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
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
Frank Aletter	...	Lt. Commander Thomas
Koreya Senda	...	Prince Fumimaro Konoye
Leon Ames	...	Frank Knox
Jun Usami	...	Admiral Zengo Yoshida

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 | burning ship | black smoke | attack | pearl harbor | 

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Taglines:

The most spectacular film ever made.

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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

The U.S. Navy's Office of Information was inundated with complaints from U.S. citizens when the military agreed to allow active-duty U.S. military personnel to participate in the re-creation of the attack on Pearl Harbor, which some viewed as glorifying Japanese aggression, and showing Americans as unprepared.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the launch sequence when Admiral Nagumo, Lt, Cmdr. Genda, and some other officers exit the bridge to the platform which allows them to look down on the deck of the Akagi, where deck crew are s[potting the aircraft for launch, the door to the bridge, which is supposed to be made of steel plate, is obviously made of some much lighter material - wood or possibly even foam rubber.

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Quotes

Private George E. Elliott: [Telephone conversation from the radar station to the Information Center]
Private George E. Elliott: Sir, this is Private Elliott at Opana Point. There's a large formation of planes coming in from the north - 140 miles, 3 degrees east.
Lieutenant Kermit A. Tyler: Yeah? Well... Don't worry about it.
Lieutenant Kermit A. Tyler: [Click!]

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Crazy Credits

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

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Alternate Versions

The original release included a line by Admiral Halsey (James Whitmore) saying that after the war, Japanese will only be spoken in Hell. This line is removed from later releases.

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Connections

Featured in Backstory: Tora! Tora! Tora! (2001)

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Soundtracks

At Last
Music by Harry Warren
Played during the cocktail party on Saturday night, Dec. 6.

User Reviews

Codename: Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!, the best recreation ever...

Some of you younger movie-goers, may only know of "Pearl Harbor".

Forget it!

If you want to have the actual story of what "really" happened on December 1941, then you have to go back to this movie made in 1970.

"Tora! Tora! Tora!" is a vision from both sides of the coin, not just the American one.

"Pearl Harbor" is more a love story in its context and has only one vision, the unilateral and unnecessary patriotic American one. This is not history as it should be told.

"Tora! Tora! Tora!" was the codename given by the Japanese fleet to its carrier pilots to start the attack on Pearl Harbor.

This is far less a shooting war movie, than an actual historic recreation of facts happening on a certain month, week, day and moment in 1941.

Everything is told, from the bureaucracy involved (slow at that, as usual), to the actual military decisions on both sides and on the ground.

The attack, when it comes, is a majestic recreation that, once watched side by side with the actual documentary footage available, makes you realize that were it in black & white, one could not distinguish its differences. That's how accurate it is!

Expenses were not spared at all in doing this recreation. The aircraft used are all faithful reconstructions (a rarity!).

All the actors involved (American and Japanese) have played their roles with outmost accuracy and sense of drama.

The watcher is taken in and left wondering "what next", even if he already knows the story. Not a moment passes in boredom.

This is another fine movie I would recommend for schools and war museums.

It is a movie for thinkers, not warmungers, and it is certainly not one for those who always love to wave flags around.

In other words, this is history, told at its best.