Description

I Bombed Pearl Harbor aka The Storm of the Pacific (1960) DVD-R Remastered Version Color ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (16:9) 98 min. Japanese with English Subtitles Directed by: Shue Matsubayashi Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Koji Tsuruta, Misa Uehara, Yosuke Natsuki The attack on Pearl Harbor is presented from the Japanese point of view in this war drama. The story centers upon Natsuki, the flight navigator for Admiral Isoroku Yamaguchi, the task force commander in charge of the fateful attack. After the bombing, Natsuki returns to Japan where his fiance waits. Though they are childhood sweethearts, he, fearing that marriage will affect his competence as an officer, refuses to marry her. The war continues, and Natsuki begins to wonder if the Japanese fleet is truly invincible after they suffer a series of crushing defeats. His own carrier is sunk by American bombers at Midway. As they sink, the crewman stand at attention and salute. Note: Cover may be different from one you receive ___________________ Further Background: Possibly the greatest model miniature movie of all time! Lt. Koji Kitami is a navigator-bombardier in Japan's Naval Air Force. He participates in the Japanese raid on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in 1941 and is welcomed with pride in his hometown on his return. As Japan racks up victory after victory in the Pacific War, Kitami is caught up in the emotion of the time and fights courageously for the standard of Japanese honor. But his assuredness of his government's righteousness is shaken after the Japanese navy is defeated in the debacle of Midway. This movie recreates, in miniature, the attack on Pearl Harbour and the Battle of Midway. The special effects are by Eiji Tsubaraya famous for the effects on the original and subsequent Godzilla movies. In terms of the miniature shots this can be seen as a colour re-creation of his earlier black and white work on The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya in 1942. The miniature photography in this film was deemed so successful that many shots were re-used in a number of subsequent movies, Admiral Yamamoto in 1968, the American film Midway in 1976 and another Japanese film, The Imperial Navy, in 1981.