Objective Kobe

Featuring the only known color film footage shot during 1945-1946 of Kobe and Osaka, Japan, following the incendiary bombing of both cities, Object Kobe is a loosely structured documentary which offers some striking 16mm color footage of Japanese life during the occupation. Filmed by Dr. R.E. Herold, Lt. Col., USAR (Ret.), then a pictorial officer, the program opens with a brief commentary about the U.S. Postal Service's 50th anniversary WWII commemorative stamps, and then moves to Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines where troops board LST's enroute to Japan. A long unnarrated segment shows clips of military life at sea, on New Caledonia, at Guadalcanal, and in Manilla, before picking up again with the bombing of Kobe and Osaka. The second half of the tape compares footage of the bombed-out business district, temple and shrine sites, and black market area with contemporary photos of rebuilt Kobe and Osaka. Likely to be of interest to WWII vets from the Pacific arena, Objective Kobe is more of an archival piece than a solid documentary. While the footage is often striking, the narration is too hurried (leaving no pauses between completed sentences), and the film seems more an assemblage of parts than an assured whole. Those with strong military collections will want to consider; for others this is an optional purchase. (Available from: Dr. R. E. Herold, Lt. Col. USAR (Ret.), 161 Avenida Majorca-N, Laguna Hills, CA 92653; (714) 768-4345.)