Passes the Bechdel test
Pearl Harbor
2001. Directed by Michael Bay, written by Randall Wallace.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
16 women characters. 8 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 4 scenes out of 304. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 2 out of 3.
The film
Pearl Harbor is a classic tale of romance set during a war that complicates everything. It all starts when childhood friends Rafe and Danny become Army Air Corps pilots and meet Evelyn, a Navy nurse. Rafe falls head over heels and he and Evelyn and Rafe hook up. Then Rafe volunteers to go fight in Britain, and Evelyn and Danny get transferred to Pearl Harbor. While Rafe is off fighting, suddenly one morning comes the air raid we now know as "Pearl Harbor."
- Released
- 25 May 2001
- Genres
- Action, Drama, Romance
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6.3 / 10
- Metascore
- 44 / 100
- Awards
- Won 1 Oscar. 14 wins & 51 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Rafe 151 lines, man
- Danny 132 lines, man
- Evelyn 80 lines, woman
- Doolittle 42 lines, man
- Red 36 lines, man
- Betty 19 lines, woman
- Roosevelt 19 lines, man
- Anthony 18 lines, man
- Coma 17 lines, man
- Dorie 15 lines, man
Full cast, 131 people
- Ben Affleck as Rafe McCawley
- Josh Hartnett as Danny Walker
- Kate Beckinsale as Evelyn Johnson
- William Lee Scott as Billy
- Greg Zola as Anthony Fusco
- Ewen Bremner as Red
- Alec Baldwin as Doolittle
- Jaime King as Betty
- Catherine Kellner as Barbara
- Jennifer Garner as Sandra
- Jon Voight as President Roosevelt
- Cuba Gooding Jr. as Dorie Miller
- Michael Shannon as Gooz
- Matthew Davis as Joe
- Mako as Admiral Yamamoto
- John Fujioka as Nishikura
- Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Genda
- Colm Feore as Admiral Kimmel
- Dan Aykroyd as Captain Thurman
- Reiley McClendon as Young Danny
- Jesse James as Young Rafe
- William Fichtner as Danny's Father
- Steve Rankin as Rafe's Father
- Brian Haley as Training Captain
- David Hornsby as Flyer with Murmur
- Scott Wilson as George Marshall
- Graham Beckel as Admiral
- Howard Mungo as George
- Randy Oglesby as Strategic Analyst
- Ping Wu as Japanese Officer
- Stan Cahill as Pentagon Lieutenant
- Kevin Wensing as XO USS West Virginia
- Tom Everett as Presidential Aide
- Tomas Arana as Vice Admiral
- Beth Grant as Motherly Secretary
- Sara Rue as Martha
- Sung Kang as Listener
- Raphael Sbarge as Kimmel's Aide
- Marty Belafsky as Louie
- Yuji Okumoto as Japanese Shy Bomber
- Josh Green as Radar Private Ellis
- Ian Bohen as Radar Private #2
- Michael Milhoan as Army Commander
- Peter Firth as West Virginia Captain
- Tom Sizemore as Earl
- Marco Gould as Pop-Up Sailor
- Andrew Bryniarski as Boxer Joe
- Nicholas Downs as Terrified Sailor
- Tim Choate as Navy Doctor
- John Diehl as Senior Doctor
- Joseph Patrick Kelly as Medic
- Ron Harper as Minister
- Ted McGinley as Army Corps Major
- Madison Mason as Hornet Admiral
- Kim Coates as Jack Richards
- Andrew Baley as Hornet Radio OP
- Glenn Morshower as Admiral Halsey
- Paul Francis as Doolittle Co-Pilot
- Scott Wiper as Gunner
- Eric Christian Olsen as Gunner
- Rod Biermann as Navigator
- Noriaki Kamata as Japanese Soldier
- Garret Sato as Japanese Soldier
- Eiji Inoue as Japanese Soldier
- Precious Chong as Nursing Supervisor
- Jeff Wadlow as Next Guy in Line
- Will Gill Jr. as Train Conductor
- Seth Sakai as Japanese Tourist
- Curtis Andersen as Eighteen-Year-Old Typist
- Blaine Pate as Orderly in Aftermath
- John Pyper-Ferguson as Naval Officer in Hospital
- Michael Shamus Wiles as Hornet Captain
- Brett Pedigo as Next Guy in Line #2
- Toru Tanaka Jr. as Samoan Bouncer
- Sean Gunn as Traction Sailor
- Josh Ackerman as Wounded Sailor #1
- Matt Casper as Wounded Sailor #2
- David Kaufman as Young Nervous Doctor
- Lindsey Ginter as Captain Low
- Joshua Aaron Gulledge as Buster
- Guy Torry as Teeny Mayfield
- Leland Orser as Major Jackson
- Peter James Smith as Mission listener
- Mark Noon as Medic
- Pat Healy as News Reel Guy
- Thomas Wilson Brown as Young Flier
- Chad Morgan as Pearl Harbor Nurse
- James Saito as Japanese Aide #1
- Angel Sing as Japanese Aide #2
- Tak Kubota as Japanese Aide #3
- Robert Jayne as Sunburnt Sailor
- Vic Chao as Japanese Doctor
- Michael Gradilone as Screaming Sailor
- Frederick Koehler as Wounded Sailor #3
- John Padget as Hospital Chaplain
- Ben Easter as Baja Sailor #1
- Cory Tucker as Baja Sailor #2
- Abe Sylvia as Baja Sailor #4
- Jason Liggett as Baja Sailor #5
- Mark Panasuk as Baja Sailor #6
- Bret Roberts as Baja Sailor #7
- John Howry as Lieutenant in Boat
- Rufus Dorsey as Dorie's Friend
- Patrice Martinez as French Fisherman
- Rodney Bursiel as Sailor with Dog
- Rob McCabe as Rescue Sailor
- Brandon Lozano as Baby Danny
- Seiki Moriguchi as Communications Officer
