History Buffs: Tora! Tora! Tora!

[@WarhorseStudios]

You don´t upload videos very often +History Buffs, but when you do, they are top-notch.

[@abyssalknight4081]

Didn't expect to see you here!

[@foo-foocuddlypoops5694]

Quality over quantity!

[@ricardocorchado4641]

Warhorse Studios I agree with you mate Nick Hodges you are really funny and the wait is worth it

[@SexDrugsNpostprod]

@Foo-Foo Cuddlypoops This. Make the algorithms focus on that !

[@abrahamgustavson281]

Quality over quantity.

[@Angelalynx999]

My father was climbing a mountain on Oahu during the filming of this movie. He was very confused when he saw all the Zeros in formation flying by.

[@Ariana321]

Did he by any chance ask the first person he saw what year it was? Because that's what I probably would have done.

[@Angelalynx999]

@@Ariana321 He asked people what was going on when he got down and was told a movie was being made. But yeah, if it had been me I would have the same worry a la Final Countdown.

[@aceofcheems7685]

I wouldve been Again!?...(In high pitch autistic kids voice) WHEN WILL THEY LEARN....WHEN WILL THEY LEARN...THAT THEIR ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES!!!!!!!

[@SMN-ct9gl]

@@aceofcheems7685 What the fricking frick!! Do NOT attack my boats!

[@ITILII]

Not as much as the American soldiers and sailors would have been by the real thing happening......

[@smallworld-bigislandvideo8726]

Aloha, as a kid living on Oahu , we got to watch the filming of "Tora,Tora,Tora" ... Pearl Harbor was getting Attacked all day everyday for two months ... We'd lay on the grass in our front yard watching Zeros and P-40s dogfighting , B-17s flying around getting shot at by Zeros , Bettys and Kates dive bombing the Harbor ... They even blew up a 3/4 scale USS Arizona , that we watched from the Submarine base directly across from Ford Island and Battleship Row ... Quite a spectacular sight ... And a great movie ! Aloha

[@ahblyat4296]

You mean Val, not Betty, the Betty is a twin engine medium bomber

[@TheBassman28]

Hey! That's Cool.

[@evan8654]

@@ahblyat4296 you must be fun at parties

[@rovat6285]

E W It’s true tho, Betty’s are bomber’s not D-Bombers, it would be Val’s and Kate’s that do the dive-bombing.

[@evan8654]

@@rovat6285 I didn't say he's wrong...just a pedant.

[@Hawkwinter01]

It should be noted, that it was the critics that gave it 51%, the rest of us gave it 81%.

[@thewildcolonialboy8034]

Further proof that film critics are out of touch with moviegoers.

[@ikebowers]

nahhhhh this film panned in the US. Those reviews must come from years after the film came out and an American audience warmed up to it.

[@billgray2352]

a great movie

[@docquanta6869]

@@ikebowers While true, the negative reviews this movie gets on Rotten Tomatoes are contemporary with the positive audience opinion. So a fair number of critics still dislike the movie even now. That said, Pearl Harbors reviews on Rotten Tomatoes is a lot worse than Tora, Tora, Tora!

[@thotarojoestar3045]

Who even listens to critics even more?

[@thewanderer2997]

23:58 if anyone is curious about that scene where you see the F14’s fighting the Japanese Zero’s, it’s from a movie called the “The Final Countdown”, It’s a great movie with a great cast. It’s about an American Aircraft Carrier from the 1980’s, and while out at Sea the ship gets caught in some kind of weather phenomenon which actually sends them back in time to the day of the Pearl Harbor attack. The crew has to figure out what’s happened, then decide if they should intervene and destroy the Japanese fleet or not get involved, and so much more. It’s a great movie and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen it.

[@jfarrar19]

Thank you. I can taste the Cheese already.

[@andreasottohansen7338]

I will just ignore the fact that the jets would be way too fast to stay behind any propeller plane for even a few seconds, unless kilometers away, because it is pretty cool.

[@Ajcav763]

@@andreasottohansen7338 Or the fact that rear aspect missiles, likely the ones they are using, would be of no use against a Zero with basically no engine heat compared to a jet

[@christianvalentin5344]

@@Ajcav763 By the 1980s the AIM-9 Sidewinder had been much improved compared to the Vietnam era. And the F-14 with the wings out can go quite slow, and those Zeroes would likely be at full throttle.

[@a1fromdisc938]

@@christianvalentin5344 most tomcats had phoenixes too which are all aspect radar missiles so they don't rely on engine heat at all

[@tonyduncan9852]

I remember watching "Tora, Tora, Tora" and being absolutely sickened by the reality of the violence. Then two decades later I watched "Pearl Harbor" and was absolutely sickened by Hollywood.

[@cococorino5767]

@@Gandolfini666 christ

[@lamarsidoner3250]

thats the planet we live on,,wars, wars, wars,,dont see peace anytime soon,,as in no wars , big or small,,

[@tonyduncan9852]

@@Gandolfini666 Thanks. You should study the meaning of the word *_'irony'._*

[@misterbuklau4053]

dave israel Shut up before he puts you un a sarcophagus

[@tonyduncan9852]

@Colin Cleveland +"what is the irony of an old fart calling out Hollywood?"_ - None, I imagine. However that wasn't the irony I wrote of. _"Do Your Presidents actions and words sicken you?"_ - When I have a president I'll let you know.

[@brotherpanda3626]

League of Nations: "Japan, we want you to withdraw!" Japan: "Okay." (withdraws from League of Nations) League of Nations: "Really should have worded that better."

[@itsblitz4437]

You crazy dummies.

[@awsometrooper0736]

Lol

[@Nameless-n7s]

Great joke man

[@BadWebDiver]

Great summation of history! :D

[@lsd-rickb-1728]

I don't get it

[@LazyMan015]

WW2 Vet: “I almost died at Pearl Harbor.” Actor: “Yeah me too.” 10:15

[@thatanoynomousdude8082]

Lol

[@ChaseMcCain81]

Hahahh

[@ImInLoveWithBulla]

That scene made me change my underwear today. Bad movie to watch when you’re sick and drunk.

[@ImInLoveWithBulla]

The best part of this movie is the “ABSOLUTELY NO ADMITTANCE INTO THIS ROOM” door which literally everyone walks through without a second thought.

[@KoobLis100]

...

[@globetrekker86]

As the late Roger Ebert said, “Pearl Harbor is about Japan’s surprise attack on an American love triangle.” I agree whole-heartedly with Nick’s reaction to Ebert’s review of Tora! Tora! Tora! : “What?!”

[@bartsullivan4866]

While I like Roger, I don't know what he was smoking when reviewing this film. Same with Home Alone like uhhhh what film did you watch buddy. Which is kind of funny because usually it was Siskel who liked all the artsy fartsy films. Maybe he was expecting an action movie and not a historically accurate take on what happened.

[@MrAkaacer]

Ebert is not consistent. He's human which means his mood would've affected his reviews. I didn't agree with all Ebert's reviews, but I never felt he reviews had an agenda.

[@notta2042]

Clearly paid off

[@notta2042]

@@MrAkaacer Bullshit it is, bought and paid for

[@username-yc3bd]

@@notta2042 sure buddy

[@asianskye503]

Another great historical accuracy that most people in the US miss. Look at Yamamoto's left hand in scenes where it can be obvious. The actor Sō Yamamura carefully keeps the index and middle finger tucked up into his palm. Yamamoto had served on the armored cruiser Nisshin during the Russo-Japanese War. He was wounded at the Battle of Tsushima, losing two fingers (the index and middle fingers) on his left hand. Supposedly had he lost another finger he would have been discharged by the IJN. That would have significantly changed history.

[@piotrd.4850]

Amazing comment and fact!

[@mirozen_]

Your observation and comment are pure gold! Thank you!

[@rokkfel4999]

Holly shit I didn’t know that

[@johnemerson1363]

Interesting coincidence: Yamamoto's counterpart, Admiral Nimitz lost two fingers in a submarine diesel accident. He was almost discharged as well.

[@dewolf123]

@@mirozen_ no it isn't

[@darkprincessmelly]

My father served on the Missouri while in the navy. I can remember him coming back from seeing this movie saying he had never seen a war movie as accurate as that one. I watch it every Dec. although I cry everytime

[@darkprincessmelly]

@array s I do not remember any romance in "Tora Tora Tora." There was in the horribly inaccurate movie "Pearl harbor."

[@Dover939]

@@darkprincessmelly That's what he said.

[@dafyddthomas7299]

@@darkprincessmelly agree and cannot watch Ben Affleck's Pearl Harbour without vomiting - it's so bad and is a disservice to the brave US service people who served at PH and throughout WW2.

[@kbanghart]

@Gripen Draken whoa chill

[@mops-vu2zl]

@array s Sorry bro, your thinking about the wrong movie

[@felixhall9432]

“I’ll get that guys number I’ll report him for safety violations,” Plane: Drops Bomb “That’s one massive safety violation,”

[@kostakole9876]

True.

[@sundhaug92]

Now that's gonna be a massive OSHA-fine

[@808INFantry11X]

Japan was really swinging for the fences that day....

[@notme8232]

Bad ending: The plane was the Enola Gay.

[@comcat1908]

Got'damn new recruits!

