Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

Directors:

Richard Fleischer
Kinji Fukasaku

Writers:

Ladislas Farago (based on "The Broken Seal")
Larry Forrester (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 September 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

The incredible attack on Pearl Harbor.

Plot:

A dramatization of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the series of American blunders that allowed it to happen.

Plot Keywords:

Oahu | Zeros | Day Of Infamy | Bomber | Uss West Virginia

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 7 nominations

Cast

Martin Balsam	...	Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet
Sô Yamamura	...	Vice-Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (as Soh Yamamura)
Joseph Cotten	...	Henry L. Stimson, U.S. Secretary of War
Tatsuya Mihashi	...	Commander Minoru Genda, Air Staff Officer, Japanese First Fleet
E.G. Marshall	...	Colonel Rufus S. Bratton
James Whitmore	...	Admiral William F. Halsey
Takahiro Tamura	...	Lt. Cmdr. Fuchida
Eijirô Tono	...	Admiral Chuichi Nagumo (as Eijiro Tono)
Jason Robards	...	Lt. General Walter C. Short, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Army Hawaii
Wesley Addy	...	Lt. Cmdr. Alvin D. Kramer
Shogo Shimada	...	Ambassador Kichisaburo Nomura
Frank Aletter	...	Lt. Commander Thomas
Koreya Senda	...	Prince Funimaro Konoye, Prime Minister of Japan
Leon Ames	...	Frank Knox, U.S. Secretary of the Navy
Junya Usami	...	Vice-Admiral Zengo Yoshida

Runtime:

144 min

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color (as De Luxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (Westrex Recording System) (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 | New Zealand:PG | Brazil:Livre | Australia:G (DVD rating) | Australia:PG (cable rating) | Finland:K-12 | Norway:16 (1972) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | Taiwan:GP | UK:U | USA:G | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Toei Company

Trivia:

Contrary to popular belief, the title of this movie means neither 'Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!' nor 'Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!' in Japanese. The phrase actually comes from the first syllables of "Totsugeki" (meaning attack) and "Raigeki" (for "torpedo attack") yielding TO-RA, TO-RA, TO-RA, which incidentally has the same pronunciation as "tiger" repeated thrice.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Early in the attack, one deck officer is shown wearing a "Caravelle" wristwatch with the imprint "Waterproof" on the dial face. Bulova's web site indicates that the Caravelle line of watches was introduced in 1962, some 21 years after the attack.

Quotes:

[Telephone conversation from the radar station to the Information Center]
Pvt. Elliot: Sir, this is Private Elliot at Opana Point. There's a large formation of planes coming in from the north - 140 miles, 3 degrees east.
Lt. Tyler: Yeah? Well... Don't worry about it.
[Click!]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Magnum, P.I.: Torah, Torah, Torah (#5.21)" (1985)

Soundtrack:

The Star-Spangled Banner

A definite must for anyone who's curious about Pearl Harbor.

I will be completely honest with all of you, I saw this movie to prepare for the upcoming 2001 block buster, PEARL HARBOR. TORA! TORA! TORA! seemed the perfect choice. Recent movies these days depressed me, but thanks to TORA! (and Clint Eastwood 's HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER), my enjoyment in watching movies returned. TORA! is an absolutely excellent film packed with incredibly well done acting and emotion and an overall feeling that leaves you blown away. PEARL HARBOR has quite a bit to live up to after seeing this. The special effects produced in TORA! are completely out of this world (even after thirty years!). More credit goes to how well documented this story goes. The Americans and Japanese did a tremendously exceptional job of recreating the entire events leading up to and including the Pearl Harbor attack. Being a Canadian, I was confused a couple years ago when the local paper announced that the number two (of the top 100) event of the 1900's was the attack on Pearl Harbor. I completely understand now and quite frankly am amazed at how both sides felt throughout the entire ordeal.

Simply put, TORA! TORA! TORA! deals with all the events, mistakes (both minor and MAJOR), people involved and attitudes leading up to and during the air raid on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Though not shown, we even have the general feeling of the U.S. President and the Japanese Emperor. Nothing is missed in this movie. It is as close to the actual depiction of Pearl Harbor you can get.

For 1970, the special effects are absolutely astonishing. Very little looks fake, and nothing looks over done (like many CGI effects do these days). When the first American battletanks are struck, the explosions are incredible. When the Zero crashes into the building, the explosion is eye catching. Everything is unbelievably excellent. The acting is also first rate, how the Americans handle the warnings of a Japanese attack (they're nuts) was supremely well laid out. How the Japanese carefully planned the attack on Pearl Harbor was frighteningly well thought out. Next credit must go to the music. Jerry Goldsmith has to be one of the greatest composers of all time. The suspense created on the morning of December 7 just before the attack is still hair chilling thirty years later. Nothing seems to be wrong with TORA! except the fact that it is a little too long. A couple times, I was hoping that the attack would just begin and get over with. My patience quickly subsided with that music score and with the Emperor's poem. Very little is wrong with TORA! TORA! TORA!. It is a definite must see for anyone curious about how war works, how mistakes are made and how people respond to such attacks.