Tora Tora Tora-Special Edition (1970)

"Well-made film...  Leonard Maltin
"Well-documented and realistic...  VideoHound's Golden Moview Retriever

Editor's Note A Japanese-American co-production, director Richard Fleischer (SOYLENT GREEN) and two Japanese directors put together this ultrarealistic account of the bombing of Pearl Harbor as presented from the perspectives of both nations, as diplomatic tensions rise between the two countries. While the Japanese military plans its attack on American military installations, the American forces nearly stumble into a much greater calamity due to a series of errors and mistakes. As the two sides plunge closer to war, the tension escalates until the final, spectacular air raid, the most realistic ever filmed. This ITA award winner has a fabulous cast, including Martin Balsam, Joseph Cotten, Jason Robards, James Whitmore, and E.G. Marshall.

	Jason Robards, Jr.
	Joseph Cotten
	Martin Balsam
	Soh Yomamura
	Inoue Chikaya, et al. - Editor
	Jerry Goldsmith - Musical Score
	Larry Forrester, et al. - Screenplay
	Osamu Furuya, et al. - Director of Photography
	Otto Lang - Producer
	Richard Day, et al. - Production Designer
	Richard Fleischer, et al. - Director

Entertainment Weekly
"...The film glories in its Panavision sweep, from its full-length shots of battleships at sea to its artfully composed formations of Japanese fighter planes..." 06/08/2001 p.54

New York Times
"[The] film now seems strikingly modern and mature." 05/23/2006 p.E5

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "[A] scrupulously authentic recreation of the build-up to Pearl Harbor..." 02/01/2007 p.124

Uncut
3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he work of seasoned pulp directors Richard Fleischer and future BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR AND HUMANITY man Kinji Fukasaku keeps things taut." 02/01/2007 p.106

VideoHound's Golden Moview Retriever 7 of 10
The story of events leading up to December 7, 1941, is retold by three directors from both Japanese and American viewpoints in this tense, large-scale production. Well-documented and realistic treatment of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that brought the U.S. into WWII; notable for its good photography...

Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide 8 of 10
Events leading up to (well-staged) Pearl Harbor attack, from both American and Japanese points of view. Well-documented screenplay shows major and minor blundering on both sides, then recreates attack with frightening realism. Well-made film creates incredible tension. Oscar-winning special effects. - Leonard Maltin