[@rivahcat8247]

I took my WWII/Pearl Harbor survivor dad to see "Pearl Harbor". Afterward, I asked him what he thought; his comment was that it had a nice love story, but for an authentic depiction of the attack we should see "Tora! Tora! Tora!"

[@marilyntaylor9577]

He has good taste!

[@theman2017inc]

NUFF SAID!!!

[@theman2017inc]

@@marilyntaylor9577and he was correct

[@drown_n]

Skimmed this and thought your pops was screaming TORA TORA TORA in your face for even daring to ask about that abomination of a movie

[@Canadianvoice]

What happened to Station H?

[@chipgriffiths3655]

"There's your confirmation, sir!" One of my favorite lines of all time.

[@M1DL1F3GAM3R]

"You Want Your Confirmation, Captain? Take a look! There's your confirmation!" - EPIC!

[@jasonmartin4775]

@DR Evil That's literally how our nation was formed, buddy.

[@thalivenom4972]

depends on how drunk he was, and how bribed he was

[@MK-ok6yp]

@DR Evil are you defending a captian that could of put up a defense for pearl harbor?

[@MK-ok6yp]

@DR Evil then what was the point of your comment?

[@NM-nv4bt]

Thats literally how we won at midway and part of the reason you got your handed to you all the way to dunkirk.

[@PopeSixtusVI]

The negative reviews for Tora! Tora! Tora! *at that time* is because 2/3rds of the American population in 1970 was alive for World War 2 and the fact that the attack went off was seen as outrageous and for the Navy itself, scandalous. In other words, a movie illustrating the intelligence and strategic blunders than enabled the attack was "offensive" especially in the context of an unpopular war and other social unrest going on at that time. But there's something we can do about it! The film is undergoing a historical re-evaluation for at worst, being better than Pearl Harbor, and at best, being an unsung masterpiece. So spread the word.

[@John77Doe]

Peter Franks Good insight no one wants to look back at their stupidest moments in life.

[@pitioti]

Fun Fact, Tora ! Tora! Tora! Was one of the inspiration of George Lucas for his Star Wars Film... For the battle in space I means X3!

[@danzervos7606]

I think it had more to do with the anti-war sentiment at the time.

[@scottparrish7244]

@@John77Doe If I didn't look back on the stupidest moments of my life I'd hardly learn anything.

[@pontiuspilot5887]

I remember reading, during the visit by Hirohito to the U.S. in 1971, that American veterans were upset that the wartime emperor was being even allowed in their country with state honours. So yes anti-Japanese feeling was very strong at the time. The Film having such prominent participation by the Japanese would have riled up those who had personnel memories and loses. Peace

[@itinerantpatriot1196]

I was stationed at Hickam in the 1980s and the bullet holes from Dec 7th were still visible in many buildings. I spoke with two Pearl Harbor veterans who were acting as tour guides at the Arizona Memorial, one of them served on the Arizona and was on duty the morning of the attack. I asked them about this movie, specifically if it was an accurate depiction. They both agreed the movie was very accurate. It was an honor speaking with those gentlemen, both of whom I assume have long since joined their comrades in the place where soldiers, sailors, and airmen never age. I have always loved this film. I first saw it as a kid in the theater and was blown away. Unfortunately, I must admit I also wasted my money and saw Pearl Harbor at the theater. A buddy talked me into going to see it with him. We both came out shaking our heads, wondering how anyone could make a chick-flick based on the attack on Pearl Harbor. Between that and all the inaccuracies we both agreed the time would have been better spent shooting pool at the sports bar. Anyway, cool review. If anyone finds this comment, which I doubt will happen, I highly recommend a visit to the Arizona Memorial. There is no more solemn monument in the world. RIP guys, I'll be along directly and maybe we can share war stories, though I expect mine will shrink beyond sight compared to yours. Sleep well.

[@dentonstales2778]

Thank you for that, well said.

[@ericscott626]

My wife and I had the opportunity to visit Pearl Harbour last September. I grew up near Annapolis with several naval bases near by, so I'm a big naval history buff. For me it was an amazing experience and something I've looked forward to for years. My wife is very much a pacifist, so war stuff isn't her thing. But even she appreciated the solemness of the monument. She hadn't studied much about WWII history, so there was a lot she wasn't aware of, such as the fact that the Arizona memorial isn't just a memorial but the final resting place for the sailors on the ship. Our tour included visiting the Punchbowl where many of the people who died during Pearl Harbour are buried. Like you I would highly recommend the experience. As for the movies, I actually enjoyed both Tora, Tora, Tora and Pearl Harbour. Tora, Tora, Tora is clearly the more historically accurate and one of my favourites. But Pearl Harbour while lacking some of the accuracy and objectivity, and possessing some of the chick flick qualities, was still entertaining, at least to me. I didn't hate the movie, I just appreciate Tora, Tora, Tora more and it is the better of the two films.

[@mikegillettify]

My dad got stationed at HICKAM in 99 and I was there are a teenager, until 2001. It’s awesome that the hangars are still pock-marked with bullet holes.

[@damianmasq5134]

I visited the memorial way back when I was 18, the trip to Hawaii was wasted on my dumb ass but that was the one stop I gave attention and respect to. Truly… humbling and inspiring and heartbreaking.

[@_R-R]

I've also been to the Arizona Memorial. Solemn and quiet place indeed.

[@samuelmanning2366]

Fun fact: some of the "Zeros" shown in the film are actually modified and repainted American T-6 trainer planes. However, at least one of these T-6 trainers is actually an SNJ (the US Navy's equivalent the the US Army's T-6). That SNJ belonged to my late uncle who owned and flew his plane in the movie (uncredited). He was an interesting guy who would often fly tourists in his SNJ around Pearl Harbor. Unfortunately, he suddenly died when the helicopter he was piloting went down during a search and rescue mission around the mountains of Hawaii. The true cause of this crash is still unknown. He also had a F4U Corsair in pieces that he had planned to put together. While that didn't happen in his lifetime, the folks at the Midway museum got it on loan from his widow and put it together. His F4U Corsair is currently on display on the USS Midway Museum in San Diego, CA.

[@samuelmanning2366]

Also, I'd love to see you analyze "A Bridge Too Far." It might be my favorite movie of all time.

[@bmitchely]

I had the opportunity to it in one of these planes as it was tied down at KFFC (Peachtree Falcon Field, south of Atlanta Ga. I had returned to finish some work and walked out to offer some to the campers pizza. Standing near the "Zero" I noticed a Pratt data plate and asked about it. Then I noticed that the plane was in fact a modified Texan and not a Zero at all! I was not able to score a flight in this iconic machine but was able to sit in the pilot's seat and make engine noises.

[@schmoemi3386]

Maybe not only some of the film Mitsubishi A6M (Zeros) but all of them... main problem: there aren't that much originals around, and none of them airworthy.

[@gheilers]

Actually, there are a few airworthy examples of original A6M Zeros. Most now have American-made engines, but the A6M5 Type 52 owned by Planes of Fame has an original Sakai engine. The other airworthy examples are all A6M3 Type 22 aircraft, I believe.

[@pogo1140]

Yep, I see the Planes of Fame A6M5 almost every year during their annual airshow and their Living History events.

[@battleshipyamato647]

I love how Yamamoto is missing his fingers so accurate I only just noticed it when a friend pointed it out good on Tora tora tora for remembering that

[@MASTEROFEVIL]

The little details always have the biggest impact

[@therandomplushchannel4520]

Wait he was? I don’t see it

[@MedTech37572]

@@therandomplushchannel4520 21:51 you can see his left hand is missing two fingers.

[@therandomplushchannel4520]

@@MedTech37572 thanks! I never noticed that

[@diyimprover6887]

When I was 11 years old, my father took me to see this film. He had been stationed at Guadalcanal and the Philippines during WWII. I remember him pointing out to me the amazing innovation of having the Japanese side of the story be produced by a Japanese crew. This is because, in addition to having served in the Pacific during the war, he was an avid student of history and valued historical accuracy over revisionist propaganda. It was probably because of my witnessing his admiration for this film that I didn't realize until I viewed this analysis that it had not been a great success at the box office.

[@ScrewFlanders]

DIY Improver, your story and mine are practically identical. I was 11-12 years old when my dad took me to see Tora! Tora! Tora!. He too had served in the Pacific during WWII, his duty being in the US Army Air Force on Tinian aboard B-29's (482nd Bomb Squadron of the 505th Bomber Group, 313th Wing of the 20th Air Force). My dad almost _never_ spoke about his time in the War, and as kids my siblings and I learned not to ask him about it. I remember being a little surprised that he wanted to see a war movie. When we kids would watch "Combat" on TV, he would merely scoff and say things like, "it wasn't like that." He _hated_ "Hogan's Heroes." I remember being riveted by the action of Tora! Tora! Tora!. In addition, even though my young mind really couldn't process the political and strategic scenes in the movie, those scenes did communicate to me at least a sense of the enthusiasm, esprit de corps, and _naiveté_ of the Japanese forces, as well as the ineptitude and lax attitudes of the Americans that resulted in the tragedy of Pearl Harbor. My dad didn't have much to say about the movie afterwards, but he did ask me what I thought about it. I told him that I thought the movie was really good, giving all the reasons that an 11-12 year-old boy would give. I remember that my dad just nodded his head, and said something like, "yeah, I thought it was good too." My dad passed away in 1990 from cancer (he was 67), and there are so many conversations I wish I had had with him about his war experiences that we never had. As he got older, and the gulf of time between the Present and the ending of WWII widened, he started to relax a little about discussing his involvement in the War. Sadly, he was taken from us too soon for us to have very many such discussions.

