Tora! Tora! Tora! is a dramatisation of the events and blunders on both sides leading up to and including the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbour in Hawaii on Sunday morning, December 7th, 1941. The film is considered to be one of the best world war two movies and one of the most historically accurate films ever made. In fact, it's almost a history lesson on the screen. Martin Balsam plays Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, who together with General Short was to take the blame for the devastating attack, So Yamamura plays Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Joseph Cotten plays Secretary of War Henry Stimson, and Jason Robards plays Lieutenant General Walter C Short.
In 1942 the Japanese were struggling with their growing economy and were hampered by their lack of natural resources. They viewed with envy the resources of south east Asia. Its military leaders feared that Japan would be left behind other developing nations in terms of military might and prosperity. When further negotiations on a number of issues with the United States broke down, Japan's Imperial Japanese Navy decided to launch a surprise attack on the US Pacific Fleet based at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii. The world condemned this pre-emptive strike as one of the greatest acts of treachery ever made by one nation upon another. Tora! Tora! Tora! shows both sides of the story and examines the diplomatic and unfolding intelligence events that led to this attack. The film continues.
It is widely thought that Tora! Tora! Tora! is the best film ever made about on Pearl Harbour and the special effects are very impressive considering they were done before computer generated effects became the norm. The principal actors Martin Balsam, So Yamamura, Jason Robards, Joseph Cotten and James Whitmore give fine, convincing performances as do the rest of the supporting cast. Tora! Tora! Tora! was made with the co-operation of both the US and Japanese film industries and is a must-have for any epic film collection.
Film and Movie Information
Tora! Tora! Tora! was released by 20th Century Fox in 1970 and was directed by Richard Fleischer. The prncipal stars were Martin Balsam, So Yamamura and Jason Robards. The movie was filmed in Colour in the United States and Japan.
