Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Directors:

Richard Fleischer
Kinji Fukasaku
(more)

Writers:

Larry Forrester (screenplay) &
Hideo Oguni (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

23 September 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

The incredible attack on Pearl Harbor.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Attack | Pearl Harbor | Japan | Hawaii | Navy

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 7 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. July 24

4:00 AM

AMC

Cast

Martin Balsam	...	Admiral Kimmel
Sô Yamamura	...	Admiral Yamamoto (as Soh Yamamura)
Joseph Cotten	...	Henry Stimson
Tatsuya Mihashi	...	Commander Genda
E.G. Marshall	...	Lt. Colonel Bratton
James Whitmore	...	Admiral Halsey
Takahiro Tamura	...	Lt. Commander Fuchida
Eijirô Tôno	...	Admiral Nagumo (as Eijiro Tono)
Jason Robards	...	General Short
Wesley Addy	...	Lt. Commander Kramer
Shogo Shimada	...	Ambassador Nomura
Frank Aletter	...	Lt. Commander Thomas
Koreya Senda	...	Prince Konoye
Leon Ames	...	Frank Knox
Junya Usami	...	Admiral Yoshida
Richard Anderson	...	Captain John Earle
Kazuo Kitamura	...	Foreign Minister Matsuoka
Keith Andes	...	General George C. Marshall
Susumu Fujita	...	Adm. Tamon Yamaguchi
Edward Andrews	...	Admiral Stark
Bontarô Miyake	...	Koshirou Oikawa (as Bontaro Miyake)
Neville Brand	...	Lieutenant Kaminsky
Ichiro Ryuzaki		(as Ichiro Reuzaki)
Leora Dana	...	Mrs. Kramer
Asao Uchida	...	General Tojo
George Macready	...	Cordell Hull
Norman Alden	...	Major Truman Landon
Kazuko Ichikawa
Walter Brooke	...	Captain Theodore Wilkinson
Hank Jones	...	Davey (student pilot in biplane)
Rick Cooper	...	Lieutenant George Welch
Karl Lukas	...	Captain on torpedoed ship
June Dayton	...	Miss Ray Cave
Ron Masak	...	Lt. Laurence Ruff
Jeff Donnell	...	Cornelia
Shunichi Nakamura	...	Kameto Kuroshima
Richard Erdman	...	Colonel Edward F. French
Hiroshi Nihon'yanagi
Jerry Fogel	...	Lt. Commander William Outerbridge
Carl Reindel	...	Lieutenant Kenneth Taylor
Elven Havard	...	Doris Miller
Edmon Ryan	...	Rear Admiral Bellinger
Toshio Hosokawa		(as Tosio Hosokawa)
Hisao Toake	...	Saburo Kurusu, Japanese Ambassador to Germany
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rosemary DeCamp	...	Grace Tully (scenes deleted)
William Schallert	...	Harry Hopkins (scenes deleted)
Toru Abe	...	Rear.Adm Ounishi Takijirou (uncredited)
Hiroshi Akutagawa	...	Kido Kouichi (uncredited)
Kiyoshi Atsumi	...	Cook #1 (uncredited)
Harold Conway	...	Aide to Ambassador Joseph C. Grew (uncredited)
Mike Daneen	...	Interpreter #2 (uncredited)
Francis De Sales	...	Adm. Stark's aide (uncredited)
James B. Douglas	...	Officer who agrees to send warning by telegram (uncredited)
Bill Edwards	...	Col. Fielder (Gen. Short's aide) (uncredited)
Jamie Farr	...	Multiple Characters (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Paul Frees	...	Ambassador Nomura (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Hisashi Igawa	...	Japanese pilot (uncredited)
Robert Karnes	...	U.S. Navy admiral (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Officer seated at meeting table (uncredited)
Berry Kroeger	...	U.S. Army general (uncredited)
Akira Kume	...	Japanese Embassy typist (uncredited)
Ken Lynch	...	Adm. John H. Newton (Lexington) (uncredited)
Eitaro Matsuyama	...	Cook #2 (Japanese version only) (uncredited)
Hideo Murota	...	(uncredited)
Charlie Picerni	...	Burning Sailor (uncredited)
Walter Reed	...	Admiral (uncredited)
Robert Shayne	...	(uncredited)
Tommy Splittgerber	...	Cablegram Operator - Recipient (uncredited)
G.D. Spradlin	...	Naval commander on Adm. Kimmel's staff (uncredited)
Hiroshi Tom Tanaka	...	(uncredited)
Larry Thor	...	Gen. Martin (Army Air Corps) (uncredited)
George Tobias	...	P-40 Service man (uncredited)
Bob Turnbull	...	Desk sergeant (uncredited)
Harlan Warde	...	Gen. Marshall's staff officer (uncredited)
Meredith 'Tex' Weatherby	...	Joseph C. Grew, U.S. Ambassador to Japan (uncredited)
Bill Zuckert	...	Admiral James 'Jim' Richardson (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Fleischer
Kinji Fukasaku		(Japanese sequences)
Toshio Masuda		(Japanese sequences)

