Rating: 
Summary: don't forget...
Review: amid all the accolades for special effects, let's not forget the characters themselves. Both directors were meticulous in their portrayals of the leading figures. The character studies are wonderfully depicted, as to show the unique complexities that each one revealed. We are intimately familiar with them, even down to the aircraft mechanics on the Japanese carriers. We relate to each one of them somehow. They are fully human to us. They are not faceless, emotionless, unhuman individuals: We connect to both sides' angst, fear, indifference, euphoria and resignation. For example, I feel the pure euphoric intensity each time I see the scene where Commander Fuchida, flight leader of the first wave, peers thur his binoculars at the harbor to check for enemy aircraft, and states "We've done it". Complete Surprise achieved. Or how about Martin Balsam, playing Adm. Kimmel, viewing the carnage from his window, and an errant bullet shatters the pane, just missing him: "It would have been merciful, had it killed me." A fortelling of his ignoble demise. Lastly, let's not forget the scene in which a young Japanese boy is sending off a letter and hands it to the clerk, who pauses to eye him menacingly. The camara sits just long enough on the boy's innocent face. That's all it took to convey the subtle racism that reminds you powerfully of the American shame of the indignant incarceration of Japanese Americans during the war. This film was more than special effects. It's a superb character study that brilliantly portrays the known and unknown people in such a way as to not pass judgement, but to display them in their attempt to cope with the uncontrolled forces of fate and history.
Rating:
Summary: Tiger!, Tiger!,Tiger!!
Review: This movie was based on the book "At Dawn We Slept" by Gordon Prange, in my opinion the foremost analysis of the preliminaries and the attack itself. A full scale battleship Nagato, flagship of the Rengo Kantai was constructed as was a full scale flight deck of Admiral Nagumo Chuichi's flaship, carrier Akagi. The special effects are excellent, in fact in one of the scenes of the airfield's being attacked, an actual disaster was just averted when a burning aircraft taxiing to take off spun into a row of parked P-40 fighters. This was not meant to take place and the actors and crew being viewed running about are really in fear of their lives. The scene was kept intact in the movie due to its "realism". The buildup to war is skillfully protrayed as each part of the Japanese 14 part diplomatic message is received and interpreted by US decoders and tension naturally builds. The only mar on an otherwise excellent movie is the use of some modern ships in the battle scenes, a defect shared by the 2001 release. The cataclysm to battleship row is incredibly portrayed with feats of heroism counterbalanced by the heavy blows being dealt to the capital ships by Japanese aircraft of the Kido Butai (Carrier Striking Force). This is the best movie I have seen about Pearl Harbor, the attack and Admiral Yamamoto's disillusionment when he discovered that the first bomb fell prior to a declaration of war.
Rating:
Summary: OOPS
Review: On my previous review of TORA TORA TORA I accidently listed Mifune playing Admiral Yamamoto. That was of course in MIDWAY. I guess my review deserved less stars than this movie. But the advice is the same. Instead of going out to PEARL HARBOR and DINNER. Get delivery and watch TORA TORA TORA and you will pay less for better entertainment.
Rating: 
Summary: one of the best factual war movies
Review: When I saw this movie out on DVD, I grabbed it right away- especially with all the hoopla surrounding the opening of Pearl Harbor. Although I've seen this movie several times on television, it's been quite awhile since my last viewing. What has always amazed me with this movie, is the fairness and historical accuracy used in its creation. The movie's beginning says it has attempted to be historically accurate- which I agree with. I realize there's a great many people out there who believe FDR "knew" the attack was coming, but I for one, agree with the movie in showing that he did not. The movie is very good at showing the chaos going on in military Japan, and without going into excruciating detail, depicts the upheavel and in-house fighting going on within the country. Besides the accuracy, I really like the action scences- the flights of planes, and the ships in the harbor do not look like little toy models or anything along those lines. Very well done, put together movie, and I recommend it for anyone who has an increased awareness about the battle.>o'
Rating:
Summary: we don't need no stinkin' Affleck!
Review: If you want a very well done and historically accurate version of Pearl Harbor, forget that new Affleck movie, and get this! The entire background of the attack on pearl harbor is given, with Japanese actors, and scenes from the Japanese ships, planes, and in Japan, as well as a thourough background of the situation in the USA. Another bonus is the fact that since there was no CGI available in 1970, they had to use REAL PLANES for most of the shots, and since the movie is so well done, the few scenes were miniatures were used can be forgiven. Even after 30 years this a solid movie, on par with 'PATTON'.
