Review of Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) by Justin S — 07 Feb 2009

A highly profound film.

Knowing all those planes and ships are real and not superglued into the frame truly does add a sense of grandeur to the project, but also inevitably presents a more direct and harder hitting experience that makes me realize the last time planes like those flew over Hawaii America was thrown into WWII. Also knowing this was shot nearly thirty years post the attack it is highly effective in bringing back the look of the 40s in terms of costumes and everything. Not only that but knowing it's basically two separate films (American and Japanese) spliced together makes the editing very effective.

Everything together makes for an incredible and harsh reminder of the darkest day in 20th century America. That over-polished and shallow mess of a film called Pearl Harbor could never make my spine chill as much as this one did.