[@road-eo6911]

As a Filipino, I would like to thank your father for his service! He must've been a great man.

[@mikebrase5161]

@@ScrewFlanders haha my Grandfather hated Hogan's Heroes as well he was 1st Infantry Division on D-Day Omaha Beach. He told he hated how a country the size of Texas that took over half the known world was portrayed as a bunch of clowns. He thought it demeaned not only his service but the Germans as well. One of the few things be told me was if they took a French village you could guarantee the Germans would always try to take it back. He had nothing but respect for how hard the Germans fought.

[@someguy7629]

Ha, then he's probably one of the very few Americans to know that neither the A-Bombs or land invasions where needed. That it was to test on real targets (There"s a reason they where 2 different bombs you know....) And that it was to scare off the Russian army's who began moving to the East after victory in Berlin.

[@Canadianvoice]

What about Station H?

[@michaellynes3540]

"Tora! Tora! Tora!" is a masterpiece. They used actual planes. I don't think there would be another movie production that would use these special effects.

[@bjw4859]

Where did they get that many actual aircraft from ?, I thought there were only a handful of working Zero's left ?, & as for crashing that B-17, just wow !, those planes are rare as hens teeth & take years to restore, where did they find one to just write off ?. This was way before CGI & you can tell when models are used, & when that American fighter went out of control on take of slamming into a line of parked planes scattering extras everywhere, that was just a top shelf money shot, well done.

[@thenumbah1birdman]

@@bjw4859 the japanese planes are visually modified propeller trainer aircraft. Very, VERY good vismods.

[@georgettewolf6743]

@@bjw4859 Any P-40 you saw in that movie that didn’t fly was actually a skillful mockup. In one of the film’s few technical mistakes, they show a P-40’s “interior skeleton” as it burns. The visible skeleton leads back to the tail wheel and stops. In fact, the P-40’s aluminum skin - sometime reinforced - is the aircraft’s actual skeleton. Had there been an interior structure like the one shown, it would have failed catastrophically on takeoff, as it offered no support to the tail and rudder. All of the Japanese Naval aircraft in the picture were World War II North American T-6 Texans heavily modified for their parts in TORA TORA TORA. More than fifty years later, they’re still in demand, and played parts in the making of MIDWAY, THE FINAL COUNTDOWN and PEARL HARBOR.

[@jetblue319]

I read the Zeros were modified ww2 navy trainers SNJ's

[@Nebo8ful]

Dunkirk used real plane too

[@Overlord24]

Great to know that America-Japan had the balls to make such a great real film.

[@davids9520]

Showing my age. When I was school, this movie was thought of as so historically accurate, we got to go and see '"Tora! Tora! Tora!" on a school sponsored field trip! Going to the movies, seeing a war movie, plus getting out of school for most of a day. What more could you ask for!!!

[@ZnenTitan]

Buttered popcorn?

[@toastytoast9800]

@@ZnenTitan thats free?

[@riperclaw]

Make ships dont break them

[@davids9520]

@Warren552011 You had a very generous teacher. Or maybe a big Raquel Welch fan! (g)

[@stevek8829]

I never heard of kids being taken to a movie house by their school. What country is this?

[@bartmiller6985]

My parents watched this every December 7 while I grew up in the 70's. It was usually shown on WGN. My mom always had to read the subtitles of the Japanese for my dad. Today is December 7, 2020. I may watch it tonight when I get home form work. An awesome, and very underrated, movie.

[@hugohuysmans9666]

So, you've been watching this video...at work, no? :-)

[@Onizukachan915]

I do the same on December 7th.

[@bartmiller6985]

@@PaulRudd1941 no, he was blind.

[@Canadianvoice]

What about Station H

[@polarjet1833]

Honestly the accidents with the practical effects, especially that p-40 crashing into the other p-40’s, it just is perfect, like even though those guys really did almost actually die in a way it just made it so more authentic of a reaction from them

[@christophermills9289]

I remember seeing this as a kid and not liking how it made the Japanese look 'cool' and us stupid. As an adult I appreciate the film as a work of art.

[@destituteanddecadent9106]

I know you were just a kid but also remember: heritage is important and all, but countries are countries and people are people. I feel it's critical to take a step back and distance ourselves from any "side" we may be attached to if we want to make the most of the experience of watching historically accurate movies or just studying history itself.

[@christophermills9289]

@@destituteanddecadent9106 Uh... yeah. My complete statement points to my differences of view between being a kid and a adult. Don't know why you feel the need to preach at me. I essentially said the same thing you said 1 month before you said it.

[@destituteanddecadent9106]

@@christophermills9289 you said you appreciate it as a work of art, which does not exactly equate to impartially assessing historical events. I apologize if I came off as preachy, but I just thought this needed to be clarified, if only for the sake of others who may read this thread. No hard feelings, I'm sorry I offended you.

[@candyman348]

@@christophermills9289 I don't think that response was very adult-like. No offense.

[@Tehn00bA]

@@candyman348 yeah but i have to agree it kinda had a condescending tone tbh, like "mansplaining", so i have to side a little more with Christopher.

[@rogerbaker9353]

I remember watching this in high school. The curriculum called for "Pearl Harbor", and the teacher acknowledged that point, but went ahead and put this on instead.

[@LeCharles07]

The world needs more teachers like that.

[@dasc0yne]

@@LeCharles07 I want to know who the numbskull was who called for "Pearl Harbor" in the first place. That person shouldn't be teaching children ... make him teach P.E.

[@mitchellneu]

Smart move.

[@trevorphilips4925]

my history teacher said the pearl harbor movie was crap and put tora tora instead

[@declanfiala6099]

Any good history teacher would.

[@dustinkittel2830]

I loved your comments about the movie Pearl Harbor. My grandfather was a fighter pilot in WWII. When that movie came out, the whole family sat around and watched it with him. When it was over we asked, "Well, is that what the war was like?" His comment... "I don't remember that much kissing." 🙂

[@REALwarnMPMP]

Pearl harbor, a war interrupts a confusing love triangle, the modern midway, a shitty movie about Pearl harbor

[@threeinthegoo1878]

To be fair the Pearl Harbor movie was nearly as big a disaster as the attack itself

[@monsieurlaguillotine3481]

Savage af.

[@Ozraptor4]

Bore-a! Bore-a! Bore-a!

[@andysm1964]

certainly the acting was..

[@NamFlashb4cks]

Three in the goo Oof

[@ath3lwulf533]

If they took out the oil storage too it would have been game over for the pacific fleet.

[@ashipnerdoffical4260]

23:44 the movie is called 'The Final Countdown' in case anyone was wondering.

[@electricsinkdatsank6916]

@jmarks881 what

[@davehoffman4659]

Yeah, if I remember correctly, an aircraft carrier got lost in a storm and went back to the past to December 7, 1941.

[@FEBAGames]

de da der der der da der der der de da der der der da der der der Its the Final Countdown

[@rf-cattleprod6207]

I was just about to say it but you got it first.

[@MichalSoukup1995]

And music from the Starship troopers.

[@pezz_pezzer]

As an old person (51) I grew up on this movie being re-ran on TV in the 70s and 80s. Still one of my favorite war movies of all time... Great channel and awesome review. Glad I found you!

[@RW4X4X3006]

Exactly. A whole generation was brought up on this film. That's how a whole generation managed to shitcan the more recent one.

[@079melrose]

Mi iguvys

[@AndyK304]

Before cable, CBS seemed to run this once a year, as they did Planet of the Apes, usually on a Friday night. They also had some good comedies in their catalog that would run in the middle of the week, when school was out. Murder by Death, Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother, High Anxiety...

[@RW4X4X3006]

@@AndyK304 I remember our local independent affiliate airing this film every December 7. Every year. You know, back in the day when the media seemed to give a fuck about a few important things.

[@txbuzzkill6276]

Hell, I saw this movie in the theaters when it came out! 51, pffft!

[@stevensica89]

Here's something you you did not consider : this movie was released at the end of 1970. The ongoing US failure in Vietnam had soured a lot of public opinion about all things military, and this likely had an impact on the negative critical reception of this movie.

[@beejls]

I agree. I remember many were tired of anything that was jingoistic at that time. This isn't jingoistic, but if you didn't go to see the movie you didn't know that.

[@gerardmichaelburnsjr.]

ALSO...the powers in Washington were worried it might revive anti-Japanese sentiment. My uncles to the day they died wouldn't buy anything Japanese.

[@Spearca]

I'd think the context is a reason that the film was willing to depict American blunders as such.

[@gerardmichaelburnsjr.]

@@Spearca I remember seeing the film just that one time when it first came out, and the audience loved it. But I think it was honest about the errors because the movie was honest about everything. Somebody just did it right.

[@ImInLoveWithBulla]

The whole attack scene is just more incredible with every watching. CGI? Who needs that?

[@boagprod.1372]

WHAT THE HECK IS A CGI?

[@dfsengineer]

Awesome practical effects will always be awesome. 10 year old CGI will usually look terrible.

[@azulotl8063]

@@dfsengineer 10 year old CGI still holds up for the most part and as we go into the future it will only get better

[@GrosvnerMcaffrey]

You bet your sweet ass it is

[@jamesclepper6786]

It’s all about money now a days

[@Su5pec1]

Tora! Tora! Tora! the Explora!

