听 User Rating 
The story of Pearl Harbor and America's entry into the Second World War was one of opportunities and mistakes, where enormous gambles led to tragic consequences. While audiences flock to see Michael Bay's vision of the attack as the epic backdrop to an ill-formed romance, an altogether more tense and satisfying version exists in 1970's "Tora! Tora !Tora!"
Displaying an uncharacteristic even-handedness for Hollywood, this Japanese-American production is certainly the epic equal of "Pearl Harbor", while consistently maintaining an almost unimpeachable honesty with its dual perspectives.
Between them, directors Fleischer and Fukasaku meticulously fashion a chain of diplomatic and military gamble, expertly cataloguing the accidents and unfortunate circumstance with almost documentary accuracy.
Such a pressure-cooker approach is aided by solid turns from Joseph Cotton, Jason Robards, and Martin Balsam, while the film's enduring accomplishment is its rightful view of the Japanese as supremely efficient soldiers (S么 Yamamura's doubtful Admiral Yamamoto is a sympathetic standout).
With Japanese actors speaking their native tongue, the film is bolstered by a valuable window in to the Japanese military warrior ethos, rather than the emotionless monsters of prior incarnations.
With its mixture of live action and model work, the culminating attack, though inevitably dated, is still stirring, breathtaking stuff, and a truly mighty climax to the palpable tension of the preceding two hours.
One can only imagine what original director Akira Kurosawa would have made of it, and while likely destined to be overshadowed by "Pearl Harbor" 's imposing CGI shadow, "Tora! Tora! Tora!" remains a rare and ambitious moment of Hollywood honesty, wisely eschewing fictional hooks for the power of reality.
