One of my favorite movies of all time. For those who don't know it's a split plot between the Japanese preparing to attack Pearl Harbor and the American incompetency to defend it.
I don't watch very many movies, but this is on my short list of annual watches. Since I've begun my career in defense (pre 9/11) this has been my "Office Space"
It's shot in an almost documentary style with no gay love story, it's 95 mins of building up to the attack and a following 45 mins of the attack itself. It's long and drawn out and that's what Ebert gave it a 1 star on release (not a bad thing).
Be prepared for reading quite a bit of jap subs, it's still available on your favorite torrent site in an 8 gb blue ray rip.
"Tora! Tora! Tora!" is one of the deadest, dullest blockbusters ever made.
Cuz you have shit taste
the screenplay mostly concerns itself with clerks, secretaries, teletype operators and government functionaries.
Welcome to the war dept in the 40's
the final effect of its 25 millions (spent on the film) is claustrophobic. We want to escape from all those offices, and all those bureaucrats
Welcome to defense again
"Tora," on the other hand, offers no suspense at all because we know the attack on Pearl Harbor is going to happen, and it does, and then the movie ends. We don't even feel sympathy for the officers responsible (if that's the word.) They've been directed as wooden puppets reading security reports, etc
Welcome to defense for a 3rd time, everyone is r-slurred, cut the budget
The Japanese puppets at least have more life
Yeah, this is a victory for them, only downhill from here.
The action sequences at the end are supposed to be the pay-off; we're all waiting, somewhat ghoulishly, for the bombs to go off and the ships to sink. And they do, for about 15 minutes, but the level of the special effects isn't particularly high.
Wrong, super dope for late 60's, 1970.
Considering that we Americans have been derisive for years about the Japanese special effects in "King Kong Escapes," etc., I wonder how they'll take our cardboard battleships,
Bruh moment. First time I watched this in the 90's when I was a squid I was trying to figure out what ships they sunk. Even 20 years post release at the time it looked real to me. Idk what rog is on.
It's a good movie that's worth a watch. When I tell someone I don't really fw movies cuz they all suck and then they ask me what is a good movie I name this one.
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In college, one of my courses involved reading through documents related to American–Japanese negotiations before the Pearl Harbor attack, including internal documents like U.S. assessments of Japanese intent and Japanese preparation for war as a potentially necessary option. With that background, I found it be a very accurate film, akin to a dramatization in a documentary, and perfectly executed. The tension in the film is a recreation of the historical tension people at the time experienced.
If you're not going to
all the way through, I'm really not so sure it would be as enjoyable. It's not a like a typical historical film where there is a self-contained plot with the period setting as background for what's essentially fiction. I'd sooner recommend something like Das Boot or Bridge over the River Kwai.
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