[@MadIvano]

Blake Berry Explore this dick.

[@nickgray4553]

Hehe

[@rin_etoware_2989]

Tora!

[@rodolforuiz4888]

Blake Berry TORA!!

[@Bicholover5487]

Blake Berry TORA

[@DomPatek]

7.5/10 on imdb, 55% on Rotten Tomatoes. What the fuck, man?! How the hell is that possible?

[@shawn576]

I would say welcome to current year but the film is 50 years old. A game called The Last of Us Part 2 won game of the year despite having a rating of 58% and generally being regarded as trash. Reviewers are just bought and paid shills.

[@Deevo037]

It means American observers don't like seeing stories where they are shown to be fallible.

[@1SaG]

While I love this film, it *is* a bit, shall we say, dry. Especially if you're not into military/WW2 history. No love story. No women in major speaking roles. No real single protagonist or antagonist and no classic narrative structure (no hero's journey). Plus lots and lots of lengthy dialogue-scenes and lots and lots of characters. It almost strikes me as a historic documentary with very good actors and (for the time) top notch special effects. Oh, and let's not forget that around half of it is presented from the Japanese POV - complete with Japanese actors who are speaking Japanese.

[@waterbottlewaterbottle1754]

@@1SaG Yeah, same as A bridge too far. Long dry movied which are amazing to those who are interested, but not to a mass audience

[@gilangw595]

@@Deevo037 no, because as a war historical movie it is fine, but as a entertaining movie itself.. not so much, lack of: depth, suspense, love story, and strong character , make it not really a full movie experience

[@Nexus974]

I love this movie! I’ve seen it dozens of times. It’s accuracy is what makes it so great. I especially love the addition of George Welch and Ken Taylor, the 2 American pilots who managed to get in the air and shot down 6 planes between the two of them. Both men were in their early 20’s at the time. Unbelievable courage!

[@gerardmichaelburnsjr.]

in the theater, when one of those American pilots shot down a zero, the audience leaped to its feet cheering. I only saw that one other time at a theater, the first Rocky movie, when Rocky hit back.

[@CynicalHistorian]

Thanks for the mention! A whole lot of folks came over. And as always, great episode.

[@tomaszskowronski1406]

are you by any chance related to Cynical Brit? The twat in a top hat.

[@jeffwalters8552]

I just subbed also but hate "pearl harbor" so much, I refuse to watch your breakdown of it- no offense.

[@mikolajgrotowski]

About B17 and order to fly away. This is standard procedure on any military airfield under attack. A plane is a much more easy target on the runway, and if is destroy, can damage runway and block it for operation. This order is accurate with military perspective and may be historically accurate (but most pilots be never even tried land in this condition)

[@David-mz5oq]

Mikolaj Grotowski most would not try to land. But if I recall my history the B17 where out a gas. As for them being order to take of I agree. They dont want to run way blocked with wreckage while there under attack

[@tomogburn2462]

Not to mention, in reality it would be very difficult for the Zeroes to shoot down a B-17. Its 7.7mm and 20mm guns really just didnt have the capability to take one down reliably in 1941.

[@Brainfryde]

The tower would call off the plane, because that is what years of training told them to do without question. A B-17 would have pulled off instantly, because they cannot see what is coming up on the tarmac or from other vectors, and their conditioning says that to hesitate is near instant death. This is reinforced by the lack of evasive instructions; if this was an attempt to save the aircraft just from the zero, you would not tell it to just abort, but rather give it an escape vector. If anything, telling the B-17 there is a zero is inaccurate, but certainly is understandable in the movie so the audience knows WHY they were waved off.

[@brandons9398]

Plus they were less than 100 of them in existence in the world at that time. A Zero that day could have easily shot them down, as their guns were not operational in the 17s. They were still covered in cosmoline and they had no ammo.

[@OrginalDravas]

The order was made to keep the runway clear. They needed the runway clear to launch what fighter response they could. A down B-17 takes up alot of runway.

[@metwo1492]

Totally agree with your commentary. This is a seriously underrated film. I just noticed that at 21:51, the movie is so accurate that Admiral Yamamoto is missing two fingers from his left hand. He lost those in the Battle of Tsushima as a young sailor. Wow. Also, a number of the harbor panorama shots have modern installations in the background, but that is unavoidable without CGI.

[@EllenbergW]

And to think that, had he lost a third finger, he would have been invalidated out (learned that from Drachinifel's vid on the Battle of Tsushima) And yes, I know I'm 2 years late :)

[@rogertulk8607]

I saw this film when it first appeared, and thought it was brilliant. I've watched it from time to time and never get tired of it. I was pleased a few years ago when the mini submarine sunk by the Ward was found, thereby confirming the kill. I love it when Neville Brand says, "You want confirmation, sir; there's your confirmation!"

[@HistoryBuffs]

Sorry for the reupload. There was an error in the video and I needed to fix it. Hope you guys enjoy the review :)

[@Vertimoo]

What error? I watched the other video and I didn't really notice anything. Great review as always :)

[@dervelthecelt]

History Buffs was it the November 7 mistake?

[@sowrabvattipalli5981]

great review, I think you could use the old opening credits for epic movies like gladiator and use the new one for movies like apollo 13

[@murciadoxial8056]

nick, could you please review the wind rises - directed by hayao miyazaki?

[@daRiddler32]

History Buffs do Valkyrie

[@victorskwrxsti7899]

As a half American half Japanese who grew up in Japan and living in the USA (and also a massive IJN fanboi), I absolutely love this movie. Watching this on first week of December is my Christmas Movie tradition. Juuuust one thing... Totsugeki Raigeki doesn't mean Lightning attack. Although the word "Rai/雷" does have a meaning of thunder/lightning, the word "Rai-geki/雷撃" means "Torpedo Attack" as torpedo is "Gyo-rai/魚雷". TORA meant "Attack by Torpedo (First)" The reason why the acronym code for "Torpedo Attack" was translated to "われ奇襲に成功せり/Ware Kishuu ni Seikou Seri/Surprise Attack Success" was because that was their instruction on how to attack. Surprise attack means their guards are not up. Therefore, deadlier but slow and vulnerable Torpedo Bomber can go first to maximize the effect. If the attack squadron was detected and was no longer a surprise attack, it would have been "トキ/TOKI/Totsugeki Kyoushuu/Attack Assault" as they have to attack AA guns and airfields first by Dive Bombers to suppress interception so Torpedo Bomber can safely make torpedo run but they'll be running into smokes. There's an interesting trivia behind this "who goes first". If this is going to be Surprise Attack and TB are going first, Squadron Leader Cmdr Fuchida would fire 1 flare gun. If it's Assault Attack and DB are going first, he'll fire 2 flares. But when Fuchida shot his flare, TB Sq Leader LtCmdr Murata couldn't see it because there was a streak of cloud in between. So Fuchida shot second flare so Murata can see it but DB Sq Leader LtCmdr Takahashi saw both flares and thought it'll be an assault attack so he went first. As a result, DB dropped the first bomb of the attack at Wheeler on 0755 while Murata was moving in for torp run which was planned to be executed on 0800. Murata saw smokes are coming up from Hickam Field and he made shortcut so TB can do torp run before smoke settles in and launched his torp on 0757.

[@therightstuffAK]

VictorSKWRXSTI I thought I was the only one with this strange tradition of watching this movie every year the first week of December!

[@gen.savage4489]

HA! I also watch Tora-Tora-Tora on the first week of December... as I watch the Longest Day the first week of June!

[@gen.savage4489]

I think we need to have a calendar of movies to watch!

[@hardwirecars]

2 things really glad we are friends with japan number 2 really glad we nuked japan because it led to anime

[@lonchaneyslover7635]

Your Japanese language is strange, I'll just stick too yelling at my anime loving friends YAMATE besides learning more. English and Spanish already dominate my mind and I dare add a third!!!!

[@ou812a4]

Excellent review! And I agree that Tora,Tora, Tora does not get the recognition it deserves. In fact, if it weren't for my freshman year history teacher, whom showed us the film in class , I'm not sure I ever would've seen it. I enjoyed Tora so much that I went and saw Pearl Harbor on opening day, thinking it would be a newer version of this classic...boy was I disappointed!

[@sheeplord4976]

I am a little annoyed that they destroyed so many pby catalina boat planes. Nicolas cage destroyed the last firefighting pby recently aswell. At this rate there will be none left

[@iateyursandwiches]

Dude your teacher was awesome. Al mine did was show us Poo Harbor-_- Even then I was pretty annoyed with the pointless love triangle they decided to put in there.

[@MidlifeCrisisJoe]

Yeah my dad made me watch it when I was a kid (he was a Navy brat and spent some time growing up in Hawaii so he always had a fascination with Pearl Harbor) and I'm always glad he did. It was pretty dry for a kid, but over the years I really came to appreciate the extreme effort they obviously put into the film at being accurate with the details. Shame you had to get excited for Pearl Harbor though. That had to hurt!

[@amyrat151]

+SonofaGlitch My dad didn't make me watch it but he watched it whenever it was on, so I've seen this movie a bunch of times. I'm honestly surprised more people haven't seen it.

