Year of Release: 1970Country of Origin: USA, Japan
Directors: Richard Fleischer, Toshio Masuda, Kinji Fukasaku
Cast: Martin Balsam, Sô Yamamura, Joseph Cotten, Tatsuya Mihashi
Plot outline: A dramatization of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the series of American blunders that allowed it to happen (IMDb).
Unlike the comparatively dramatic Pearl Harbor (2001), Tora! Tora! Tora! interprets events from both the U.S. and Japanese perspectives. From a dramatic perspective, there are too many American officer characters - it's difficult to tell exactly what the responsibilities of Balsam, Cotten, Marshall, Robards, etc. are - they all seem to be doing the same thing, trying to avert a catastrophe, and all run into the same brick wall of American complacence: It can't happen here. Unfortunately, much that couldn't have happened actually did during World War II. In a way, Tora! Tora! Tora! is two (and perhaps even three) different movies. Richard Fleischer directed the American scenes. The Japanese portions were supposed to be directed by the legendary Akira Kurosawa, but the marriage with Twentieth Century Fox went poorly, and the divorce brought in two Japanese directors to replace him. Fast worker Toshio Masuda filmed the indoor scenes, while a second crew led by action specialist Kinji Fukasaku completed the scenes staged the aerial and naval sequences. The movie bravely faces a great human tragedy. If the invading Japanese planes had been stopped in 1941, perhaps there would have been no need for the U.S. to drop bombs throughout Japan in 1945, killing a half million civilians. (BK)
My judgement: *** out of 4 stars
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