from her neck, plucks a single flower, and holds it like the rose Rafe once gave her. Then she tosses the rest of the lei into the ocean and watches it float away, as the sun sinks behind the horizon. INT. MILITARY BASE HOSPITAL - NIGHT Evelyn finds her purse, and tucks the flower into it. She's alone in the hospital, everyone else has gone; she turns her mind toward work, something to lose herself in. EXT. MILITARY BASE - NEAR THE PILOTS' BARRACKS - DAY Danny is walking toward the barracks when a COLONEL hopping mad, confronts him. COLONEL You're Walker, right? DANNY Yes Sir. COLONEL That was a nice little stunt you pulled, buzzing the base. DANNY You liked that? COLONEL Oh yeah. I liked it so much I'm cutting you out of the squadron. DANNY Sir? COLONEL I don't buy that hot dog shit. So you and your buddies are gonna transfer your planes up to Haleiwa. DANNY Hale-what? COLONEL You'll love it. No base, no bars, just lots of sun and aircraft maintenance. DANNY Sir, I -- COLONEL Too late for apologies, Walker. DANNY I wasn't gonna apologize, Sir. I was just gonna say it was worth it to feel like a real pilot again, even if it was only for five seconds. The Colonel glares at him and stalks away. INT. BASE CANTEEN - NIGHT Danny and Evelyn are having coffee at the base canteen. DANNY How's everything? EVELYN We got some soldiers in traction from a jeep accident, but it's quiet. Except for the occasional fighter plane buzzing us. DANNY That might not have been such a good idea. They're making us fly out of a half-paved airfield. The real punishment is that I won't be back to the barracks till it's too late for dinner or coffee. So I guess it's goodbye for awhile. EVELYN I was just thinking that war is a series of goodbyes. Do you think that's why we're meeting. To help us say goodbye to Rafe? DANNY I swore not to talk about him tonight, but there's all this stuff I think I ought to tell you, that he didn't get a chance to. Rafe was...he was lonely. He had such high expectations of himself that he always felt empty. The week he met you he told me he felt his heart had always lived in winter, and for the first time in his life he has seen the spring. He's been lost in his own thoughts of Rafe; now he notices the tears welling up in her eyes. DANNY Sorry. EVELYN He told me he didn't want to leave me with regret. Now that's all I have. DANNY Hey, have you seen Pearl Harbor at night? EVELYN Well...sure. DANNY From the air? EXT. HALEIWA AIR FIELD - NIGHT A P-40 takes off from the remote airfield, lit only by the full moon. INT. P-40 - NIGHT Evelyn sits on Danny's lap, like Rafe sat in his Daddy's lap years before. Danny flies easily, the cockpit open, his arms slipped under hers. The sky above them is startlingly clear; a billion stars dancing around a full moon. EVELYN So beautiful! DANNY Hang on. He spins the plane in an easy half turn, inverting their heads above Pearl Harbor, gorgeous in the moonlight, the battleships aglow, the moon reflected in the peaceful water, embraced by the island of Oahu. EXT. HALEIWA AIR FIELD - NIGHT The P-40 soars easily in and settles to earth. Danny shuts down the engine. Danny carefully removes the harness around her. She looks overhead. The stars are still bright above them. EVELYN I didn't realize until tonight that I've stopped wanting to live. She turns in his lap, and looks at him. Their eyes connect. Tentatively, almost reluctantly, they kiss. EXT. MILITARY BASE HOSPITAL - NIGHT The POV of someone moving through the gathering darkness approaches the hospital. The lights from within the hospital, and the pristine white beds beneath those lights, give the place a kind of glow, where Evelyn moves alone and beautiful, like a ballerina in a giant's jewel box. Now we see the shoulders of the figure, from behind, and can tell that it is a man in uniform, but at first we can't tell who. He's standing dead still, transfixed in watching Evelyn through the windows. INT. BASE HOSPITAL - NIGHT Evelyn moves to her desk, and sits down. She looks at the calender turning back to October, where she wrote on the square of October 22, "Order supplies" -- she counts the weeks from then to today, December 6. EXT. MILITARY BASE HOSPITAL - NIGHT We see the full figure of the man watching her. And now we see his face. It is Rafe. His left hand is bandaged, but he is very much alive -- though seeing Evelyn has taken his breath, and even seems to have robbed him of the power to move. His eyes pick up every detail of her -- her face...her hands. And as Rafe watches Evelyn, he has the SUDDEN JOLTS OF SUBLIMINAL FLASHBACKS...punctuated by fragments of the letter she wrote to him, and INTERCUT with Rafe in the present, watching Evelyn. EVELYN'S VOICE Dearest Rafe -- IN SUBLIMINAL FLASHBACK, RAFE'S SPITFIRE, crippled and trailing smoke, passing through a patch of cloud as Rafe hurls himself from the cockpit and jerks the ripcord of his chute. IN THE PRESENT...Rafe's face winces with the memory, and he rivets his eyes on Evelyn, as if to force himself to know that this moment is real. SUBLIMINAL FLASHBACK...RAFE LANDS IN THE WATER, and the shock of its coldness travels up his body faster than his body sinks into the water. He's cloaked in the fog; his parachute, pushed by the wind, is pulling him along face down. He fights with the straps, flips himself over, and pulls the release... But he's still in desperate trouble; in his flying clothes, his heavy leather jacket soaking with sea-water, he's going down; his body sinks beneath the surface... EVELYN'S VOICE ...Every sunset... IN THE PRESENT, Rafe's chest trembles... Is it from the memory of the frozen water, from the emotion of seeing Evelyn again -- or both? SUBLIMINAL FLASHBACKS -- Below the surface of the North Sea, Rafe's body drifts, but he fights his