100 BEST WAR MOVIES #59. Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

 

            “Tora! Tora! Tora!” is the epic retelling of the attack on Pearl Harbor told from both points of view.  The American scenes were directed by Richard Fleischer (The Vikings).Akira Kurosawa had to be replaced as the Japanese director because he was not a good fit for a movie that was concerned with getting in on time and on budget. It is from the war epic genre that includes The Longest Day, A Bridge Too Far, and Midway .  It fits comfortably in that group, but differs from them because it is less character driven.  Of the group it has the most documentary feel and the most fidelity to historical accuracy.  It also does not have an all-star cast.

            TTT was released in 1970.  It was a joint American-Japanese project with separate directors and production.  The two separate “films” were then intertwined to create the finished product.  The movie bounces back and forth between the opposing sides seamlessly. It even has both national anthems. The screenplay was written by two Japanese and an American. It was based on the eponymous nonfiction book by Gordan Prange and “The Broken Seal” by Ladislas Farago.  Prange vetted the script.  There were numerous technical advisors including Japanese who participated in the attack. TTT strives for authenticity, sometimes at the expense of entertainment.  The Japanese dialogue is subtitled which is helpful in understanding the Japanese psyche.

            The movie opens with a majestic musical theme that has a hint of the orient. The early part of the film details events leading up to the attack.  It is an excellent tutorial on the political and strategic machinations prior to the attack.  One flaw is the lack of a clear time line for events before Dec. 6.  The movie offers a brass-eye view from the governmental and military levels.  The main American characters are Gen. Short (Jason Robards) and Adm. Kimmel (Martin Balsam).  We also get a large dose of Yamamoto, Hull, Stimson, and Nomura.  The movie forgoes the grunt level characters like Duhon (A Bridge Too Far) or Garth (Midway).  There are no major fictional characters.

ACTING:                      B

ACTION:                      A   8/10

ACCURACY:               A

PLOT:                           A

REALISM:                   A

CINEMATOGRAPHY:   A

SCORE:                       B

BEST SCENE:  the takeoffs from the Japanese carriers

BEST QUOTE: Adm. Kimmel (after almost being killed by a stray bullet):  It would have been merciful if it had killed me.

            TTT fits in all the “greatest hits” of the Pearl Harbor story.  These include: the code-breaking effort, the radar pick-up, Taylor and Welch in their P-40s, the U.S.S. Ward versus the Jap sub, Dorie Miller, the Hull-Nomura interchanges.  Any fan of the battle will not be disappointed.  Fans of faux dramatics will be.  This movie is very different from “Pearl Harbor” in that respect.

            The attack is spectacularly done.  It features real planes.  B-17s and P-40s were available and American planes like T-6s were mocked up to play Zeros. The planes drop bombs and torpedoes. One of the B-17s was forced to make a crash landing when one of its wheels did not come down. The footage was used in the movie. The stunt flying is well done.  The dog- fighting acrobatics are commendable, but you do get the fake looking shots from the front typical for air combat scenes from that era.  At times there were thirty aircraft in the air. The attack on Hickam Air Field is noteworthy as is the explosion of the Arizona.  There are plenty of explosions in this movie, but that is appropriate, of course.  The movie won the Academy Award for Best Special Effects and Cinematography.  It was as good as you could get pre-CGI. It was nominated for Best Picture, Art Direction, and Editing.

            The acting is just average from a less than all-star cast, but the movie is not meant to be an actors’ showcase. 16 of the cast served in WWII.  Martin Balsam was a B-24 radio operator, James Whitmore was a lieutenant in the Marines for the invasions of Saipan and Tinian, and Jason Robards was in the Navy. He served on the heavy cruiser Northampton which was sunk in the Battle of Tassafaronga and he was plucked out of the water by a destroyer. He next was on the light cruiser Nashville for the invasion of the Philippines. It was hit by a kamikaze with 223 casualties. The movie has an incredible 51 characters that have Wikipedia biographies. (“The Longest Day” had 37.)

            TTT resembles "The Longest Day" in its impartial treatment of both sides.  In fact, it could be argued it may be a bit too sympathetic to the Japanese.  The movie was a bigger hit in Japan than in the U.S. (where it bombed).  Contrast that with “Pearl Harbor”.  Another key theme is the rehabilitation of the reputations of Short and Kimmel who were made scapegoats in the aftermath of the disaster.  The movie makes a strong case for complacency being the major flaw of the American leadership. not malfeasance.  That plus the incredible luck the Japanese had.

The obvious comparison is to “Pearl Harbor” and whichever one you prefer tells  a lot about you as a viewer.  If you are like me and prefer accuracy at the expense of entertainment, you would pick TTT.  I have to say that most of my students would prefer the more splashy (and pompous) PH and would find TTT boring, especially in the lead-up to the attack.  The best thing to do is to watch them as companion pieces.  You can avoid reading up on the attack if you take that approach.

HISTORICAL ACCURACY:  Yamamoto and the Navy did have a bad relationship with the Army. He was skeptical about the war, but the plan was his. The cause of the attack was the American embargo.  The code-breaking effort and results are accurate. The plan and execution of the attack is close to the real attack. For instance, the Japanese did adapt their torpedoes to handle the shallowness of the harbor. The poor preparation of the naval and army facilities is sadly true. The planes were lined up on the runways for fear of sabotage. The Japanese embassy did have trouble typing the message. The Ward sinking the minisub is true, but the call that was made was not blown off by the next up the chain of command. Several calls were made before Kimmel was contacted and he took no action and did not pass the info on to Short. The radar station did pick up the attack and call it in, but they did not report the number of blips which would have told the recipient that there were a lot more planes than the scheduled B-17s. The telegram sent by Marshall did arrive too late. The incoming planes did pass a flying school plane. The signal “Tora! Tora! Tora!” was given by Fuchida to announce that they had achieved surprise. The fleet was taken totally by surprise but the Japanese did lose 29 planes. Taylor and Welch were accurately depicted, but they shot down 7 planes in two sorties. Doris (his real name) Miller did shoot down some planes. Hull did chew out Nomura, but the last part was not a declaration of war, it was an ultimatum. Nagumo did refuse to launch a third attack. He was overly cautious, but probably right as there were several reasons not to risk it. Overall, the movie is as accurate as anyone could wish.