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TORA TORA TORA!
I begin, therefore, in the Pacific theatre with the well-known, epic movie depicting the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Lasting some two and a half hours, this is very well-made film that attempted to portray both the American and the Japanese perspectives of the approach to war. While it focusses on the diplomatic breakdown in relations and the increasing tension as the USA groped tentatively towards a horrible realisation of how serious the Japanese were, the military action has been captured in the magnificent cinematic style of 1970, the year it was made.
An excellent, if old fashioned, introduction to the "Day of Infamy."
The various posters
The many posters that have accompanied the film are a fascinating study in themselves. Although a joint American-Japanese production, most of the posters depict the military superiority of the Japanese air force on that fateful day, and the utter surprise by which the Americans were taken.
Observe that the angle forcefully demonstrates the prominence of the Japanese "zero" fighters and dive bombers wreaking havoc on the US navy ships, with the capsizing of one on the right. Both posters place the Japanese fighters in the foreground, thus emphasizing that they had the upper hand that morning.
This rather more recent poster accompanied the special anniversary DVD edition. While the scene did not emphasize the might of Japan over the weakness of the US, it does portray the sombre, even ominous, mood of the day. Not surprisingly, the numerous unmistakable Japanese fighters in the air against the symbolic backdrop of the "Rising Sun" and the subtitle "The attack on Pear Harbor"made it clear that this was still a dastardly and unprovoked attack, at least in the American mind.
To see the range of posters accompanying this epic-movie, see here.
Read some favourable reviews on the film.
But not everyone liked the film. Roger Ebert did not, and he explains why.
Comparisons with the 2001 film "Pearl Harbor"
This film, made 30 years after the iconic block-buster Tora Tora Tora, proved to be quite a hit with a new generation of history buffs. It was promoted as a romance-action war movie, thus reflecting how the narratives of history had changed over three decades. This film was interested in how war, and 7 December 1941 in particular, affected the personal lives of people. The introduction of a love-interest between two best friends who were also part of a close-knit US air force squadron, demonstrates that diplomacy and militarism cannot be disengaged from the individual lives of protagonists, something which war movies of the 1960s and 70s did not fully appreciate.
Have a look at the movie poster and compare it with the older ones for Tora Tora Tora.
Here's my personal favourite, Japanese warplanes hovering threateningly over a clothes lines, causing chaos to what would have been just another ordinary day in Hawaii.
Here is the scene of the attack on 7 December, taken from the 2001 movie Pearl Harbor. A slightly extended one here.
The trailer for the 2001 blockbuster movie Pearl Harbor can be found here.
Watch a documentary on the attack on Pearl Harbor.
What happened after Pearl Harbor? How did 7 December 1941 galvanise a nation?
Dropping the atomic bomb on Japan to end the war.
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