Review of Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) by Eric M — 23 Jan 2015

"Tora! Tora! Tora!" is really a far better movie than it has the right to be. The film slacks on character development and personal narratives, instead focusing on narrating the events surrounding the date which will live in infamy.

Thankfully, the events themselves are so fascinating, and the way they are filmed done so magnificently well, that the lack of dynamic characterization doesn't hurt the film too terribly much. Interestingly, though, the choice to split the directorship of the film yields both weaknesses and strengths.

First, the weakness: the American crew is far less adept at adapting its pre-battle material, using average cinematography and a script that flies all over the place, giving us the big picture but failing to deliver on compelling characters.

The Japanese crew, on the other hand, does a phenomenal job, and with a much tighter focus on the Japanese planning, the character of Yamamoto (So Yamamura is perfect for this role) takes on an intriguing air of nobility and mystery that sustains interest through a first act that slips dangerously close to pure, uninteresting exposition.

The Japanese scenes are filmed with unique, clearly defined and well structured shots, and the pre-attack flight is unsettling: the sympathetic portrayal of the Japanese lends some narrative depth, provoking the ominous sense that we are witnessing a great but naive generation seal their fates as they join with the rising sun.

The final act, concentrating on the battle itself, is stunningly filmed, with aerial combat sequences rivaling "Battle of Britain" in their intensity and construction. Once again, the case is made well for practical effects.

Though certainly flawed, "Tora Tora Tora" still proves a far better portrayal of events than Michael Bay's jilted and uneven "Pearl Harbor". Though we miss any sense of personal melodrama and narrative in this 1970 telling, it isn't hard to grasp that no such narrative is definitely an improvement over Bay's overriding of the central historical event.