Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

Holy Mackerel! I've known of this movie forever, but got around to watching it only tonight. I started this review before I finished watching and I had already given it 10 stars.For the combat scenes, everything is thrown at the viewer as realistically as possible. There are no hokey miniatures nor restrictive sets. The destruction of a fighter during take-off is a masterpiece of practical effects. I'm trying to figure what kind of budget this movie had just for explosions. The merging of new footage of a 2-wheel touchdown and crash-landing of a bomber with real footage of the same was nearly seamless.Acting and dialog was top notch for 1970. (I'm a firm believer that both things were dramatically improved circa 1980.) Some of the dialog as a bit contrived but it was needed to push home some of the political and historical points.I gave this film a 10. It was an easy choice. "Tora! Tora! Tora!" will remain a must-see film for another generation or two. Pearl Harbor", as good as it was, lacks this film's staying power.

I enjoyed the Japanese parts of the movie more than the American. Toshio Masuda and Kinji Fukasaku did a brilliant job, their direction is nearly perfect. The cinematography is excellent.This movie portrayed the Japanese in a sympathetic light, and we learn a lot about their point of view from the movie. It's mostly historically accurate, although some parts are incorrect. The Japanese never intended to declare war on the USA before the Pearl Harbor attack, with a slow typist preventing this from happening on time. In fact, Japan didn't declare war until many days after the attack.Some of the American scenes in the movie are poorly written and directed, except for the actual attack scenes which were accurate and very realistic. In creating the scenes leading up to the attack, the movie makers went too far in portraying most of the American leaders as annoyingly incompetent fools. Overall, although the movie could have been better, it's definitely worth watching.

Forget the junk movie Pearl Harbor by Jerry Bruckheimer that everyone keeps comparing to this one. This movie is better in every way, historically speaking and cinematic. Its acting is better, its accuracy is better and it's attack scenes are better. Unlike Pearl Harbor, this needed no computer animation whatsoever. No second is wasted.Tora! Tora! Tora! is an enjoyable movie even though the Americans seem helpless in the attack. The Japanese just keep bombing and bombing. The explosions in the attack are greatly constructed as are the death scenes of characters. One thing that I like the most about this movie is how it is shown from both point of views.

While not every detail is perfect, I really appreciate how the makers of some historical movies try very, very hard to get it right. In contrast, many war films (such as "Midway") are shoddy when it comes to the details--such as using stock footage of planes or tanks which didn't even debut until well after the battle. And, very, very few war films try to explain the events leading up to it. This drives ex-history teachers like me nuts! However, "Tora! Tora! Tora!" is an amazing film because they tried so hard and the film feels so complete. Of course the filmmakers had to make a few adjustments--such as converting American T-6 airplanes to look a lot like Japanese planes and recreating Japanese ships because they'd all been lost during WWII. But they TRIED--and I appreciate that. And again and again, the film stresses details--details that might bore some viewers but make history nuts salivate!So why am I giving this movie a 10? After all, I almost never give such a score to a movie. In addition to the two huge pluses above, the movie excels because it does not burden itself with superfluous love stories (such as in "The Battle of Britain") nor does it give way to sentiment. It is almost like an actual recreation of events as they unfolded-- brought to the big screen in epic fashion. All in all, probably the best war film of all time because of its attention to detail, scope and accuracy.Apparently, Roger Ebert HATED this film for the reasons I loved it. He hated the detail and wanted to have the characters fleshed out more-- like a typical Hollywood production. I didn't mind its documentary-like style and as a certifiable history nut, it's the sort of film I adore!