Rating:
Summary: Classic
Review: Simply put Tora, Tora, Tora is number one in the Pearl Harbor category. The new Pearl Harbor is another new disappointment and a BIG missed opportunity to create a powerful/well conceived storyline and properly utilize and apply fantastic technical, research and special effects resources never before available to 'recreate history'. Recommendation: Don't waste your time and money seeing it in the theatre - wait to rent a video. (Exception: If you have a hot date that is just begging to see it.) Sure, the new Pearl Harbor will please the masses - the general public. But if you really want to know what it was like - get this 1970s movie. Sure, like Private Ryan, it's not perfect. To most people a perfect war movie would be mostly boring and unglamorous with periodic scenes of appalling subject matter. Tora, Tora, Tora is a classic war movie that comes very close to the historical and technical accuracy that you can't possibly focus on when you cloud it up with a love story, typical Hollywood inaccuracies in dialogue between military personnel, errors in casting, tons of scenes borrowed from other movies, some overdone digital effects, military technical errors and a tremendous missed opportunity to 'build up' to what most people consider the main part of the movie - the attack!! Too bad, the public could appreciate another 'Private Ryan' quality movie. The critics will never totally denounce the new movie because it would be politically incorrect and probably be miss-interpreted as Anti-American by the public. Pearl Harbor is still an emotional issue with Americans - therefore the advertising hype on the new movie has reached ridiculous levels - don't get sucked in. Once more people see it, they are going to either be disappointed or clueless. See Tora Tora Tora - whether for the first time or revisiting it, it's an excellent piece of work.
Rating:
Summary: Better than fiction, the intrigue and explosive attack
Review: Most of the other customer reviews hit the main points I would make about how great this movie is in depicting the attack on Pearl Harbor with historical accuracy. I am writing this on the weekend of the release of the big Disney movie, Pearl Harbor, which I have not seen yet (I intend to after the crowds subside). After having invited some friends over for a weekend BBQ, I suggested we watch my new DVD from Amazon, "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and I started the movie half way through, choosing the scene after the film's intermission, basically so we could get right to the battle scenes, since we were mostly a bunch of guys filled with charred meat and beer expecting some action oriented entertainment. Realizing this was a movie made before I was born, we expected the special effects would be rudimentary, while at the same time appreciated the lack of computer animation. When those Zero planes buzzed over the harbor, with the torpedoes exploding, the ships on fire, and the airfields bursting into fireballs, we were all screaming with glee and approval. It's a great war flick, with plenty to soak in. Of course, the reality of the historical attack and the American tragedy was part of the awe, but so was the grand scale of the explosive film production (watching the stunt men literally run for their lives from flaming airplanes props which went unexpectedly out of control during filming), as well as the visual experience of a sustained, surprise air raid with hundreds of enemy planes buzzing around. I had seen this movie on TV a few times before (usually rerun on December 7), but not without commercial interruptions, and not in quite a few years. I am a very satsfied customer having bought this DVD. I recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: Vastly Superior to PEARL HARBOR
Review: This films is truly a masterpiece of storytelling and historical accuracy. Unlike the new Bruckheimer/Bay "Pearl Harbor," "Tora!" depicts quite accurately, in a compelling manner, the facts and events that lead to the attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Though it lacks a singular character to fixate upon (a John Wayne of sorts, if you will), I believe that it is a strength of this film, as such glorification and exultation of single men in films like "The Longest Day" or "The Sands of Iwo Jima" distract from the history. The film strives quite successfully to drop the viewer right into early December of 1941, with few noticible cues of it being a 1970 production. Just to set the record straight, however, none of the Japanese aircraft in the film are authentic, most being assembled from parts of various U.S. trainer aircraft, mainly AT-6/SNJ Texans.
Rating:
Summary: Authenticity?
Review: I haven't seen the recently-remastered edition of this fine film; but one of the most appealing aspects of the original, which I taped off-air, was the fact that the Japanese spoke Japanese (English subtitles) .... I assume it is true for the new edition, although none of the 6 or 7 reviews I read at the website noted this.
Rating:
Summary: History comes alive from both sides of the Pacific...
Review: Tora Tora Tora was produced in 1970, when technology was less sophisticated than it is today. But this is no ordinary war film. It attempts to show both the Japanese and the American sides, which is no easy task. It surprised me how well it succeeded though and, even though some of the dialog seemed awkward in its scripting, I realize it was necessary to help the audience understand some of the complexities of the politics of the time. There were both Japanese and American directors and writers working on this film and the results are thought provoking. The Japanese sections are in Japanese, of course, and even though the captions are difficult to read on my small TV, the acting, the history and the Japanese view of fighting with honor kept my eyes glued to the screen. The Americans, in contrast, look like blunderers, making one tactical mistake after another. But then again, this kind of thing is always easy to see in retrospect. The cast was huge, with 20 or more major leads. I was not acquainted with the Japanese actors, but the American cast included Martin Balsam, Joseph Cotton, E.G. Marshall and Jason Robards. The writers obviously tried to stick closely to historical facts, and there were no central leading characters with inflated roles. There was also no manufactured back story of individuals caught up in the drama. And, as the names of both the American and the Japanese generals and politicians were not familiar to me, it was a bit difficult to follow the personalities. However, there was no problem at all following the movement of the plot. And, in spite of knowing the eventual outcome, I found myself riveted to the screen. Nominated for five academy awards, mostly for technical achievements, Tora Tora Tora was not a financial success in its time. I understand that Midway and Mash came out that year and I don't know if audiences were ready to look at the battle from the Japanese point of view. Although this film did not get into individual stories, we could sense some of the conflicting emotional states that some of the Japanese officers felt during those stress-filled days leading up to the attack. And we could see the frustration of some of the American officers who believed the attack was coming and who tried to warn their superiors who didn't believe them. I definitely recommend this video for its balanced portrayal of the winds leading up to the war, and hopefully expect that with the release of the blockbuster Pearl Harbor, Tora Tora Tora will take its proper place in the annals of war films.
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