[@2HRTS1LOVE]

I used to watch it every year with my dad and brother (I'm the annoying little sister). I'm a pretty girly girl, but they totally hooked me on WWII movies with Tora. Band of Brothers is now my new favorite, though not a movie, I swear that series made me feel like I knew those guys. I wish I had.

[@cmanningdeal6228]

Toshiro Mifune was so dedicated to Yamomoto's character he had his left hand taped up to simulate Yamamoto's injuries at the Battle of Tushima, 1905.

[@lancemcclung3991]

If you are speaking of the 1968 Japanese film “Yamamoto Isotoku” you are spot on. Mifune gives a master class performance as the admiral (that you can get a glimpse of in 1976s “Midway”) Kôjo Yakusho in 2011s “CinC Combined Fleet” aka “Isoroku” (you should see both if you can) dedicates his performance as an homage to Mifune. Sô Yamamura is the actor that plays Yamamoto in “Tora! Tora! Tora!. He may be best known to Western audiences for the 1958 film “The Barbarian and the Geisha” opposite John Wayne.

[@panzerdeal8727]

@@lancemcclung3991 And the later Midway. I like the expanded edition , which kind of explains Nagumo's being off his game in 42 after the loss of his son, a pilot, at Coral sea.

[@Canadianvoice]

What about Station H where is the historical accuracy about that?

[@panzerdeal8727]

@@Canadianvoice Hypo was the Pearl Harbor station of codebreakers. See Prange's second book Miracle at Midway and the movie Midway from 1976. Hal Holbrook does a great job acting out the part of Joe Rochefort.

[@Canadianvoice]

@@panzerdeal8727 they broke the naval code before the attack happened. Sent the message to Washington who did nothing. America knew the attack was coming. As it was all orchestrated by design since commodore Perry's forceful opening of Japan. Pearl harbour would have e never happened if it was for america in the first place.

[@robbpowell194]

I had been a WW2 geek since I was 14. I saw this when I was 18. To me, it was the highpoint of movie making. I simply could not believe how real it was....

[@SeekerLancer]

Critics like Roger Ebert completely miss the point of a film like this.

[@taproom113]

Agree ... Ebert was a pompous A$$. Siskel was much smarter and more insightful. ^v^

[@Sp0nge5]

Ebert didn't miss the point, this film has a bunch of storytelling problems. There's no lead character, no personal conflict, no romance, no attempt at dichotomies or some poetic filmmaking. It's a documentary dressed as a drama. I personally paused the movie 2 times and it didn't lose any momentum, because except the battle it had no momentum. Yes, the battle sequence is on-par or even better than Michael Bay's, AND it's more historically accurate. But Bay at least attempts at a drama. Both films fail as a whole, but at different things.

[@samtownend6744]

@@Sp0nge5 if you need hollywood tropes to enjoy a film I feel bad for you. How is a romance in any way relevant to the battle of pearl harbour?

[@koichidignitythief7429]

@@taproom113 Not really he was a dumbass too. For fuck's sake he thought the Terminator was an alien from another planet. Did he even see the movie?

[@Regdren]

@@koichidignitythief7429 The part that got me was that he wanted the movie to focus on the love story instead of the Terminator. I don't know what kind of person would give a thumbs down because of that.

[@glen1555]

Saw this in the cinema in 70mm on wide screen. Thought then and still do, that the Japanese sequence of the planes taking off the carriers as the sun rose was awesome

[@assassino1480-j5h]

I absolutely LOVE that these aren't just movie reviews, but that you go to the trouble to give a detailed explanation about the film's subject matter in order to give it context, and better illustrate how the movie either adheres to or departs from it.

[@christopherdavis9323]

Coming out in 1970, this movie arrived in the heart of the Vietnam War, a time when the American People were most definitely NOT interested in war pictures that were not antiwar. In terms of contemporary US box office, it bombed. In JAPAN, OTOH, the crowds were around the block for many weeks. The $$$ made in Japan helped to recoup the costs of making the movie.

[@clearcoat2000]

Interesting comment that I agree with. However the movie Patton came out that same year and from what I understand was very successful with George C. Scott winning an oscar.

[@christopherdavis9323]

Tora! Tora! Tora! had a cast of complete amateurs on the Japanese side (for which the Japanese directors & producer drew a lot of flak). The American cast were veteran professionals, but not any names that would jump out at you. George C. Scott, OTOH, hit the screens like a thunderstrike. AFAIK, he wasn't a Big Name before Patton, so it made the surprise of his performance all the more remarkable to audiences. Plus, Patton's story covers almost the whole of America's involvement in the war in Europe. Tora! Tora! Tora! OTOH covered only a few months before America's entry. And it ends with the US suffering an enormous defeat. The Japanese film Yamamoto does this better. It starts with Yamamoto's planning for Pearl Harbor, then going up to his death in 1943. But rather than ending the film there, it jumps to the Emperor's surrender speech in 1945. The idea being that one of the soldiers (stars) who survived the war is shown staring from the roof of one of the few buildings still standing in Tokyo. From horizon to horizon, not a single building is still standing. I wonder if Tora! Tora! Tora! would have done better in terms of box office receipts if that type of scene had been inserted at the end of Tora! Tora! Tora! (?)

[@captainamericaxxx3874]

+Robert Giles I think the Japanese actors did a great job. I think they were what we would call veteran supporting cast actors. Like our actors James Whitmore and Martin Balsam. A year ago I woke up one Saturday morning and turned on the TV and a Godzilla movie was on. There they were, Admirals Yamamoto and Nagumo playing cops.

[@peterson7082]

@@christopherdavis9323 George C. Scott was well received in _Dr. Strangelove._

[@Canadianvoice]

How about Station H can anyone explain why that was shoved under a rug?

[@tsukishiro70]

I love that clip from "The Final Countdown". And your reaction to it.

[@JoshuaC923]

That was epic haha

[@zeus28frenzy]

YES YES YES LESSSSSS GOOOOOO

[@razorfett147]

Some of the finest Tomcat film work ever shot.

[@malafunkshun8086]

Mhmm, I saw that movie also….very interesting alternate history 😂

[@whenthemusicsover6028]

I was wondering what that clip was from. :)

[@jackdanielsinthelionsden1887]

11:46 "you made a movie about the Titanic? Why? We already know it ends." "He doesn't get out much, does he?" "No."

[@unclepatrick2]

"And then the ship hit a iceberg and start to " "What are you doing? You giving away the surprise ending."

[@les4767]

@@UnclePengy Check out "1776" while you're at it. You wouldn't think a musical based on the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence would be suspenseful, but up to the last vote, you will swear the proposal for American Independence will fail. Brilliant film!

[@WalterDWormack214]

Totally awesome parody! Especially your using the Zero vs. F-14 Tomcat scene from "The Final Countdown" with the "Starship Troopers" music score! You Sir, are a comedic genius!

[@jkorshak]

One thing I liked about TTT was how it portrayed Fuchida as a confident professional, almost arrogant in his ability, and loved by his men. The best scenes in the film I think are on the Akagi flight deck when they give orders to being starting engines, turn into the wind, and prep for launch. The whole sequence is simple but great film making. The order to launch and the first aircraft goes down the deck and Genda checks his watch - which he did at the time. During the flight in the sun comes up and the remark of it resembling the flag - that occurred. Later, part of it is the music, when they sight PH and Fuchida realizes they have achieved surprise - powerful scene. And one thing I really liked because it was rare at the time, the Japanese spoke Japanese with subtitles, instead of speaking English with faux "Japanese" accents. TTT is not a masterpiece and has its problems but as theatrical films about the attack go, it's best that's been done.

[@dxfan18]

"We have awoken a sleeping giant" returned in the new Midway movie too, when Yamamoto is listening to the radio he asks (who I think is) his wife to turn it off and says those exact words to her.

[@pompeygerry]

I remember reading that Yamamoto said it to Prince Konoe, But for the life of me i cannot remember where.

[@tylerhall4322]

I don’t like both of the midway movies because they didn’t show some of the planes that were there and they played a major role against the Japanese

[@johnkrausse8672]

Yes!!!! Tora Tora Tora!!! Best movie about pearl harbour ever made!!!

[@randomuser5443]

Agreed

[@thejanusproject32]

I can't even imagine how crazy this movie was to make so shortly after the WWII and its meta's. When I mean by the metas like, the logistics, the actors/actresses, the action scenes, etc. Just...whoa.

[@craigkdillon]

One of the best war movie of any war, any time. This movie is superb, IMO.

[@michaelmoorrees3585]

@@thejanusproject32 - It was made in 1970. ~25 years after the war ended. Well, maybe its the perspective, due to age. I bet you're under 30. I watched when it was released, and was 11 at the time. My father and my uncles all were old enough to serve in that was. Some did. This others, including my father, did not. On the account that they were all in Japanese prison camps ! What's really amazing, at this time, on how objectively this movie was made. The US was involved (in 1970) in another little bit of history, happening in Vietnam (formerly French Indochina). Movie makers, at that time were mostly anti-war, to point of modifying earlier non-related history. They did not do that here.

[@jonathanparker8867]

I watched this movie every Memorial Day with my dad growing up. He always made a point about how even handed it was and how accurately it depicted America's mistakes. Patriotism is fine, but blind patriotism is just asking to repeat old mistakes.

[@theturtwig50]

Amen to that!

[@ThomasTHEONEANDONLY]

The film actually won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects in 1971 for the previous year’s film season. That’s Impressive.

