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Tori Brown
Professor de Assis
Western History and Culture
28 April 2016

Tora! Tora! Tora! Review

Tora! Tora! Tora! was filmed in 1970 and depicted the behind the scenes moments of
how the officials planned and executed the bombing at Pearl Harbor. This movie is different from
most because the audience saw both the detail and reactions from the Japanese and the
Americans. Japan reached their boiling point when America placed an embargo on them, which
limited their resources. In the movie, America was able to uncrack some type of code because
they kept uncovering bits and pieces of Japans surprise attack. The American officials could
decode some of the information that the Japanese were sending to each other, but was still too
late to stop the cunningness of the Japanese. For this surprise attack Japan used small airplanes
called torpedo bombers to attack from an aerial view. The Japanese also used midget submarines
to launch torpedoes on American ships. Although America knew of the attack a few hours ahead,
it was not enough time to become fully prepared and this event is why America joined World
War II.
For the film to have been shot in 1970 I am surprisingly impressed with the amount of
technicality from the directors and producers. I felt that it was creative to include both sides
because I feel that everybody should know the reasoning behind Japans attack. I like the choice
to keep the Japanese people speaking their native language instead of making the actors speak

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English because it made the movie more authentic and it made it feel as if I was actually seeing
what was happening firsthand. Although, at times I felt that it was hard to keep up with the
Japanese subtitles because they speak really fast. I also really liked the replicas of the ships and
planes. They also used the same historical locations that the Pearl Harbor attack and other events
happened.
This is related to our Western History and Culture class because we talked about the
weapons and other new inventions that were made approaching the Second World War. This
movie showcased the relations between American and Japan and we talked a lot about world
relations and how financial and trade situations adds tension to what was once a good ally.