Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)This epic war film was produced by
Elmo Williams and directed by
Richard Fleischer,
Toshio Masuda and
Kinji Fukasaku, and starred an ensemble cast including
Martin Balsam,
Joseph Cotten,
So Yamamura,
E.G. Marshall,
James Whitmore,
Tatsuya Mihashi,
Takahiro Tamura,
Wesley Addy, and
Jason Robards. It was
Masuda and
Fukasaku's first English-language film, and first international co-production. (The tora of the title is the two-syllable Japanese codeword used to indicate that complete surprise had been achieved.)
The film was released in the United States by Twentieth Century Fox on 23 September 1970, and in Japan by the Toei Company on 25 September. It received mixed reviews from American critics, but was praised for its historical accuracy and attention to detail, its visual effects, and its action sequences. A 1994 survey at the USS Arizona Memorial determined that for Americans the film was the most common source of popular knowledge about the Pearl Harbor attack.
Tora! Tora! Tora! was nominated for five Oscars at the 43rd Academy Awards, including Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing, winning Best Visual Effects (
L.B. Abbott and
A.D. Flowers). The National Board of Review ranked it in its Top Ten Films of 1971.