[@kevinbeard7454]

Do flags of our fathers/letters to Iwo jima

[@docdave15]

Oh that'd be a great episode! Films dealing with both sides of the battle and the stories surrounding them.

[@ariochiv]

Letters from Iwo Jima was depressing as hell.

[@Knobbyboy88]

Both of them were depressing as Hell. Some of the depictions of the battle in Flags of Our Fathers were downright horrifying.

[@jeffk464]

bah, no f14's in that movie at all.

[@Canadianvoice]

​@@Knobbyboy88letters from Iwo Jima will never get the recognition it deserves because it's the Japanese Persepctive. Why humanize those people when the government spent almost 50 years dehumanizing them destroying Asia 100 hundred years before Japan did anything.

[@kennethbedwell5188]

1 quick mistake, Japan didn't engineer a new arial torpedo, they engineered a fix on their current torpedo's with wooden fins that would break after diving into the water and pushing the torpedo up. Ingenious, simple and purely Japanese.

[@mecallahan1]

I agree that it was a fix so that they could their current torpedoes but disagree about being purely Japanese. I think that the Royal Navy/Fleet Air Arm did the same with their torpedoes that they used in the attack on the Italian Navy at Taranto.

[@minot.8931]

The Brits studied how the Japanese did Pearl Harbor when they planned Taranto.

[@michaelho9346]

Mino Trombetta You have that backwards, Taranto came before Pearl Harbour.

[@ttaibe]

@@mecallahan1 Apparently the Japanese had developed the wooden fins back in '36. No idea when the British developed them.

[@caniz80]

yer well the (insert a nation) had leather upholstery 1st! so there!

[@brucegibbins3792]

I recorded Tora Tora Tora and A Bridge Too Far on VHS from a Sunday afternoon TV broadcast. They both get an outing a few times each year. History and entertainment in one glorious packet. Your analysis adds icing to the cake.

[@07foxmulder]

10:08 When I first saw this movie I thought I was watching actual footage of the attack. Those stunts are absolutely insane. Thankfully no one was hurt.

[@factbeaglesarebest]

Actual footage in that much detail?

[@07foxmulder]

Fact: Beagles Are Best Lol in my defence it was a long time ago (2000). So I was a lot younger and was watching it on VHS on a tube tv so the picture quality wasn’t that great.

[@yanislahtal6253]

Me too, I guess that I thought they wouldn't do something so dangerous. Plus I'm pretty sure the first time I saw that stunt, it was in a low-budget documentary about Pearl Harbor.

[@josephstalin3541]

Thomas the tank engine brakes

[@billrich9722]

*suddenly F-14s* Wait, what? I feel like I was caught not paying attention.

[@Dios67]

The Final Countdown...?

[@flyboy152]

@@Dios67 Yes, those scenes are from The Final Countdown, where the USS Nimitz gets sent back to December 6, 1941, and has to decide whether to interfere and change the entire course of history. It's a decent flick, with some neat air-to-air action between the Zeros and the F-14s.

[@youngThrashbarg]

Plus music from Starship troopers.

[@zachburkey447]

F14s: "Omae Wa Mou Shindeiru" Zeroes: "NANI!?!?"

[@user-YuHaoHuang]

@@flyboy152 you might be interested in the manga/tv anime called zipang

[@saltykrug]

I agree with ya, Pearl Harbor was such a bad movie. Tora x3 was awesome!

[@andrewpestotnik5495]

Danny was pretty cute tho, but I agree

[@genyama714]

you know the real

[@thomasromano9321]

Absolutely, Kirk Shipp. Pearl Harbor was a cheesy, Hollywood love story. Tora, Tora, Tora was a terrific movie. Yet can you believe Roger Ebert dissed Tora, and gave Pearl Harbor a higher rating? Just goes to show you that some critics don't always know what they're talking about. Ebert is full of crap here. He doesn't know what he's talking about. This film is a great movie. Pearl Harbor is.... bullshit. I've visited the Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor and I still marvel at how great the non-computerized special effects were done in Tora, Tora, Tora. The scenes of Battleship Row getting blown to hell are staggering and terrifying. Some people didn't like Tora, Tora, Tora because it made the Americans look like they were unprepared and the Japanese look too aggressive? How STUPID!!!! The Japanese staged a highly-planned attack, and the Americans WERE unprepared to deal with it. I think the American military brass at Pearl Harbor grossly underestimated the modern Japanese military strength. Must be some stupid, ignorant people out there who would rather see the Schmaltzy fantasy of Pearl Harbor than the historic reality of what really happened which was done so well in Tora, Tora, Tora.

[@yazanshobaki7229]

@@abramo7700 yeah no one calls another dude "cute", you got to say handsome in pat-on-the back tone

[@demondued1215]

If you liked it that much and were committed to it you would use it’s actual name, not an abbreviated way.

[@garygemmell3488]

I saw "Tora, Tora, Tora!" when it first came out as a double feature with my family. I was 9 and had heard of Pearl Harbor but didn't really know what had happened. It wasn't until some years later when I began to do some research about WWII in general on my way to being a history buff about the war that I realized how historically accurate the movie really was. I still watch it to this day.

[@nintendiehard]

I cannot tell your how happy I was to see clips from The Final Countdown in this video! That film was so much fun! I'm not saying it's a cinematic masterpiece, but its entirely enjoyable.

[@shinjaokinawa5122]

Final Countdown brought with it the Type of Patriotic Fervor People Love feeling. I remember the Audience cheering loudly.

[@folgore1]

That was a fun movie! And the musical score was memorable!

[@sammybarrera]

Yup this movie led me to Zipang, similar, but with a Japanese twist.

[@sammybarrera]

... oh and the axis of time trilogy...

[@johnemerson1363]

Final Countdown was the first movie where the work "fuck" was used in its proper colloquial form. I'm retired navy and I heard the word used just like it was real life.

[@xRENEGADE156]

"In the first six to twelve months of a war with the United States and Great Britain I will run wild and win victory upon victory. But then, if the war continues after that, I have no expectation of success". - Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander in Chief, Japanese Navy

[@xRENEGADE156]

@Jefferson Tong probably not a direct quote but a paraphrasing of his general opinion on the subject

[@satriorama4118]

@Jefferson Tong while it's not historically correct, it's really happens. In the first 6 months of pacific war, Japan steamroll every SEA occupied countries, kicked UK, US, Netherland and aussie out of SEA.

[@nome8705]

Historically correct!

[@sheriff0017]

Why are we surrounded by American fighters all of a sudden? - Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander in Chief, Japanese Navy

[@patrickhorvath2684]

I thought it was ; " If need be, I can raise hell with the Americans for 6 months. After that, I guarantee nothing."

[@Sorax777]

One interesting point about the movie Tora-Tora-Tora is there was an scene that was the opposite of the Boy Scouts and the Boys playing baseball crap. Come on people! This is Oahu, with heavy Polinesian and Asiatic Influence. In Tora-Tora-Tora the Japaneses planes were flying over pineapple fields with JAPANESE immigrants picking up the Pineapples. That's more realistic than the boys scouts and baseball story.

[@Illusionyary]

Yep! When I visited the war museums in Pearl Harbor there was a story of a ethnic Japanese Hawaiian milk man, who'd make runs every day delivering milk. After the attack happened, ethnic Japanese Hawaiians were seen as the enemy and were rounded up and sent to camps. His story was rather sad, because overnight he went from being a welcome sight to one of the most hated people in the region. Funny how that works really.

[@graceskerp]

Boys playing baseball crap. More than crap, more like impossible. First, this was early Sunday morning, Those kids would be home having breakfast and getting ready for church. They were white which probably meant they were officer's brats. Enlisted couldn't afford families and were strongly discouraged to try. Officers, if they weren't on duty or recovering from the Saturday night bacchanals, went to church. The number of non Christians and other minorities in the Army/Navy officer corps at that time could have been put in a large walk-in closet. Officers, especially married ones, had to at least go through the motions. Further, those boys wouldn't have been wearing blue jeans. Jeans didn't go main stream until well after WWII. They'd be wearing shorts. A RAF survivor of the Battle of Britain saying that to a foreigner, especially an American (the Brits were pretty bitter about the lack of help), who had never been near a dog fight, let alone been in one? Male bovine fecal material.

[@GonnaDieNever]

eh, there was a mid-sized white population on the island as well, though they were still a minority during the period. It's hardly impossible.

[@JohnDoe-ks6is]

The movie was following the book where boy scouts were also portrayed in the same way, much of that movie's plot came from said book.

[@tomterific390]

Not only that, but kids wouldn't be playing baseball at 7:30 A.M. on a Sunday morning.

[@MrHeavy466]

Just watched this and I was genuinely shocked by the battle scene. Those stunts and effects were amazing. The buildup to the battle is what makes the battle all the more startling.

[@fotppd1475]

a movie is created that was made half by USA other half by Japan. Logical person:that really makes me happy and proud of these people. Literally every one else: tHaT MooViE iS a JaPaNisE PrOpaGAnDa.

[@maxace1078]

fot ppd Japanese

[@TheEvertw]

So "literally every one else" is doomed to repeat the mistakes made in the past...

