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Summary: The Definitive Pearl Harbor Film -- Not To Be Missed
Review: A unique collaboration between American and Japanese filmmakers, "Tora, Tora, Tora" remains the definitive Hollywood portrayal of the tragic events of December 7, 1941. Perhaps the greatest compliment ever paid to this film was provided by none other than Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay, the "masterminds" behind the disastrous "Pearl Harbor", who stated that "Tora" played too much like a documentary. Well, how about that? No meandering love story, no Hallmark script, just cold, hard facts. "Tora" places us smack dab in the middle of a lethal chess game played by politicians in Washington and Tokyo throughout the Fall of '41. The political stalemates and blunders which inevitably lead to war are the meat and potatoes of "Tora". The climax is, of course, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor which is masterfully and accurately re-created. Vintage airplanes and actual ships are seemlessly juxtaposed with miniature models. The results are a spectacular cinematic experience which still holds up by today's standards. (Digital effects didn't exist when "Tora" was released in 1970.) Several big names-- Joseph Cotten, Martin Balsam and E.G. Marshall -- assume starring roles, yet wisely let the story be the "star" of the film. Credit the filmmakers for steering the focus toward the "event" without getting sidetracked in typical Hollywood fashion. To objectively portray the events of Pearl Harbor through the eyes of both sides, while keeping finger-pointing to a minimum, was no small task. In turn, the ability of the viewer to experience the preparation and strategy of both sides makes "Tora" truly unique. This is an important film which treats a monumentally tragic event with the respect and accuracy it rightfully deserves. Essential cinema -- not to be missed.
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Summary: The Original Pearl Harbor
Review: I watched this again after seeing the new Pearl Harbor and was amazed how much the new version copied TTT, right down to camera angles. For it's day the special effects were some of the best.
I liked PH especialy for the effects - there were only a couple of real planes and the rest digitized, the downside was having to put up with the sappy love story.
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Summary: ONE OF THE FINEST WORLD WAR 2 FILMS OF ALL TIME
Review: This film is an absolute must for everyone who wants to understand one of the defining moments of the 20th century. The praises of the film have been stated by others so I would just like to make a few points. Firstly, the film came out in 1970 which was at the time Japan was beginning to retake its full place among the nations of the world after recovering from the war. At that time, the United States was concerned that Japan be a full partner in its Cold War struggle against the Communist world. As a result, there was a tendency to whitewash the role of Emperor Hirohito in the war. This is seen in the film where they quote a poem that the Emperor supposedly wrote indicating that he opposed going to war. Later, it is stated that the Emperor insisted that the ultimatum breaking off negotiations with the Americans be delivered in Washington before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Historical research subsequent to the release of the film has altered this view of the Emperor making his role more supportive of war against the US and Britain (we must recall that Japanese aggression against China had been going on for 10 years already and he didn't seem to have any problem with that), and new evidence has come to light that the Japanese High Command WANTED the ultimatum delivered after the attack (as was indeed the case) in order to keep the Americans off-guard. Secondly, the film shows the hestitation of the Japanese Imperial Navy with going to war with the US whereas the Army was more enthusiastic. This was due to the fact that the Navy's main potential theater of operations was in the Pacific where the main opponent was the US Navy which they had a healthy respect for, whereas the Army's interest was focused on the continent of Asia where they faced the Russians (neutralized by a non-aggression pact), the British (hard pressed by the Germans in the European war) and the Chinese. Therefore they tended to discount the main rival they might have to face on the battlefield. Thus, this film points out that blindness and stupidity were in evidence on both the Japanese and American sides in the run up to Pearl Harbor.
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Summary: Timeless Masterful Epic
Review: It seems like every other reviewer is comparing this movie with the new Pearl Harbor. If you read my review of it, you know how I regard that film. But I will not make another reference to it again in any sense or form. Ok? Tora Tora Tora simply is the definitive Pearl Harbor movie, and always will be so. What is amazing is how well it holds up, and without tons of gore or dozens of explatives. It seems that this is the new stuff of war films, but Tora...(if I keep typing this in I will seriously go crazy) is a slice of old-time filmmaking. Instead of being one-sided, this movie tells its story from both sides. The Japanese are not portrayed as war-mongering hawks, on the contrary, both the Emperor and Yamamoto are portrayed as doves. It is the "army hotheads" they both despise that are the hawks. When war appears eminent, Yamamoto knows what he must do. What makes this movie great is the what if..? scenarios. What if they hadn't been blocked from putting the radar on the mountain in Pearl? What if the intelligence officer had predicted Sunday December 7 intead of Sunday, November 30? Would people have listened? What if the planes were kept wide apart instead of close together? What if the carriers had been in port? The possibilities are endless. Enjoy this film, it will stimulate those brain cells.
