Film Review
With a budget of 25 million dollars and a cast running into several
thousand (including over two hundred speaking parts),
Tora! Tora! Tora! is one of the
most expensive and spectacular war films ever made. It differs
from most war films in that it tells the story - the attack on Pearl
Harbour in 1941 - from the point of view of both sides and adopts an
unbiased documentary approach, giving a detailed and authentic account
of what took place, both prior to and during the attack.
The film was in pre-production for three years and took eight months to
shoot. The production was divided between two teams, one in the
United States, one in Japan. Akira Kurosawa was originally hired
to direct the Japanese sequences, but he withdrew and was replaced by
Kinji Fukasaku. Richard Fleischer directed the American
sequences, having recently won acclaim for his thriller
The Boston Strangler (1968) and
Che (1969), a biography on the life
of Che Guevara.
Tora! Tora! Tora! is an
informative and, despite its substantial runtime, thoroughly absorbing
piece of cinema. It provides a fascinating account of the
political and military blunders made by both the Japanese and the
Americans in the weeks leading up until the attack. The arrogance
of the Japanese military leaders and the complacency of their American
counterparts are the two things that made what President Franklin D.
Roosevelt would refer to as 'The Day of Infamy' inevitable. If
this had been a work of fiction, no audience would have believed it.
The
pièce de
résistance is the harrowing recreation of the attack on
Peal Harbour, one of the most impressive action sequences of any war
film, with visual effects that won the film its only Oscar. It is
reported that it cost more to stage these scenes than the actual
attack itself cost the US military, and it is easy to believe.
The blistering inferno of war has rarely been depicted more vividly on
screen than here.
It is a heart-wrenching and traumatic
experience to watch such a convincing wartime re-enactment, in which we see
American servicemen reduced to impotent inaction in the face of such a
well-coordinated and ruthless Japanese onslaught. Today, it is
hard to imagine the anger that seized America in the aftermath of the
attack. This film helps us to understand just why the Pearl
Harbour attack had such a galvanising effect on the nation that had
hitherto resisted being drawn into WWII. As the film succinctly
puts it, the sleeping giant had awoken, and Japan would rue the day.
© James Travers 2009
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Richard Fleischer film:
10 Rillington Place (1971)
Film Synopsis
1941. In an attempt to weaken Japan after its seizure of
Indochina, the United States imposes an embargo that will deprive the
country of essential raw materials. Japan reacts by signing a
tripartite agreement with Germany and Italy whilst making preparations
for a war with America. Having identified the American Pacific
fleet stationed at Hawaii as an immediate threat, the Japanese plan an
all-out attack, although some fear that this will lead to them fighting
a war they cannot hope to win. Forewarned by the intelligence
service in Washington that the Japanese may attack the American naval
base in Hawaii, the island is put on a state of alert. However,
the military commanders at the base do not take the possibility of an
attack seriously. They mistakenly believe that Pearl Harbour,
where most of the Pacific fleet is stationed, is too shallow for a
torpedo attack to be effective. When an anticipated attack fails
to materialise, the base commanders lower their guard, unaware that six
Japanese aircraft carriers are heading for the island. On 7th
December, the Americans are taken completely by surprise when the
Japanese launch an airstrike that will virtually decimate the base at
Pearl Harbour, making America's entry into WWII inevitable...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.