[@bibniebt]

Before this movie, there was never really any film that dedicated itself to accurately depicting the specific significant failures on America's part that led up to the attack. The attack itself had been covered countless times before in media, romanticized in film as a day of tragedy where America could never have done anything to predict such a thing and to dare to insinuate that America's poor decisions were partly responsible for the carnage would have been considered tasteless, even if it was true

[@russby3554]

The same criticism is leveled at Gettysburg for showing the Southern point of view and making it almost sympathetic. In reality, the film makers were trying to explain to the viewers why the Confederacy fought. Then theres the terrible excuse of a movie Gods and Generals which actually should be labeled as Confederate propaganda. Very little of the movie feels like it's from the Northern point of view and focuses so little on the battles, tactics, and personality of the commanders.

[@SalinaMoonfall]

It really boils down to a swath of Americans either portraying US history or buying into it through the rose-tinted spectacles that often can't abide the idea that Americans are anything less than romanticized paragons of exceptionalism. Aside from the above examples, you have the revolutionary war which often gets cherry-picked both in film and in textbooks (the french helping us gets glossed over or played down ALOT).

[@grantpiper1223]

I always thought that the main reason why "Tora! Tora! Tora!" did poorly in America was because of a general American aversion to watching foreign-language films with English subtitles.

[@grantpiper1223]

@@culmo80 Well, that's what I always thought. You've explained why you think what I think is wrong. But you've said nothing about me being wrong to think it, which is a different matter entirely. Good point, though, about the George C. Scott movie "Patton." After watching that movie, my image of Paton was a masculine, tall, straight-backed, powerful George C. Scott-like character. Only later did I learn that Gen. Patton was actually a short guy with a high-pitched, squeaky voice.

[@grantpiper1223]

@@culmo80 My original comment was that I always thought that the main reason why "Tora! Tora! Tora!" did poorly in America was because of a general American aversion to watching foreign-language films with English subtitles. And, despite your comment - which I appreciate - and despite the veracity (or lack thereof) of what I always thought, it remains true that that's what I always thought. The accuracy of what I always thought has little to do with it. What I think about it now is something I haven't written about yet.

[@105381000]

@@grantpiper1223 Maybe because of Vietnam we had enough of Asiatic wars. I dunno. Maybe because we were losing.

[@grantpiper1223]

@@105381000 Hmm … I didn't think of that. Thanks.

[@jamesclendon4811]

I probably shouldn't reply, because I've never seen the film, but I remember when it came out, and I remember having the impression that one main reason that it was so disliked was the title. People didn't know what it meant and felt it was silly. I think it was hard to believe that a movie with such a dumb name could in fact be good. The title became something of a punchline, and by extension, the movie itself was regarded as a joke. I, of course, have no evidence to back this up.

[@rattinox]

Saw this when I was about 8 years old.......Man, what an epic film!

[@swenhtet2861]

rattinox Me too!

[@treybecker6709]

What year were you born

[@robertdevito5001]

Just think, at the age of 8, you had an attention span greater than that of the professional critics giving the movie 1 star...

[@swenhtet2861]

trey becker 2001

[@Dreadnok]

My dad would watch this every year on December 7. He still does it to this day.

[@FreedomTrooper89]

10 out of 10 on this review, Tora Tora Tora is by far one of my favorite movies of all time. I remember when I was stationed in Kadena Okinawa, a bunch of my buddies had never seen it before, So I "Forced" them to watch it one time when we were hanging out. They could not believe how great the movie was, but I found it very amusing because they were going insane during the lead-up. All the fumbling that the Americans committed, they looked at me and asked, that can't be real right? I shook my head and told them, actually ya, the vast majority of what they are seeing, fumbling and all did happen. They were blown away. Anyways great review of one of the greatest films of all time. -Also bumping up the score to 11 out of 10 for the Final Countdown sequence (another one of my favorites). I was rolling on the floor laughing!

[@waynenuss3185]

My ship was in overhaul when the filming was done. I was one of several hundred sailors hired as extras. No computer scenes in 1969. There was an entire warehouse filled with period clothing. My friend & I drove in the Mercury convertible you see the pilots in during the movie. One of my crew worked full time after hours driving a launch to Ford Island. He said he was "killed" several times during filming. Almost every scene showing soldiers, sailors & civilians were sailors. The scene in a club shows people at a bar; the pretty girl was a local TV weather girl. Several others were local tv news personalities. We made union scale each day; $35 for me. Very good back then. And a free catered meal. I lived in Waianae on the west coast. We had zeroes & B17's practicing overhead for weeks. The special affects were great to watch; they set up scenes all day for a one minute shot. Like when the PBY was blown up. My mouth dropped, and I remember saying "wow".

[@africanchild7366]

Just watched to movie in 2021 and I enjoyed it even more than Midway! Thank you both for your service.

[@ariochiv]

One of the strengths of this film is that the Japanese side of the story is told on an equal footing with the American point of view, and was shot in Japan by a Japanese unit with a Japanese director. Film legend Akira Kurosawa was slated to direct the Japanese unit, but he was so conflicted over the subject matter that he had a nervous breakdown, and was replaced by Toshio Masuda and Kinji Fukasaku several weeks into the shoot. Also, "TORA" means "tiger" in Japanese; I think there is some dispute about whether it is also an acronym for totsugeki raigeki.

[@erestube]

The reason they shortened it to "tora" (tiger) is because it had that meaning as well. More impact. More hype.

[@adjutant]

They are just code words. Not acronyms. During Midway "Kawa Kawa Kawa" was the prearranged signal message for a second wave. Kawa means river. I'm sure there were a set of similar word-repeated-thrice prearranged messages for various things.

[@stevenweaver3386]

The radio message was sent in Japanese Wabun Code, their version of our Morse Code. The characters were the Kanji characters "TO" and "RA". Put together they signify a devastating sword stroke .

[@Anon_E_Muss]

@@stevenweaver3386 interesting! Thank you

[@johnrobison4635]

I always thought this was the movie that most closely resembled the actual event it portrayed. I played this film in my American History classes because of it’s accuracy.

[@leonid4468]

Nicely done! My grandfather was there and he agrees, this was pretty accurate.

[@Drgonzosfaves]

Unfortunately, this film wouldn't fly in the "free" state of Desantistan. Not patriotic enough.

[@gruntforever7437]

@@Drgonzosfaves and the first woke moron, minion of Joe Biden, shows up

[@Fadamor]

The screenplay for Tora! Tora! Tora! was partially based on the novel of the same name by Gordon W. Prange - published by Reader's Digest in November and December of 1963. I highly recommend the follow-on book of Prange's that was published a year after his death in 1981 titled, "At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor." It goes into much more detail about the attack and the events leading up to it. Prange was a History professor prior to the war and was commissioned as a naval officer in 1943. His background in History enabled him to be assigned as General MacArthur's Chief Historian - allowing him unprecedented access to Japanese records that hadn't been destroyed by the time of the surrender.

[@jimgessner6071]

Roger Ebert thought “Rambo III” was good. His taste, at times, was questionable.

[@The_Dudester]

I cannot agree more. Ebert had won an oscar for a script he had written, but when you pay close attention to his reviews (on TV) he goes on and on about the components of film making (cinematography, sound, etc.) and ignores that the movie he is reviewing is redundant, unnecessary, poorly conceived and just plain stupid. In the early 1990's the Houston Chronicle had a spot on film critic but he quit after becoming a cartoonist.

[@PetersonZF]

He disliked Aliens, a very well regarded film by most others.

[@artygunnar]

Rambo 3 aint so bad, its cheesy, but you can watch it once or twice, but Aliens is right up there with the best Scifi Action movies next to T2

[@cookeecutkk]

He also, in the long run, -- reluctantly -- acknowledged Blade Runner, one of the highest regarded SF films.

[@robertboyes2505]

Roger Ebert, wasn't all that liked by the general public or average or above average movie goer. His taste, at times was very questionable, because, he ignored a lot of things that makes a movie great.

[@paulgilman7311]

1) Yamamoto's quote is accurate, He knew America. He spent time in America. He tried desperately to talk them out of war With America and Britain. The army even tried to assassinate him. He knew Japan could not possibly win a war with the Allies. 2). The B-17 landing gear emergency was real. They hopefully would not damage a rare aircraft just for a movie. 633 Squadron not withstanding. 3) The scene with the cross was intentional. 4) The aircraft used to simulate the D5A "Val" dive bombers, BT 13's, look nothing like the real D5A's They had a broad elliptical wing and the BT 13 had narrow wings. But they used real aircraft for the flying scenes so I give them kudos for that. I just recently found your channel. It's excellent. Great job. Paul

[@stevegoesrogue]

I think you're confusing the designation of those Val dive bombers. The designation was D3A. How many intact Vals are there even left in the world anyways? Certainly not enough for the film, so there had to be compromises to keep it going, much like the Zeroes being T6 Texan trainers.

[@zxbzxbzxb1]

B-17s weren't so rare back then. I've seen footage of them used as remote controlled crash test drones in the '50s. Another was used to test a Nike SAM, so there's is precedent...

[@SolZaer]

Its not that he didnt believe that. Its that the quote is debated if said or written at all.

[@bbb462cid]

A B-17 was purposefully damaged for Twelve OClock High

[@moustachio334]

I’m so glad you made this! I watched Tora Tora Tora as a child with my dad. I loved it so much even as a child. My dad would teach me a lot about history and he had books I would borrow from him about the events. Tora Tora Tora is still my favorite historical film to date. It is done so well. As far as the cast goes, the Japanese actors were all big name actors in Japan :).

