Rating: 
Summary: PRAISE THE LORD! THIS MESS IS OVER!
Review: When I first heard about this film, I had thought that an hour of the film would be devoted to attack on Pearl Harbor. Instead, I watched a thirty minute fight sequence (exciting, but not as visually stunning as the visual effects work and masterful camera work used in the BETTER 40-minute sequence of the massive action epic PEARL HARBOR.) that was preceded by over an hour-and-a-half long introduction that features dull characters and boring talks. The only thing that kept me from falling asleep was the Japanese sequences involving the plans of attack, and some funny sequences involving oneliners. I also didn't quite agree with their portrayal of Dorie Miller, the mess attendant who shot down two Japanese airplanes, and won the first naval cross for an African-American. The character was only given about ten seconds of film time. I was very upset. The portrayal in PEARL HARBOR was 100% better, given that the role was given to a great actor, Cuba Gooding, Jr. I was also very dissapointed with the way they ended the film. It was too depressing. Nothing was said of what happened after the attack, except for Yamamoto's famous line: "All I fear that we have done is awaken a sleeping giant." Please, if you want to see a film that takes you back to that time, see PEARL HARBOR, an miss this waste of money. Trust me, you'll save a good amount. Grade: D+.
Rating: 
Summary: The REAL Pearl Harbor story
Review: With all the hubub surrounding the latest (definitely not greatest) movie: PEARL HARBOR, one is once again drawn back to this excellent movie made in 1970. TORA! TORA! TORA! attempts to present as balanced a presentation, from both sides in the conflict, as historical documentation will allow ... irrespective of the turbulence the latest round of "revisionist history" is causing. The aerial battle scenes are so real, one is almost transported back in time to Pearl Harbor in 1941. Keep in mind that the planes one sees on the screen are REAL, not phoney looking computer graphic models (which resemble little toy machinations out of STAR WARS in the current PEARL HARBOR movie). A great deal of time, careful thought and research, and money went into the making of TORA! TORA! TORA! ... and it is apparent at every turn. One of my very favorite movies of WWII. It attempts to present at least some of the answers as to why that terrible event took place. Excellent presentation.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the first time
Review: The Documentary and Commentary by the Director and Japanese Film Historian is great. That's the great thing about viewing on DVD, you get all this extra information and this gives you a good half a day of entertainment Besides just watching the Movie!
Rating: 
Summary: the best pearl story
Review: Very accurate, with a balanced account of the events leading to the start of America entering WW II.
Rating:
Summary: For disappointed viewers of PEARL HARBOR...
Review: ...rest assured that this 30 year old classic TORA! TORA! TORA! will not disappoint. This is a carefully researched, historically accurate, well acted, thoughtful movie. In other words it appropriately honors the event and treats it with respect. The movie provides sufficient background and builds up to the actual attack. The development of the plan is shown to be the work of some brilliant stategists and is a result of Japan's appreciation for the capabilities of naval air power. The diplomatic and intelligence activities that factored so significantly in the outcome are given due consideration. The movie does not tackle any of the controversies that have swirled around the event, almost since the day after. The elements that are key ingedients of the conspiracy theories such as intelligence information, aircraft dispersal at Wheeler field, the radar installation and decisions of commanders such as Admiral Kimmel and Gen. Walter Short are shown in a dispassionate and objective light. As a result, coincidence, oversight, and simple error are shown to be at fault, and more importantly, shown to be more believable than the alternative - a vast conspiracy of falsehoods and willingness to sacrifice men in order to get us into the war. The action scenes showing the attack on Pearl are well done and are preceeded by a good build up of the suspense. The limited special effects capabilities of the time takes nothing away from the enjoyment of the action. No whizz-bang special effects are needed. The movie concludes with Adm. Yamamoto realizing that by failing to sink the American aircraft carriers this was a pyrrhic victory. He acknowledges as much with his famous quote: "We have aroused a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve." Good acting by So Yamamura as Adm. Yamamoto, Joseph Cotten as Secretary of War Henry Stimson, Martin Balsam as Adm. Kimmel, Ejiro Tono as Adm. Nagumo and Takahiro Tamura as Lt. Commander Fuchida
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, great effects, impressive filming
