Pearl Harbor On Film

The Day of Infamy remains a pivotal point in world history and was the catalyst that turned the USA into the global superpower it now is. Based on the British attack on the Italian fleet at Taranto, the Japanese launched a massive air strike from their carriers against the US Pacific fleet, without declaring war on a peaceful Sunday morning. The two strikes against the Battleships in harbor and the airfields were very successful, but the third strike against fuel and maintenance facilities was canceled.

Tora, Tora, Tora was released in 1970 and gives an accurate portrayal of the events leading up to the attack. As the political situation gets worse, the Japanese plan their attack while key players on the US side miss vital clues to the Japanese intentions. The final attack scenes are especially accurate with many surviving planes being involved in the film. Because the film concentrates on the events, the characters are not developed fully, but they should not take precedence over the impact of the event anyway.

Pearl Harbor on the other hand, is a missed opportunity. The film has the three main characters involved in a suitably complex love triangle. However, one manages to fight in the Battle of Britain, get deployed to Pearl Harbor just in time for the attack, and then he and his friend join a bomber squadron in time to join the Doolittle Raid on Japan. Hmmmm, I don't think so. The computer graphics are excellent during the combat scenes but the rest of the film just seems to drag.

The Editors choice would be Tora, Tora, Tora.