way back up...he kicks off his shoes, sheds the jacket, strips off his pants and starts tying the cuffs into knots. Then, in a CUT, he is floating in the water, his pants turned into a makeshift life preserver, his body shaking convulsively from the cold. Then in another CUT we see him after he's been in the water for so long that his body no longer trembles; he's lost consciousness. He has no strength, no will to live... His face settles into the water...his body slips from his preserver, and drifts beneath the surface... EVELYN'S VOICE ...gather it's heat into my heart, and send it to you... IN FLASHBACK, Rafe beneath the surface... His eyes come open. From his POV beneath the water, he sees something above the surface. It's only in his mind, but that makes it no less real...an orange glow, the warmth of the sunset, and her face above the surface... His limbs come to life, and he fights his way up, breaking the surface. The whole sea around him is dark and empty, but he grabs his makeshift preserver and holds on for dear life...and for Evelyn. IN THE PRESENT Rafe stares through the window, at Evelyn, but he can't go in. He backs away from the window. INT. PILOT'S BARRACKS - NIGHT A Japanese-American MESSAGE BOY parks his motorbike outside and enters the barracks. MESSAGE BOY Daniel Walker?... Danny rises from his bunk and accepts the telegram. As the message boy leaves, Danny reads... The news he learns stuns him... EXT. BENCH - OUTSIDE THE HOSPITAL - NIGHT Rafe is still lost in thought. He hears steps running up -- and sees Danny -- who spots him at the same moment. DANNY Rafe! INT. MILITARY BASE HOSPITAL - NIGHT Evelyn puts away the calender. EXT. MILITARY BASE HOSPITAL - NIGHT Rafe is sitting at the bench, his head down. ANGLE - Evelyn on the path; she sees someone on the bench, his form hauntingly familiar. He hears her, and looks up. It's Rafe. From Evelyn's POV, the whole world spins. She faints. Rafe jumps to catch her before she slams to the ground. He gathers her into his arms, and she looks up into his face. He's real, very real. RAFE Evelyn. She's trembling, shaking. He lifts her to her feet, and moves her to the bench. RAFE I sent telegrams, I guess the military traffic held them up. EVELYN Why were you sitting here, instead of... RAFE I saw you, I couldn't go in, I...just stood there wondering if you knew. You looked...sad, and I had to sit down a minute. EVELYN How did you?... RAFE ...Survive? I jumped in a patch of fog, and nobody could see me. I hit the water hard. And it was so...cold. He looks toward the horizon, when the last light of day fades to black. There's something he thinks about saying, and doesn't. Then... RAFE I don't know how long I was in the water. A Norwegian freighter picked me up. They were headed to Spain. They docked in La Rota, right beside a German ship, and told me to stay hidden below. I was afraid they'd turn me in, so I stole some clothes, jumped ship, and found a church, where the priest contacted the resistance, and got me on a freighter to New York. He looks at her, then looks down again. RAFE I called my folks, then Colonel Doolittle. The Colonel sent a man to pick me up. They wanted to debrief me. I told the Colonel I needed to see somebody first, and he had a supply flight heading out in an hour. (beat) I've done a lot of talking. You haven't said anything. EVELYN I'm just...so amazed, so glad to know that you're okay. You are okay, aren't you? RAFE Nothing that won't heal. I guess. At these words, she looks at him for a long, long moment. EVELYN It's been...so different, being so sure you were dead. RAFE I'm so sorry for what you must've gone through, but I'm back. He sees the troubled look on her face. RAFE Maybe I've assumed too much. Has something changed? (beat) I'm afraid to ask what. And I'm afraid not to. (beat) Have you fallen in love? She nods; she can't even say it. Rafe's dying inside. RAFE It's all right. Danny always said I see things with my emotions instead of my eyes. EVELYN It's not your fault, Rafe. The letter I wrote you, they -- RAFE Don't worry about that. Guys away from home, lonely, good-hearted women try to cheer them up. EVELYN It's not that I didn't mean everything I wrote. It's just that -- I thought you were dead. And now -- Danny runs up, through the darkness. DANNY You're alive! Rafe and Danny stare at each other; Danny hesitates, looking from Rafe to Evelyn, wondering what they've said. Then Rafe looks at Evelyn, and picks up the look on her face. In that moment he puts it all together. RAFE Aw, God. Oh my God. Danny's speechless, and for a moment Evelyn is too. EVELYN Rafe -- He puts up a hand, to silence her, and walks away suddenly. Evelyn and Danny are left frozen. EXT. SHORE OF PEARL HARBOR - NIGHT Rafe stares out at the harbor, seeing nothing. As he stands there alone and shattered, he has one more SUBLIMINAL FLASHBACK Rafe is in the water of the North Sea; he seems dead, but his makeshift preserver is keeping his face above the surface. Something slides through the water and stops beside him; it's a dinghy, and behind it is a trawler. Hands grab Rafe and drag him onto the dinghy... In a QUICK CUT, Rafe's body is laid out on the deck of the trawler. The crewmen think he's dead. His body is stiff, his lips white; and they say so, in Norwegian... But one of the other crewmen notices a quiver in his eyelid, then quickly covers Rafe with his on wool peacoat and presses back an eyelid to see his pupils. Rafe's white lips move. The crewmen realize he's trying to say something. And Rafe does utter something, barely audible; something the Norwegian crewmen don't understand. RAFE Evelyn... IN THE PRESENT Rafe struggles to bury that memory so far that he'll never feel it again.
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