Writing credits
Larry Forrester		(screenplay) &
Hideo Oguni		(screenplay) &
Ryuzo Kikushima		(screenplay)
Gordon W. Prange		(based on "Tora! Tora! Tora!")
Ladislas Farago		(based on "The Broken Seal")
Akira Kurosawa		(Japanese sequences) uncredited

Produced by
Richard Fleischer	....	producer
Keinosuke Kubo	....	associate producer (Japanese episodes)
Otto Lang	....	associate producer (Japanese episodes)
Masayuki Takagi	....	associate producer (Japanese episodes)
Elmo Williams	....	producer
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Jerry Goldsmith

Film Editing by
Pembroke J. Herring
Shinya Inoue		(as Chikaya Inoue)
James E. Newcom

Art Direction by
Richard Day
Taizô Kawashima		(as Taizoh Kawashima)
Yoshirô Muraki		(as Yoshiro Muraki)
Jack Martin Smith

Set Decoration by
Norman Rockett
Walter M. Scott
Carl Biddiscombe		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Layne Britton	....	makeup artist
Daniel C. Striepeke	....	makeup supervisor (as Dan Striepeke)

Production Management
William Eckhardt	....	unit production manager
Stanley Goldsmith	....	unit production manager (as Stanley H. Goldsmith)
Masao Namikawa	....	unit production manager
Jack Stubbs	....	unit production manager
Richard D. Zanuck	....	executive in charge of production (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Hall	....	assistant director
Ray Kellogg	....	second unit director
Hiroshi Nagai	....	assistant director
Elliot Schick	....	assistant director
Robert Enrietto	....	second unit director: plane sequences (uncredited)

Art Department
Ivan Martin	....	construction supervisor (uncredited)
Joseph Musso	....	production illustrator (uncredited)
Jack Senter	....	assistant supervising art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
James Corcoran	....	sound recordist
Herman Lewis	....	sound recordist
Theodore Soderberg	....	sound recordist (as Ted Soderberg)
Murray Spivack	....	sound recordist
Shin Watarai	....	sound recordist
Douglas O. Williams	....	sound recordist (as Doug Williams)
Don Hall	....	supervising sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
L.B. Abbott	....	special photographic effects
Art Cruickshank	....	special photographic effects
A.D. Flowers	....	mechanical effects
Greg C. Jensen	....	special effects (uncredited)
Howard Lydecker	....	special photographic effects (uncredited)
Glen Robinson	....	mechanical effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Gail Brown	....	miniature construction supervisor (uncredited)

Stunts
Lightning Bear	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jerry Brutsche	....	stunts (uncredited)
Steven Burnett	....	stunts (uncredited)
Everett Creach	....	stunts (uncredited)
Vince Deadrick Sr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chad Evans	....	stunts (uncredited)
J. David Jones	....	aerial stunts (uncredited)
Charlie Picerni	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Osamu Furuya	....	photographer: Japanese episodes (as Osami Furuya)
Shinsaku Himeda	....	photographer: Japanese episodes (as Sinsaku Himeda)
Masamichi Satoh	....	photographer: Japanese episodes
Charles F. Wheeler	....	director of photography: American episodes
Mal Bulloch	....	still photographer (uncredited)
David Butler	....	cinematographer: second unit (uncredited)
Thomas Del Ruth	....	assistant camera: second unit (uncredited)
Dave Friedman	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Bill Huffman III	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Tom Kerschner	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Doug Kirkland	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Rexford L. Metz	....	assistant camera: second unit (uncredited)
Sterling Smith	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Jack Whitman	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Tamotsu Yato	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Courtney Haslam	....	wardrobe supervisor
Ed Wynigear	....	wardrobe
Michael Butler	....	set wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department
Arthur Morton	....	orchestrator
Leonard A. Engel	....	supervising music editor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Chris Haynes	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Jack Canary	....	air operations
Kuranosuke Isoda	....	technical advisor
Tsuyoshi Saka	....	technical advisor
Kameo Sonokawa	....	technical advisor
E.P. Stafford	....	D.O.D. project officer and naval coordinator (as Commander E.P. Stafford, USN)
Shizuo Takada	....	technical advisor
Theodore Taylor	....	production coordinator
Duane Toler	....	script supervisor
Maurice Unger	....	production coordinator
George Watkins	....	air operations (as Capt. George Watkins, USN)
Arthur P. Wildern Jr.	....	air operations (as Lt. Col. Arthur P. Wildern, Ret.)
Bill Benedict	....	pilot: B-17 (uncredited)
Robert Buckhart	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
George Burnette	....	pilot: B-17 (uncredited)
Don Clark	....	pilot: B-17 (uncredited)
Don Fletcher	....	pilot: B-17 (uncredited)
Shigeru Fukutomi	....	story consultant (uncredited)
Minoru Genda	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Bill Groomer	....	pilot: B-17 (uncredited)
Davie Haines	....	pilot: B-17 (uncredited)
Randee Lynne Jensen	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Gaines Johnston	....	production auditor (uncredited)
J. David Jones	....	chief pilot (uncredited)
Allen Mosley	....	pilot: B-17 (uncredited)
Gary Pylant	....	pilot: B-17 (uncredited)
Dominic Santarone	....	caterer (uncredited)
Ruth Santarone	....	caterer (uncredited)
Konrad Schreier Jr.	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Hal Sherman	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Sam Steele	....	pilot: B-17 (uncredited)
Jim Stumpf	....	pilot: B-17 (uncredited)
Ted Taylor	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Yasuji Watanabe	....	story consultant (uncredited)
B.H. Watson	....	army affairs coordinator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
• Toei Company (uncredited)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1970) (USA) (theatrical) (released by)
• 20th Century Fox (1970) (France) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Japan (2001) (Japan) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Brazil) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (19??) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1973) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Fox Video (1993) (USA) (laserdisc)
• Fox Video (199?) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Vision Photography Inc.  aerial photography
• Pacific Title  titles
• Armies of the World  costumes and props (uncredited)

