Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

A dramatization of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the series of American blunders that allowed it to happen.

Directors:

Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku,

Writers:

Larry Forrester (screenplay), Hideo Oguni (screenplay),

Stars:

Martin Balsam, Sô Yamamura, Joseph Cotten

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Martin Balsam	...	Adm. Husband E. Kimmel
Sô Yamamura	...	Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto (as Soh Yamamura)
Joseph Cotten	...	Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson
Tatsuya Mihashi	...	Cmdr. Minoru Genda
E.G. Marshall	...	Lt. Col. Rufus S. Bratton
James Whitmore	...	Vice Adm. William F. 'Bull' Halsey Jr.
Takahiro Tamura	...	Lt. Cmdr. Mitsuo Fuchida
Eijirô Tôno	...	Vice Adm. Chuichi Nagumo (as Eijiro Tono)
Jason Robards	...	Lt. Gen. Walter C. Short
Wesley Addy	...	Lt. Cmdr. Alwin D. Kramer
Shôgo Shimada	...	Japanese Ambassador Kichisaburo Nomura
Frank Aletter	...	Lt. Cmdr. Francis J. Thomas - USS Nevada
Koreya Senda	...	Prime Minister Prince Fumimaro Konoye
Leon Ames	...	Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox
Junya Usami	...	Adm. Zengo Yoshida

Storyline

In 1941 the Japanese are at odds with the United States on a number of issues which they are attempting to resolve via their Washington embassy. In case this diplomacy fails, the military are hatching plans for a surprise early Sunday morning air attack on the U.S. base at Pearl Harbour. American intelligence is breaking the Japanese diplomatic messages but few high-ups are prepared to believe that an attack is likely, let alone where or how it might come.

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Plot Keywords:

attack | japan | pearl harbor | navy | hawaii | 

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Taglines:

The most spectacular film ever made.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

23 September 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

I epopoiia tou Pearl Harbor

Filming Locations:

Ashiya, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$14,500,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Toei Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min 160 min (Extended Japanese Edition 2009)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Mono (some 35 mm prints) 4-Track Stereo (some 35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Akira Kurosawa attempted to cast friends and business associates, including some high-level industrialists, in key roles in the film's Japanese segments as a quid-pro-quo for later funding of future films. Twentieth Century Fox was not amused by this, and finally, the breach became the cause for Kurosawa's dismissal from the project.

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Goofs

Two P-40 pilots who managed to get airborne are shown in dogfights. When their cockpits are shown in close-up, there is no plexiglass.

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Quotes

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto: Finally, gentlemen... many misinformed Japanese believe that America is a nation divided... isolationist... and that Americans are only interested in enjoying a life of luxury, and are spiritually and morally corrupt. But that is a great mistake. If war becomes inevitable, America would be the most formidable foe that we have ever fought. I've lived in Washington and studied at Harvard, so I know that the Americans are a proud and just people.

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Connections

Referenced in Mary Tyler Moore: Just Friends (1973)

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Soundtracks

"The Star-Spangled Banner"
Music based on "The Anacreontic Song" by John Stafford Smith

User Reviews

Superbly done

This film tells the story of the attack by the Japanese Navy on an unsuspecting Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The film is balanced insofar as it's perspective, being told from both the Japanese and American sides. The storyline begins pretty much with the decision by the Japanese government that, unless negotiations with the United States were to take a decidedly different direction, there would be no choice but to go to war. It then follows the planning of the attack by Admiral Yamamoto and his staff. Concurrently, it shows that the negotiations between the two countries was not going well at all (from the Japanese standpoint). Depicted are, sadly, the absolutely dreadful decisions made by the US Commanders at Pearl Harbor, the ignoring of evidence that an attack was imminent, the lack of coordination in communications that resulted in huge delays in receiving crucial information and, lastly, ignoring the incoming Japanese raiders after they were spotted on American radar on their way in. The actual bombing and combat footage is very well done. The acting is superb by the entire stellar cast. Overall, if you want to know how a tragic event came to be, this film will explain it. It is historically mostly correct, although some artistic license was taken, for sure. Overall, an excellent production!