
20th Century Fox - 20th Century Fox
Release date: 2006-05-23
DVD
Director:Toshio Masuda
Actors: Martin Balsam, Sô Yamamura, Jason Robards, Joseph Cotten, Tatsuya Mihashi
Action, Adventure, Color, Drama, English, Feature, Feature Film-drama, High Artistic Quality, High Production Values, Historical Film, History, Japan, Matter-of-Fact, Movie, Questionable for Children, Stirring, Tense, USA, Violence, War




TORA! TORA! TORA! is the Japanese signal to attack and this epic film co-produced by American & Japanese interests shows both sides of the story as it builds to the climatic attack on Pearl Harbor which ultimately brought America into WWII. The film does a terrific job of alternating back and forth between the Japanese and American stories so that the viewer gains a good understanding of the circumstances on each side as well as the sequence of events leading up to the attack. The story, by most accounts almost documentary like, is very accurate in depicting the mistakes made by the U.S. military in being caught off guard but it could have been much worse had any of the aircraft carriers been in port which were the real Japanese targets, knowing they had to try to defuse America's air superiority in the Pacific. In the end the Japanese realize they may have won the battle but 'they had awakened a sleeping giant' which they will now have to deal with. The battle scene is spectacular and even more so when you consider it is before computerized graphics and deservedly won the Oscar for visual effects. This is a history lesson that is both entertaining and family friendly. The commentary and additional documentaries with the special addition are excellent. Highly recommend. [...].