[@steveokahn7249]

Thank You! I saw it in the theater as a kid with my Uncle (who was a Pacific theater naval officer during the war). I have watched it every December 7th since it came out on VHS. I have never understood why this movie was not more appreciated. OK, so it didn't wedge in a BS love story or take ridiculous liberties for drama sake. But you could "see" real history and be the more knowledgeable for it. And I personally liked how the Japanese view was at least addressed...pretty novel in those days.

[@davidjaeckel6395]

I first saw this movie at the outdoor theater at Hickam AFB with my dad. Thank you for reviewing this movie.

[@mollietenpenny4093]

My dad loved to watch this movie. I remember when I was little my dad hooked up a surround sound system in our den. He would watch movies like Tora, Tora, Tora with the volume at full blast. I remember when he was watching Pearl Harbor, he was watching one of the battle scenes and saying "That does not look accurate!"

[@foppishdandy8068]

"If you like the show, help the channel grow." I was just pointed the way of this channel by a front page post on Imgur. Never been happier with the results of following a link. This channel is excellent.

[@jackperson3626]

Thanks!

[@BillieBobBrubeck]

One thing to note: When the band is playing the National Anthem on the fantail of the Arizona this is real and they played the anthem to the end while the ship was blowing up around them. This is factual. Part of the code of the National Anthem is that once you start you must finish.

[@n1k1george]

That is actually on the USS Nevada: Clue is the logo on the base drum; "USS Nevada band".

[@BillieBobBrubeck]

@@n1k1george I had to look it up. Navy band No. 22 (USS Arizona) was gearing up to play when the attack started. Sure, I wasn't looking at the band equipment because of the story I heard about the Arizona band. The Arizona band, standing on the fantail began at the same time as the Nevada band. The one difference is that almost everyone in the band on the Arizona was killed in the first minutes of the attack. All of their names are on the entry wall to the Navy School of Music. So, I never looked at the band equipment.

[@andrewcrumb8027]

Back in February I met a Navy veteran who was a member of the USS Pennsylvania band. On December 7th they were formed up on the ship's fantail when the attack started. There was scheduled to be a competition among the various Navy bands for a trophy for the best in the Pacific fleet. But the Arizona's band was wiped out in the attack and to honor them they were awarded the trophy posthumously.

[@hddun]

I was in the US Army. One thing that always questioned was what is the Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) for a band member? And secondly, why does an organization which has a license to kill millions need with a band?

[@hddun]

@@andrewcrumb8027 That seems only fitting. BTW: I was US Army and often wondered "does Army Band have a Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) number?"

[@oliviablake343]

The irony of seeing "inaccuracies" misspelled makes me cry and laugh. I won't divulge which emotion is riding on whose back.

[@michaelgomez9442]

I had a history teacher, really lovely elderly lady, who was present at Pearl Harbor AFB during the attack. She was later working on the adjacent Hickam AFB in 1969 when they filmed "life like" bombing scenes for Tora Tora Tora on base... and she said coming out of the office watching Japanese planes flying overhead in formation while bombs exploded... even knowing it was a movie.. gave everyone hair raising deja-vu. That must have been more surreal than I can imagine.

[@jackmessick2869]

Just a correction; it's Pearl Harbor Naval Base. Or perhaps you mean Wheeler Army Airfield, later Wheeler AFB.

[@thirteenthtribe402]

Tora Tora Tora is one of the best war movies ever made hands down imo. I realize this is 7 yr old but I just watched your description.

[@Biend]

One the channels that doesn't pop-up in you notifications too often, but when it does... oh boy! you know it's gonna be gooood. Oh! And I hope you're going to do ''A bridge too far'' in the future.

[@spartanxmonster]

24:03 Klendathu Theme from Starship Troopers, freaking love that movie.

[@MrPatriot112]

Too bad it's sequels were not that great, especially the THIRD one. The animated one was okay, while the second one was too dark.

[@808INFantry11X]

Remember Klendathu!!!

[@richardj357]

Searched the comments to see if anyone else noticed......would you like to know more? 😏

[@bessarion1771]

That movie was a waste of material. You need to read the book. I do hope they will remake it the way Robert Heinlein envisioned it...

[@robsanford5804]

Haha! I love how you included the "splash" scene from "The Final Countdown". And your reactions? Totally awesome!

[@cmd31220]

My grandfather and his father were stationed at Pearl Harbor when the attack happened. They both said that it was so accurate that they had ptsd-type flashbacks when they first saw it. We still have their army trunks with the bullet holes in them, too. Same with my great grandfather's sword from the war.

[@DrJReefer]

You're wondering why the tower told that bomber to take off? So it didn't die on the runway and block it.

[@douglasdaniel4504]

I always thought of it as the bomber's chances were better in the air. On the ground it would be a sitting duck.

[@DT-sb9sv]

@@douglasdaniel4504 Probably a combination of both, the B-17 would have blocked the runways for the fighters to land refuel and rearm. It would have made sense to keep the fighters flying on an air tactical level. B-17 was a bomber and was going to get ripped to hell either in the air or on the ground. Probably a tactical level command from air combat control.

[@kingy463]

Douglas Daniel a bombers chances in the air are better in formation where more firepower can be used one bomber on its own is like a bunny vs a pack of wolfs

[@reckless20]

also, bombers had a rear gun to destroy chasing targets

[@calebingraham5179]

its harder to hit a moving target than a slow one, stopped on the tarmac a b-17 is a sitting duck, in the air they may have a chance, or even get outta there and tell the mainland if they're lucky, unlike on bombing missions, which they took heavy losses due to the fact that you cant maneuver on your bombing run, due to their bombing sights, they could maybe try and do a few evasive maneuvers, I'd much prefer to be in the air than stuck landing in the middle of an Japanese attack personally.

[@hectorandres2921]

13:48 Japanese pilot: "Here's your "safety violation", American!!"

[@wyattlohman6880]

*NEEEROOOOOWWWWW* *BOOM*

[@dewolf123]

@@butterupgaming7759 shutup bot comments don't have rates

[@ATankEnjoyer]

@@dewolf123 Underrated as in the comment doesn’t have enough likes, but I guess you can’t be civil in the comments of a video that speaks of the movie in a civil manner.

[@dewolf123]

@@ATankEnjoyer Only civil when I am not seeing generic bot comments.

[@dewolf123]

@@ATankEnjoyer And if you expect civility on the Internet let alone the comments section then it's you're fault and problem and you probably just should not be here.

[@charlesstuart7290]

I don't know if the character of Kaminsky - the elisted man who was trying to convice his superior to sound the alarm regarding the destruction of the Japanese midget submarine - but the actor who played him, Neville Brand, was a highly decorated combat veteran in the Western Theatre of WWII receiving the Silver Star which was the third highest medal for valour in combat at the time..

[@davidblaising-wimmer9972]

Watched this review and this movie today……the 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Fantastic movie and review……and may the fallen not be forgotten.

[@paulspence2815]

I saw this film in the theaters at the time of its release with some friends of mine. The movie has aged very well. I watched it again two years ago and I really appreciated the effort that went into making it accurate. Like you, I love the practical effects. No CGI.

[@AzianBoy7]

I have to say. I found your videos a month ago and have not been able to get my eyes off of them. You are a very well versed history buff and before I watched your videos I considered myself one but after watching all these I realized how much I was unaware of. Thank you for these informative and hilarious dissections of historical movies. The point where you joked about the US jets made me crack up. I’m a US Navy vet and I have done my own analysis on this movie and you matched it beautifully. Top Job on these videos mate.

[@Nico6th]

"made the Americans look unprepared" - well, they were xD They won in the end, but to them, Pearl Harbor was a disaster. And of course the Japanese thought they were doing the right thing. Everyone who ever started a war was convinced they did they were right/reasonable - or at least they were very good at convincing others they were right^^

[@saeedvazirian]

No, there aren't winners in wars. And it's not a game, so noone ''wins." It's time you got that in your thick helmet of a skull.

[@afriendlycadian9857]

@@saeedvazirian why are you so pissed keyboard warrior

[@thespanishinquisition4078]

That isn't necessarioy true of the oldest wars, in which resources were openly the main reason. Hell even up to the middle ages this stood true partially. Shadiversity made a great video on that, you should check it out. But gunpowder made wars far more expensive (in lives lost) and as life expectancy grew lifes also became more expensive themselves, hell once pike formations begin their use we see the term "bad war" being used for the first time to represent that kind of massacres. And we can see the change in mentality in how the rhetoric and justificstions around war heavily changed during the colonual period. Finally WW1 put an end to the idea of a good war completely, being a disaster of unprecedented proportions. Lives were too valuable, and war now took to many. So by the time of pearl harbor people really did need to feel war was a necessity to start it. No one side of WW2 went into the war thinking they were the agressors. Even the nazis, which were seen as the agressors by everylne else, did it because they thought there was no alternative to commintern expansion, which is also what motivated the japanese. Mussolini funnily enough would be probably the most evil individual in that mess in terms of motivations, but even he was motivated both by the internal conflicts italy was suffering and by what he saw as necessary social changes that could only come through war economy. Plus after WW1 it seemed italy really was about to get eaten by external powers if they didn't manage to become a superpower fast enough. And boy did he fail on that...

[@ladyphoenixgrey3923]

Watching this today on the 80th anniversary. Thank you for being so dedicated to historical accuracy and for sharing that passion with us all.