Cheap Tora! Tora! Tora! [Region 2] (DVD) (Kinji Fukasaku, Toshio Masuda, Richard Fleischer) Price

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Customer Reviews of Tora! Tora! Tora! [Region 2]

This is THE Pearl Harbor movie...
This is the definitive Pearl Harbor movie. It often is unfairly compared to 2001's "Pearl Harbor," but in truth the two are almost in separate genres. Unlike the latter movie, which was basically "Titanic" with the Japanese attack thrown in the middle, this one was very thoroughly researched and carefully written to be as true to history as possible. It is probably as accurate as a film about the Pearl Harbor attack and the events leading up to it will ever be. However, the people who will truly enjoy this film are not the Sunday matinee crowd, but rather history enthusiasts, war movie buffs, and those who are eager to learn about the attack and don't mind sitting through a rather long movie that's not particularly exciting (unless you're enthralled by diplomats talking and admirals planning) except during its final minutes. <
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>Approaching its 40th anniversary, this movie is from another era; it was made at a time when good performances, historical accuracy, and attention to detail were more important than fast pacing, superstar cast members, and spectacular effects (though the effects in this film were top-notch for the time, and still hold up). There are no big-name actors in it, even at the time it was made. There are no soap-opera love triangles, pointless action sequences, or unnecessary dramatic moments. There's no filler, here, folks. Tora! Tora! Tora! moves along at a deliberate--though not slow--pace, and each aspect of the history leading up to the attack is covered such that a viewer who is paying attention should have no trouble knowing what is going on and who the key players are. The caveat is that, unless you are familiar with the related history, you HAVE to pay attention, or you will miss important plot points. <
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>Those who have an interest in war history, especially WWII history, should thoroughly enjoy it; however, it provides no gimmicks to make it more accessible to those with a merely passing interest in the film's subject matter. This is no summer blockbuster popcorn flick. It's a serious look at the motives behind the attack, and a thoughtful analysis of what allowed the attack to succeed. If you want lots of big explosions and Hollywood drama, you might be better off sticking to the 2001 film. For history buffs, though, this is the only way to go.

Tora! Tora! Tora! - Gordon Prange & Ladislas Farago at their Best!
The first time I saw Tora! Tora! Tora! was on the big screen at Naval Hospital, San Diego. I liked it so much I saw it three nights in a row. Some years later, I purchased the VHS video tape the day of its release. I have two DVD versions of Tora! Tora! Tora! as well as two VHS versions of the movie. I've also watched the Japanese version (with English subtitles). Tora! Tora! Tora! is a great film but it should not be taken as the ultimate "truth" about Pearl Harbor and how America got into World War II. <
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>Tora! Tora! Tora! used an American director for the American sequences, and two Japanese directors (the first was fired) for the filming of the Japanese sequences. Much of the original Japanese crew was let go when the first Japanese director was fired (for being way over budget and for producing only 600 feet of film, as I recall). <
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>This is a truly excellent movie that men and women can both watch and enjoy. <
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>Beware, however, the scenes showing the "12 Apositles" who were "allowed access" to `Magic'(decrypted Japanese diplomatic and consular intercepts). The actual number of Americans with access to Magic was well over 100. And the President's name was NEVER taken off what the movie calls "the Ultra List." (FDR didn't actually read all the daily diplomatic intercepts, of which the Army and Navy had just over 8,000 in 1941 alone. Instead, he read daily summaries of the intercepts. The same applies to most of the senior officers in the War and Navy Departments.) <
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>Alwin D. Kramer, Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy, and Colonel Rufus Sumnter Bratton, U.S. Army, both worked in different offices rather than in a combined Army-Navy office shown in the movie. Both men were attached to the Far Eastern Sections of their respective intelligence departments (Office of Naval Intelligence with Kramer; Military Intelligence Division (for Bratton).) Bratton was officer in charge of the Far Eastern Section of MID. Kramer was head of OP-20-GZ (translation section in the Office of Naval Communications, OP-20), but he was actually on OP-16's (Office of Naval Intelligence's) payroll. Tora! Tora! Tora! gives Bratton's middle initial as "G", but that is in error. His middle name was Sumnter, as stated above. <
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>"Magic" (again, intercepted foreign diplomatic and consular messages) was critical to what the U.S. (and British) Governments knew of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's diplomatic efforts. Although the National Security Agency still denies this, we also had a product called Ultra as relates to Japan. These were intercepted, decoded and translated Japanese naval and military intercepts. Ultra played a major part in our victory over the Combined Fleet in the Battle of Midway, fought 4 to 6 June 1942. <
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>Tora! Tora! Tora! is, as I said, an excellent movie. It's full of suspense and it is very well acted by both the Americans and the Japanese. It presents a fair few of both the American and Japanese perspectives that helped lead to "Pearl Harbor" and U.S. entry into the Second World War. <
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>First Lieutenant Kermit A. Tyler is claimed in the movie to say, "Well, don't worry about it," when he's told of the large number of planes approaching the Opana Point Radar station from north of Oahu (flying in over Kahuku Point). Tyler himself later testified that this was his reaction to the radar report phoned to him by Privates Lockard and Elliott. Here's the rub: The USS LEXINGTON had a radar and visual sighting of two Japanese carrier aircraft approximately 400 miles north west of Oahu on Saturday afternoon, 6 December 1941. LEXINGTON's radar report was the real first sighting of some of the Japanese aircraft that took part in the raid on Pearl Harbor. <
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>American intelligence didn't "fail" in the lead up to the events of 7 December 1941. Intelligence, however, isn't always used the way the average citizen thinks it should be used. Those in high political and military offices have many strategic and tactical matters they have to factor into the decision making process. Not the least of these was the apathy of the American people in the period leading up to the Japanese raid on our obsolete battleships at Pearl Harbor. (Our three carriers then in the Pacific, LEXINGTON, ENTERPRISE and SARATOGA were not in port on 7 Dec. 1941. "Target ship," USS UTAH, was moored at a carrier berth off Ford Island. Battleship COLORADO, that had completed an overhaul at Bremerton, Washington a month before, was still at Bremerton. WEST VIRGINIA, that was overdue for overhaul, was moored outboard at Ford Island.) <
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>This reviewer spent a little over 13 years researching Pearl Harbor on a full time basis. He has absolutely no animus for the Japanese---nor does he hold any animus for any of the senior Americans involved with Pearl Harbor. <
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>"Pearl Harbor" saved the world (including Japan, in my opinion) from the Nazis. At the cost of a few thousand Americans, millions of lives were spared in Europe and Asia---and, ultimately---in the U.S. as well. <
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>Tora! Tora! Tora! is one of my ten favorite movies. I've probably watched it over 50 times in the past thirty six years or so. And I will probably watch it another fifty times or more between now and the time I storm the great beyond. <
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>E.G. Marshall (R.S. Bratton) and Wesley Addy (A.D. Kramer) in the film both do exceptional jobs with their acting. So does every other member of the U.S. and Japanese cast, in my opinion. <
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>Great movie---and, in my opinion, a "Must have" for every American and Japanese who appreciates the very best in direction, acting, scenery, editing, cinamatography, etc. This is also a good action film---and it is fair to both the Japanese and American perspectives. <
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>A "Well done!" to every member of the cast and crew of Tora! Tora! Tora! and to 20th Century Fox for producing this wonderful movie! <
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>Andrew McKane IV <
>Missoula, Montana