Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

In 1941, following months of economic embargo, Japan prepares to open its war against the United States with a preventive strike on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor.

Directors:

Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku

Writers:

Larry Forrester (screenplay), Hideo Oguni (screenplay)

Stars:

Martin Balsam, Sô Yamamura, Jason Robards

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Martin Balsam	...	Admiral Husband E. Kimmel
Sô Yamamura	...	Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (as Soh Yamamura)
Jason Robards	...	General Walter C. Short
Joseph Cotten	...	Henry L. Stimson
Tatsuya Mihashi	...	Commander Minoru Genda
E.G. Marshall	...	Colonel Rufus S. Bratton
Takahiro Tamura	...	Lt. Commander Fuchida
James Whitmore	...	Admiral William F. Halsey
Eijirô Tôno	...	Admiral Chuici Nagumo (as Eijiro Tono)
Wesley Addy	...	Lt. Commander Alvin D. Kramer
Shôgo Shimada	...	Ambassador Kichisaburo Nomura (as Shogo Shimada)
Frank Aletter	...	Lt. Commander Thomas
Koreya Senda	...	Prince Fumimaro Konoye
Leon Ames	...	Frank Knox
Jun Usami	...	Admiral Zengo Yoshida (as Junya Usami)

Storyline

This dramatic retelling of the Pearl Harbor attack details everything in the days that led up to that tragic moment in American history. As United States and Japanese relations strain over the U.S. embargo of raw materials, Air Staff Officer Minoru Genda (Tatsuya Mihashi) plans the preemptive strike against the United States. Although American intelligence agencies intercept Japanese communications hinting at the attack, they are unwilling to believe such a strike could ever occur on U.S. soil.

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Plot Keywords:

naval aviation | attack | pearl harbor | navy | hawaii | 

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Taglines:

The incredible attack on Pearl Harbor as told from both the American and Japanese sides.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

Japan USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

23 September 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Тора! Тора! Тора!

Filming Locations:

Ashiya, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$80,085 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$29,548,291

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox,Elmo Williams,Richard Fleischer

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min 148 min (Extended Japanese Edition 2009)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Contrary to what some people believe, the title of this movie means neither "Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!", nor "Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!" in Japanese. It means "Attack! Attack! Attack!" The phrase comes from the first syllables of "Totsugeki" (meaning attack) and "Raigeki" (for "torpedo attack").

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Goofs

Colonel Bratton's name is given as Rufus G. Bratton. His actual name was Rufus S. Bratton.

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Quotes

[Admiral Stark is reading through the final part of the Japanese diplomatic ultimatum at his desk with Kramer, McCollum, Wilkinson, and two other officers]
Captain Arthur H. McCollum: Sir, the fourteenth part of this intercept which Kramer just delivered, indicates to me that the Japanese are going to attack.
Admiral Harold R. Stark: None of us doubt that war is coming. We know they have an expeditionary force heading south.
Rear Admiral Theodore S. Wilkinson: Sir, as hostilities seem imminent, may I recommend that you telephone Admiral Kimmel... in Hawaii.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The 20th Century Fox logo does not appear on this film.

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Connections

Referenced in A Decade Under the Influence (2003)

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Soundtracks

Chattanooga Choo Choo
Music by Harry Warren
Played at the dance

User Reviews

An underestimated epic

I have not seen the movie _Pearl Harbor_; nor, for that matter, do I plan to. I do not personally care for films that warp an important historical event to suit a formulaic date-flick format (a certain travesty involving a big steamship comes immediately to mind). If I go to the movie theater to watch a historical account, then that's what I want to see. _Tora! Tora! Tora!_ is exactly that, and more; it very nearly puts you right in the middle of the conflagration.

It continues to be a source of total wonder for me that _Tora! Tora! Tora!_, a movie made nearly thirty-two years ago, is so expertly presented. The reason for this is twofold: usage of lesser-known character actors to keep plot distraction to a minimum, and the usage of vintage working ships and aircraft to keep the realism to a maximum. These two elements merge together to produce what amounts to a cameraman in a time machine filming the actual events on site.

Since this was a collaborative effort between both US and Japanese film studios, the numerous switches between scenes will give you a good look at the differences between directing (and acting) styles. I am constantly amazed at the boldness of the content for a film released in the US during the Vietnam War, and only 25 years after the Pearl Harbor attack itself; compared to the rather wooden Martin Balsam and Jason Robards, Takahiro Tamura's Lt. Commander Fuchida is replete with a charisma I would never have expected from The Enemy. The Japanese side of the tale is laid before you so well that one is sent into the minds of the people involved, a rarity for American war films. (Sometimes it goes a little bit over the edge -- Admiral Yamamoto's comment "I know [the Americans] are a proud and just people" is a mistranslation -- but the general mood is accurately conveyed overall.)

And then there is the beautiful and sometimes chilling scenery. The attack scenes themselves are eye-popping and brazen enough -- an awesome effort given the technology of the period -- but my personal favorite scene is the Japanese lead strike force's departure from their aircraft carrier. Those of you who purchase the DVD version of the movie should crank up the volume at this point. This is a piece of film that most probably can never be shot again: REAL aircraft flooring their REAL engines and taking flight from a REAL ship of war, against the backdrop of the early dawn, one after another, until the sky is alive with what looks like waves and waves of warplanes. Although the aircraft and ships used were modifed American stock, the flags, uniforms, and color schemes are all authentic... resulting in a spine-tingling spectacle of Japanese pilots plunging headlong into what was ultimately a disastrous mistake. They are depicted as human beings, as they should be.

It is an astoundingly accurate presentation of a dark moment in history for both the US and Japan, free of pretense, pandering to the audience, big-bucks megastars, lovey-dovey sappiness, and computer-generated pixels. You don't *need* any of these things to create a fantastic movie; all you need is history, which we all know is stranger -- and scarier, and more engaging -- than fiction. _Tora! Tora! Tora_ should be in every movie fan's library.