Runtime:

144 min

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color (as De Luxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (Westrex Recording System) (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 | New Zealand:PG | Brazil:Livre | Australia:G (DVD rating) | Australia:PG (cable rating) | Finland:K-12 | Norway:16 (1972) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | Taiwan:GP | UK:U | USA:G | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The film was considered a flop when it was released in the United States, but was a huge success in Japan.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Admiral Yamamoto's famous statement regarding Japan's chances in a war America was; "I can run wild for six months... after that, I have no expectation of success." The movie incorrectly shows him saying; "If we must, we can raise havoc with them for a year... after that, I can guarantee nothing."

Quotes:

Colonel Rufus G. Bratton: [rushing in with a message warning about a possible attack] Ed, here's a message; I need this typed up immediately!
Colonel Edward F. French: [in no hurry whatsoever] R-i-ight.
[he studies the paper]
Colonel Edward F. French: Umm... the General's handwriting - hard to read. You're going to have to help me out with this, Rufus.
[looking nervously at French, Bratton takes the paper from French and sits down at a typewriter, rolling paper in as if to begin typing the handwritten message]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "NYPD Blue: Torah! Torah! Torah! (#3.2)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

At Last

Excellent, if not one of the best documentary style movies of all time, as told from both sides, of the event that plunged the United States into the Second World War.

This movie reigns supreme over it's 2001 version Pearl Harbor which is really a fictional love story confined within a true conflict. Tora Tora Tora is based on actual events leading up to this avoidable tragedy, notably the bureaucratic bungling and complacency from the top down which allowed the Japanese attack to succeed.

Throughout this well done production, the story in true chronological sequence shifts between the two opposing sides with full subtitles giving the role played by each leading actor.

The viewer is given a clear concise unfolding of events with the part of the code-breakers importantly emphasized.

The attack is quite breathtaking in parts with several scenes closely resembling or being actual footage taken.

Ironically the breaking of the Japanese naval code by U.S. Intelligence gave the Americans every opportunity to correctly contemplate the next move of their adversary, but a desire for utmost secrecy by the Roosevelt Administration and the top brass of the Navy and Army restricted the transmission of clear and proper communications necessary for the Pearl Harbor commanders, Admiral Kimmel and General Short to make sound objective judgments regarding their respective commands.

Both men were treated shabbily by their superiors in the aftermath of the attack, were relieved of their command, and for decades thereafter had to endure the shame and responsibility placed on them in allowing this occurrence to happen.

This movie does a lot to exonerate them from their part in this terrible disaster.

P.S. I had the great honor of meeting bugler Richard Fiske personally, (USS West Virginia) with a colleague of mine when we visited Pearl Harbor in March 1997, (plus autograph),and had our photo taken with him. It is one of my enduring photos of this great sailor who gave his time unselfishly as a volunteer survivor, at the base, to give two second generation Australians the respect of knowing that we met a man who belonged to a nation which contributed to the success of winning the Pacific War.