Review: This film is about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in December of 1941. It is not about anything else - there is no love story! It is told from the perspective of the leaders of both sides, including the PM of Japan, the military leaders (Marshall, Yamamoto, etc.), and the senior diplomats (including the US embassy in Tokyo, and the Japanese in Washington). The first 80-90 minutes tells of the lead-up to the battle, showing Japanese pilots practising, diplomatic/political meetings, setting up radar stations in Hawaii, etc. The final 40-50 minutes is a recreation of the battle. Of significance is the attention to detail. The uniforms, ships, and planes all look very nice. In addition (as the director's commentary points out), all the events depicted in the movie are well documented as having really happened, from eyewitness reports, ships' logs, etc. The most impressive part is, of course, the battle itself. It looks amazing! Especially when compared with modern movies ; why don't computer effects obey the laws of physics? Bombs do not fall straight down, they follow parabolic tragectories. Because all the effects are "real" in this movie (i.e. full-scale models), the battle has a sense of realism that modern movies do not duplicate. Further, there are frequent cuts to dumbfounded officers watching the carnage, which, instead of slowing the action down, make the action scenes more poignant. Modern movies have a disturbing tendency to gloss over (or change outright) facts for the purposes of the story. Here, everything is in context - WWII did not start with this event, which other movies often imply by ignoring the broader picture. A second modern tendency is to tell the story from a swabby's or PFC's perspective, which will necessarily limit the character's scope of knowledge. Instead, Tora, Tora, Tora tells all from the brass and civilian leaders' perspective, so you get more of the subtlties. Finally, showing both the Japanese and US perspective makes for a much better look at this battle. The DVD extras are not great, but the director's commentary (also featuring a Japanese film historian) has some interesting tidbits. For anyone unfamiliar with the battle, the 20 minute documentary will be helpful, although the identities of the men interviewed are not released, which gives it an air of amaturism. Incidentally, the name "Tora, Tora, Tora" comes from the code word signalled by the Japanese pilots to indicate that complete surprise was achieved in the attack.
Rating:
Summary: A beginning to a horrible war!
Review: Tora! Tora! Tora! is one of the greatest movies I have ever seen. Everything that is in it just makes the movie better. I like how it tells both of the stories from the American and the Japanese sides. My favorite part is when Admiral Yamamoto says: "I fear we have awaken a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve" Nothing could have been closer to the truth. If you watch the movie, you will get a glimpse of the whole story and all of the mistakes that the Americans made, they had all of the warnings and yet 2,000 Americans died because some person at the radar station was told to ignore it. You just have to ask yourself why that happened. The sight at the end where the ships are burning made the anger burn inside me and made tears come from my eyes. Any American that would have watched that sight would want to get revenge to.
Rating:
Summary: action with intelligence
Review: The increased awareness of the bombing of Pearl Harbor among a new generation should be rewarded with a viewing of this film,as opposed to the current video game version. Is Pearl Harbor really the appropriate historical event to detail a mushy, who cares romance? The film makers here knew it was not. They adhered to the tension and the events that led up to the declaration/misinformation of war due to the decreased technological advances of communication of the time. This is an important lesson and it shows how War is definitely a problem of communication more than anything else. There is no need to remake this movie as it stands on its own as entertaining history. It should be viewed by everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Hell of a movie..
Review: The movie, in its original form, was a masterpiece. As a person growing up not 30 minutes from Pearl, and whose house overlooks the West Lock, its history and legacy is always a part of me. "Tora Tora Tora" takes its que from the grand film making that was produced by Hollywood during the war but it adds an abstract that makes it truly unique for its time: It was joint produced. Most of the war movies,(Red Sands, Go For Broke, Thirty Seconds..) all had American perspectives and never really explained the notion of what the opposite side viewed the US. Even today, the notion of a joint production is hardly used.(As was shown in the debaucle known as "Pearl Harbor".) Tora Tora Tora maintains its historical accuracy in that it pieces together, step by step, what happened from BOTH sides, of the conflict. You see the planning and the strategy of the Japanese forces as they practice-bomb targets in Kagoshima and Etorofu, how the conflict within the High Command eventually lead up to the war that was AGAINST the will of Hirohito,(he was left out of the loop on top information until it was too late.) You also see the arrogance of the US Military and how the White People looked down upon the AJA Population in Hawaii simply because they were of Japanese origin. For anything, the acting and the effects, for its time, was stunning and still remain something to emulate, which "Pearl Harbor"(2001), has failed on most accounts. The special features don't really add to the value but the movie alone is enough reason to buy.
Rating:
Summary: The version
Review: I Really like war movies and this is the definitive version of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The effects are great and the historical background are precise. It's superior to the recent Pearl Harbor film. This is the movie!
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