In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant embargos and failed diplomacy come to no end. "Tora! Tora! Tora!", named after the code words used by the lead Japanese pilot to indicate they had surprised the Americans, covers the days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, which plunged America into the Second World War.
Practical Effects
Real planes, real explosions, zero CGI—1970s madness.
Production
Two film crews, two countries, one obsessive vision.
Editing
Cuts between DC and Tokyo like a diplomatic cable.
Director
Toshio Masuda
Martin Balsam
Admiral Husband E. Kimmel
So Yamamura
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
Jason Robards
General Walter C. Short
Joseph Cotten
Henry L. Stimson
Tatsuya Mihashi
Commander Minoru Genda
E.G. Marshall
Colonel Rufus S. Bratton
Takahiro Tamura
Lt. Commander Mitsuo Fuchida
James Whitmore
Admiral William F. Halsey
Eijirō Tōno
Admiral Chuici Nagumo
Wesley Addy
Lt. Commander Alwin D. Kramer
Shōgo Shimada
Ambassador Kichisaburo Nomura
Frank Aletter
Lt. Commander Thomas
Koreya Senda
Prince Fumimaro Konoye
Leon Ames
Frank Knox
Jun Usami
Admiral Zengo Yoshida
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Japanese director originally hired? Akira Kurosawa. He quit after three weeks, calling the American producers 'untrustworthy.'
Released during Vietnam, its anti-war message was mistaken for patriotism by audiences expecting heroics.
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Reactions from the web
Perhaps the best historical film of all time.
@EneTheGene 9
The best Pearl Harbor movie ever made 🎎
@gumdeo 6
Saw this at the cinema as a child and was absolutely knocked out by the sheer spectacle of the last act. Still one of my favourite war movies. Love Goldsmith’s score too. Such a shame it didn’t do well at the box office.
@catfeeder5306
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