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Summary: Worth watching several times
Review: Now that all the hoopla is over as to which is the best Pearl Harbor film we can concentrate on "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (1970) This recreation of the Day Of Infamy.Naturally there will always be those people that are not satisfied with the accuracy of this recreation. And there is the compromise of having both sides of the story in one film. Other than a will paced film that keeps your attention, The real surprise is all the DVD goodies. The most important is the running narrative. It does some of the explaining of the differences between this film and reality without making excuses. After watching first with out the narrative, then with the narrative, it is time to watch it again and notice the points made on how the scenes were shot, the people picked and how they attempted to make the bulk of the film comply with history as we remember. It does not make sense to repeat the narrative or the story in this review. Let's just say you will not be disappointed with the movie or all the DVD goodies.
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Summary: a balanced perspective
Review: I really like Fat Jo Tomas' cynical dig at the other movie of infamy starring those two pretty boys and a nurse. Anyway, 'Tora! Tora! Tora!' is an interesting American film because it took account of both sides' perspective of the war, and its portrayal of the internal Japanese politics that led up to the attack was quite detailed for a Hollywood film. You can almost bet that film of this calibre would not have been made in Hollywood today - too many marketing agents would be demanding changes to make it more palatable to the mass audience. I first saw this film when I was a kid, and recently I saw this film again long after my graduation from university education as a history honours graduate. I came to appreciate how much I missed when I first saw it as a kid. That speaks loudly for the depth of this film. I now appreciate how reluctant the Japanese navy chiefs were about entering into a war with the Americans, and their disagreement with Tojo, who was portrayed in this film as an ultra-nationalist warmonger. It reminds of another debate that took place between the Japanese navy and army over the question of whether they should invade Australia. The navy argued that it should be invaded because the strategic value of Darwin as a naval base, while the army argued against it because of the logistic difficulty in defending a large country with their over stretched manpower. It makes me appreciate the dominance of the Japanese army generals in the decision making process of war time Japan. 'Tora!...' is also very emphathetic and detailed in its portrayal of the American perspective, especially the political intercourse between the military inteligence, military administration, diplomatic service and the presidential office. It has probably missed other key historical details as well (such as the role of foreign allied intelligence), but for a film of this magnitude, you can be forgiving. Finally there's enough action in this film to satisfy the hormonal instinct in us all, though that comes in the latter part of the film. In fact 'Pearl Harbor' took some footages from 'Tora!...', which is a tribute to the quality of action footages in 'Tora!...' One of the many brilliant war films of 20th century ... alongside the likes of 'Glory', 'Stalingrad' and 'Das Boot'.
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Summary: EXCELLENT and INFORMATIVE
Review: I first saw the movie 30 years ago yet I told my family THIS was what I most wanted for Fathers Day. It is one of the 5 best war movies ever made. For one thing, it is one of the few attempts Hollywood has made to make a historically accurate film. However the scenes covering the air attack on Pearl Harbor remain as exciting to watch now as they were 30 years ago despite the fact that none of the current video high technology was available in 1970. After seeing the movie Pearl Harbor, I appreciate Tora Tora Tora now more than ever.
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Summary: Forget "Pearl Harbor"
Review: Before the Ben Affleck flick, I was telling my friends that "Tora! Tora! Tora!" would give them a better view of whatever happened in the day which "will live in infamy". In fact, I made them see the film and the reaction was extremely mixed. Some of them prefered the romantic approach that "Pearl Harbor" was presenting, especially girls. But, what the hell...? "Tora! Tora! Tora!", as far as I know, is the only film that presents the points of view of both the American and the Japanese, and that gives the film the accurate scent of what happened on December 7th, 1941. The cast is truly remarkable. The effects are quite good, with no computer graphics. And let's not forget the music by Jerry Goldsmith, which is the best thing here in the movie. I'm not particularly pleased with the extras, however. The historians who talk about the attack give a very interesting inside scoop on the facts surrounding Pearl Harbor, but I would have loved to see some interviews with the surviving cast and crew members of this movie, as well as an isolated track of Goldsmith's music. But you can't get all what you want. Right?
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Summary: Pearl Harbour without the love story
Review: If you want the truth about Pearl Harbor without the love story, this is the movie to watch. If you want Pearl Harbor with a love story, why don't you watch "From Here To Eternity"
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Summary: The war from the "other" point of view
Review: These days we have "Pearl Harbor", which I consider a very good film, excellent special effects, etc, etc.... but it deviates from the actual events, is more of a romance story than the actual war, as it happened... Now, if you want a "true" historical movie, watch "Tora! Tora! Tora!" Some people have critiqued this great movie as an "almost documentary", but then I think it was the intention of the producers and directors to portray the actual events in an informative way, educating the people while watching the action. Actually one of the most important points of both movies: "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and "Pearl Harbor" is that the US Government knew about the upcoming Japanese attack but did not take action in time or fast enough to avoid the disaster that we lived through.
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