- Brian D. Falk as Helmsman #1
- Estevan Gonzalo as Bombing Sailor
- Christopher Stroop as Helmsman #2
- Sean Faris as Danny's Gunner
- Vincent J. Inghilterra as Preacher
- Nicholas Farrell as RAF Squadron Leader
- Tony Curran as Ian
- Will Bowden as Pilot #1
- Benjamin Farry as Pilot #2
- Daniel Mays as Pilot #3
- Toshi Toda as Dentist
- Jaymee Ong as Dental Assistant
- Lisa Ross as Nurse (uncredited)
- Max Thayer as (uncredited)
- Camille Carida as Nurse (uncredited)
- Tanya Dempsey as Nurse (uncredited)
- Frieda Jane as Nurse (uncredited)
- Kathleen Mullan as Stearn Nurse (uncredited)
- Lin Oeding as Japanese Sailor (uncredited)
- Barbara Scolaro as Josephine Doolittle (uncredited)
- Melissa Anne Young as Nurse (uncredited)
- Scott Levy as Sergeant (uncredited)
- J Michael Briggs as Injured Marine (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 7 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 9% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 304
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 7 | 0 | 55 |
| 8 to 14 | 30 | 38 |
| 15 to 21 | 7 | 15 |
| 22 to 28 | 2 | 8 |
| 29 to 35 | 7 | 13 |
| 36 to 42 | 0 | 57 |
| 43 to 49 | 3 | 33 |
| 50 to 56 | 0 | 13 |
| 57 to 63 | 23 | 23 |
| 64 to 70 | 1 | 12 |
| 71 to 77 | 4 | 7 |
| 78 to 84 | 6 | 13 |
| 85 to 91 | 11 | 17 |
| 92 to 98 | 0 | 29 |
| 99 to 105 | 0 | 9 |
| 106 to 112 | 0 | 2 |
| 113 to 119 | 0 | 3 |
| 120 to 126 | 0 | 8 |
| 127 to 133 | 0 | 4 |
| 134 to 140 | 0 | 1 |
| 141 to 147 | 3 | 1 |
| 148 to 154 | 0 | 5 |
| 155 to 161 | 0 | 26 |
| 162 to 168 | 0 | 27 |
| 169 to 175 | 3 | 6 |
| 176 to 182 | 0 | 7 |
| 183 to 189 | 8 | 1 |
| 190 to 196 | 3 | 1 |
| 197 to 203 | 0 | 7 |
| 204 to 210 | 0 | 5 |
| 211 to 217 | 2 | 13 |
| 218 to 224 | 0 | 10 |
| 225 to 231 | 3 | 29 |
| 232 to 238 | 0 | 16 |
| 239 to 245 | 0 | 23 |
| 246 to 252 | 4 | 26 |
| 253 to 259 | 0 | 7 |
| 260 to 266 | 0 | 8 |
| 267 to 273 | 1 | 7 |
| 274 to 280 | 1 | 2 |
| 281 to 287 | 0 | 9 |
| 288 to 294 | 0 | 11 |
| 295 to 301 | 0 | 13 |
| 302 to 304 | 0 | 10 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scenes
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
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. Very me… EVELYN: At ease, Betty!
BETTY: Don't be nervous. EVELYN: There shipping us out. Hawaii. The Germans are overrunning Europe, and we're sent to paradise. How about you? Have you heard anything?
EVELYN: On the third tee. SANDRA: Evelyn! Where's the morphine?
SANDRA: I can't tell who's gotten morphine and who hasn't! EVELYN: Take a grease pencil and mark an M on the forehead of everyone you stick. EVELYN: Don't look for a vein, just poke. SANDRA: My pen's dry!
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 16 are women's.
122 lines from women, 630 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
16 women and 94 men in the cast. 8 women and 60 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 83 of 822.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 82 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 16% of the words (1,400), men 84% (7,230).
Exhibit E: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
9
Two men
69
Exhibit F: behind the camera
1 of the 18 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 18% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Michael Bay (man)
- Written by
- Randall Wallace (man)
- Produced by
- Michael Bay (man), Jerry Bruckheimer (man), Kenny Bates (man), K.C. Hodenfield (gender not listed), Jennifer Klein (gender not listed), Pat Sandston (gender not listed)
- Shot by
- John Schwartzman (man)
- Edited by
- Roger Barton (man), Mark Goldblatt (man), Chris Lebenzon (man), Steven Rosenblum (man)
- Music by
- Hans Zimmer (man)
- Production design by
- Nigel Phelps (man)
- Costumes by
- Mitzi Haralson (gender not listed), Michael Kaplan (man)
- Cast by
- Bonnie Timmermann (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
6 women, 63 men, 21 not listed
-
Production
5 women, 18 men, 48 not listed
-
Sound
8 women, 15 men, 3 not listed
-
Art
2 women, 12 men, 5 not listed
-
Visual Effects
1 women, 10 men, 8 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
7 women, 4 men, 6 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 9 men, 1 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 3 men, 2 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 27 on average. Men: 29 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Jaime King 22, Kate Beckinsale 27, Jennifer Garner 29, Catherine Kellner 30
Men
Josh Hartnett 22, Greg Zola 26, William Lee Scott 27, Ben Affleck 28, Ewen Bremner 29, Alec Baldwin 43
Exhibit H: the money
It made 3.2 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $140 million
- Box office
- $449 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 304 scenes and 822 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
