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Tora! Tora! Tora! Actors: Martin Balsam, Sô Yamamura, Joseph Cotten, Jason Robards Directors: Kinji Fukasaku, Toshio Masuda, Richard Fleischer Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen Format: Color, Closed-captioned, THX, Dolby, Widescreen Audience Rating: G (General Audience) Running Time: 149 minutes Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2004-05-25 Buy from Amazon |
 "Unsurpassed"I just watched Tora! Tora! Tora! for about the fourth time, after being away from it for about 10 years. This is done in documentary style, and according to the commentary basically all incidents are true. I had a chance to see part of the filming in 1969, on North Cane Street in the town of Wahiawa. We watched with fascination as one scene was shot over and over again. This was a street allegedly in downtown Honolulu. The young man delivering the telegram to Fort Shafter is pulling out of the alley on his motorcycle. Then the camera catches the Japanese zeros flying overhead, signifying that it is too late for telegrams. The person who actually delivered the telegram in his youth was a Mr. Fujimoto, who was on the set as a consultant. Unfortunately, almost the entire sequence was left out of the final cut. Despite this, both the film and the DVD extras get five stars. The short called "Day of Infamy" adds to the film and clarifies specific historical points. And the running directors commentary explains the obstacles that had to be overcome in this joint U.S.-Japanese effort, including the different cultural perspectives in how to put everything together. Plus that, it explains many technical details that went into making the film.A valuable resource for amateur and professional filmmakers alike. The feature and the DVD extras can be enjoyed at different levels and be revisited over and over. I myself spent over 5 hours in one day going through the whole thing. The film is an excellent supplement to documentaries that use real footage. Definitely an educational experience. "One of greatest war films ever"This movie is right up there with band of brothers, saving private ryan, apocalypse now, platoon in terms of great war movies. Tora really hits the nail on the head with the accurate portrayal of events leading up to the attack and really comes to a climax with the spectacular battle scene. I could not believe some of the stunts in the film...the sequence on the airstrip were real live actors or stunt men but they came so close to being killed on film it was amazing. There were planes exploding like 5 feet away from them and these guys were literally running for their lives...you actually have to pause and remember that this is a movie! I loved the drama of the japanese actors..you can just sense the pride and mindset of the japanese warrior...I can watch tora over and over again and enjoy it just as much as the first time seeing it. I find it ironic how japan entered the war only to force "negotiations" with the USA knowing full well they could not defeat the US military in a war. Admiral yamamoto said he could raise havoc for one year against the americans but after that it was unknown. Turned out he was absolutely correct in his prediction. I don't think Japan could have won the war even if it destroyed the aircraft carriers at pearl harbor or won at midway. Japan's objective was not to invade the USA but to control asia and all of its natural resources....Japan only attacked the USA to prevent them from interferring with their conquests in asia. Japan miscalculated that the US could not reach japan in bombing attacks they never thought they could set up bases only 300 miles away from japan....japan's navy would have never allowed it so they assumed.  "still the best"This Pearl Harbor movie still remains the best treatment of the Japanese attack on 7 December 1941. What really works with this film was that both sides are accurately, fairly and without much bias, portrayed by the filmmakers. The internal struggles within the Japanese leadership as well as complacency of the Americans were clearly shown. This movie remains totally superior to that overblown mess of the movie that came out several years ago called "Pearl Harbor", probably one of the worst movies ever made so far in this century. It bit ironic but I thought that the Japanese scenes were done better then the American scenes. Japanese scenes seem to have more drama, better script and better direction. American scenes seem to be bit flat in many areas. The special effects for the movie still haven't aged that much. Its still as impressive as I first saw it back in the 1970s. As for the DVD, its cheap, the anamorphic transfer proves to be quite excellent, wide screem format really helped this movie and its unthinkable to watch it in "TV format". What a waste that would be. The DVD don't have much extra outside of a short 20 minute documentary but I enjoyed the commentary by Richard Fleischer and Stuart Galbraith. The sound is in DD 4.1 and it seem to be pretty clear and strong to my humble speaker system. Overall, a very good movie, well acted, well directed and above all, a very fair approach to the subject. "Still the Only Fine Film Rendition of This Infamous Attack"If you viewed the recent "Pearl Harbor," which makes the attack a backdrop to a romantic love triangle, you won't be disappointed with this original version of the dastardly Japanese sneak attack on the American Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. I had the immense good fortune to see it again with some survivors after revisiting the Arizona Memorial in my hometown of Honolulu. It registered with me as deeply as when it premiered 35 years ago. You will find in this film a concerted effort to faithfully re-chronicle the events leading up to the attack from both the Japanese and American sides. Lacking film stars, the historical tale is allowed to stand on its own with some roles played by actors who actually resemble their real-life counterparts. Moreover, the film included actual aircraft and facilities from that era rather than relying on models or replicas. It avoids the dry documentary style while unfolding disparate events in an easy-to-follow sequence. The attack through the beautiful mountain ridge along the west coast of O'ahu (over what is now Scofield Barracks) is accurately depicted (an area, incidentally, now off-limits to civilians) and enhances the sense of brutal shock of it all on what would have been just another tranquil Sunday morning in paradise. Yet the directors resist the tawdry temptation to overdramatize events, instead allowing the diplomatic intrigue and military planning to speak for themselves. In doing so, the directors enable Admirial Yamamoto's prophetic words at film's end to have a greater impact, serving as a sober reminder of how Japanese jingoism subdued better strategic reasoning. [P.S. this was the not the first attack on American soil since the Revolutionary War, as an official reviewer with obviously limited historical understanding noted]. "Great war epic on America's "Day of Infamy""Despite being filmed over 30 years ago, this classic war film remains THE definitive Hollywood version on the attack on Pearl Harbor. The planes look great, the direction (both the American and Japanese) is flawless, and the action is still very impressive. Also, the cast is typically great for a war epic, with Joseph Cotten, Martin Balsam, E.G. Marshall, James Whitmore, and Jason Robards, among many others. The Japanese actors are likewise great. This is one of those rare war movies that honors the courage and determination of BOTH sides. That, and the historical accuracy (for Hollywood) is why this remains such a popular movie. The music by Jerry Goldsmith works perfectly for the movie. This special edition dvd has a great picture quality (and is widescreen, thank goodness), a documentary "Day of Infamy", the original trailer, and commentary by the director Richard Fleischer and Japanese film historian Stewart Galbraith. There's no better time to watch this than on Dec. 7, so if you don't already own this gem do yourself a favor and buy it! |
