Historical accuracy stands as the biggest strength of Tora, Tora, Tora. Copious research went into the writing, and the ambitious project used two separate film crews to give both the American and the Japanese points of view for Pearl Harbor. If you suspect certain lines of dialogue don't sound theatrical, there's a good chance that those lines are kept in because they are historically accurate. In fact, when Martin Balsam balked at the "death wish" line his Admiral Kimmel character makes, director Richard Fleischer informed him that the dialogue would remain intact because the Admiral actually did describe a spent bullet by saying "Would have been merciful had it killed me."

Fleischer was a good choice to head up the American aspect of Tora! Tora! Tora! since he had previously compiled a documentary of Japanese war footage for the 1948 Academy Award winning documentary, Design for Death. That film provided a concrete link to the 1970 project since the producer for Tora, Tora, Tora had edited Fleischer's documentary along with a few other films over the years.

Originally the project was started by Twentieth Century Fox with the proviso that Akira Kurosawa direct the Japanese portion, and the legendary director agreed to do his first Hollywood film. However, the studio began to have second and third thoughts when Kurosawa's independent streak inevitably emerged. The producers became concerned when Kurosawa submitted a 400 page script that would take over four hours of film, just for the Japanese version, but were relieved when Kurosawa finally agreed to some cuts. But studio executives soon began to worry when he cast 15 Japanese businessmen instead of using experienced actors&—could it be that Kurosawa was seeking financing for future films?

Kurosawa's over zealous attention to detail (upping production costs when he spent a whole day re-painting the shades of white in a room, and later shut down shooting so that the library could stock the right aged books) and the fact that he'd never worked as part of a studio team finally caused the studio to pull Kurosawa from the Tora! Tora! Tora! project. Fleischer shares some fascinating anecdotes about Kurosawa on the new DVD release that are well worth the investment. One decision made during Kurosawa's involvement that stands is the idea of creating two separate films and literally splicing them together chronologically. That makes for jumpier cuts, but clearly delineates the Japanese version from the American version.

All the spoken parts are in Japanese and are directed by Kinji Fukasaku and Toshio Masuda, and written by Ryuzo Kikushima and Hideo Oguni. While some Americans who have avoided foreign films for years because they don't want to read subtitles may have difficulties with this aspect, I suspect that many of them will find themselves so engrossed in the events that they'll forget that they are reading the subtitles.

The Japanese unit credibly presents the Japanese version, showing that not all Japanese officials were sneaky and treacherous. There were some who cautioned against over running Indo-China, fearing that strained relations with the United States could lead towards war—one which would be difficult or impossible to win. Unfortunately, Japanese political and military "hotheads" prevailed, an alliance with the Axis powers was formed and conflict in the Pacific became unavoidable.

From the Japanese perspective a sneak attack at Pearl Harbor was their only desperate hope to prevail in their Pacific campaign. A successful attack of the air craft carriers at the strategically placed United States base could cripple their naval and air forces sufficiently so that the Japanese could carry out their Indo-China campaign. They realized that the U.S. was primarily focussed on the war in Europe and was less interested in the South Pacific. However, the naval base at Pearl Harbor posed as a threat to the Japanese and losing access to oil was hindering their operations.

Americans have long wondered how we could have been so surprised at Pearl Harbor, and have speculated about government compliance to assure our involvement in the war. From the American sequences of Tora! Tora! Tora! it appears more likely that American over-confidence, bureaucratic bungling, and incompetence was the culprit. While the American military had cracked the Japanese code and realized that an attack was eminent somewhere, American authorities were convinced that Pearl Harbor was safe from attack and felt sure that the attack would take place elsewhere. Even when the radar station detects incoming planes, they are told to ignore them. It's only through luck that the Japanese don't achieve their aims—the aircraft carriers are out to sea.

For anyone who seriously wants to get an overview about the attack at Pearl Harbor, Tora! Tora! Tora! provides an excellent historically accurate introduction. Based largely on Ladislas Farago's book The Broken Seal; The Story of Operation Magic and the Pearl Harbor Disaster and on Pearl Harbor scholar Gordon William Prange's definitive At Dawn We Slept : The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor, the film constructs a fascinating story without sweeping us up into irrelevant melodrama or romance. In another wise move, the directors choose excellent character actors who may not be huge box office stars, but they know their craft and don't get in the way of the story—Martin Balsam, Joseph Cotton, Tatsuya Mihashi, E.G. Marshall, and James Whitmore, to name a handful.

If you're worried that the film will end up being a dry narrative, put aside your fears. The story itself is compelling, and even the 1970 special effects hold up well, and aren't as cheesy as you might think. The air strike and bombing look remarkably real, and we realize that the filmmakers are not relying on any CGI for these shots.

Historical dramas have been an important genre of film for many years, yet some use history as a backdrop while the film focuses on individuals or romance. Lawrence of Arabia reveals character as well as any historical epic has ever done while Gone with the Wind endears for its memorable characters and classic romance, yet both illuminate important historical information in the process of revealing their narratives. Conversely, Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor provides very little information about its period—most will remember the spectacular blowing up of the ships and the love triangle, and not much else.

Not so with Tora! Tora! Tora!. While there are some intriguing characters, this film focuses on presenting historical drama in an even-handed way, switching back and forth between the American and Japanese perspectives. Sometimes the facts are fascinating enough to fashion an interesting film, so when you discover the soap suds story of Bay's Pearl Harbor doesn't satisfy, this professionally crafted 1970 film about that Day of Infamy still stands, rock solid.