The idea behind “Tora! Tora! Tora!” (1970) was for 20th Century Fox to create a companion piece to  “The Longest Day” (1962) that would also reproduce that big-budget, all-star, WWII extravaganza’s success — a success that had pretty much saved the studio from bankruptcy. And, in a way, this made sense. Still reeling from the 1963 box office  catastrophe “Cleopatra,” and dealing with a number of high-profile flops such as “Hello Dolly” (1969), “Star” (1968), and “Doctor Dolittle” (1967), Fox was again in financial  trouble. As a result, the legendary Darryl F. Zanuck, the Chairman of the Board who had overseen production of “The Longest Day,” and his son Richard, the studio’s president, felt that the 1941 sneak attack on Pearl Harbor would be the ticket out of all their problems.

Unfortunately, the complete opposite proved true. The film went over-budget, costing a then-astronomical $25 million, earned critical raspberries and flopped. The fallout would contribute to one of the most incredible events in the history of Hollywood, when the elder Zanuck fired his own son. In the end, when compared to the film, the actual attack on Pearl Harbor was much cheaper to produce, took less time to plan, and was, at least in the short-term, a success.

“Tora! Tora! Tora!,” however, would outlive its detractors and find a new audience on television and eventual profitability from home video, as well as some overdue critical respect. The Blu-ray transfer (released yesterday to commemorate today’s 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor) delivers this near-classic full justice with a gorgeous widescreen transfer and a ton of extras that delve deeper into the backstories I touched on above.

Using a similar approach to the “Longest Day,” where American, British, and German directors filmed the scenes involving their respective countries, the American scenes for “Tora!” were directed by journeyman Richard Fleischer (“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”) and, after the notoriously difficult Akira Kurosawa had a narcissistic meltdown, Kinji Fukasaku and Toshio Masuda were last-minute hires brought in to direct the Japanese action and actors. The result is a splendid docu-drama — a tense, engrossing tick-tock approach that tells the story of the meticulous planning, diplomacy, and stupidity that resulted in a crippling blow to our Pacific fleet and the deaths of 2,042 Americans.

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Forced to choose a single moment from a single film that best exemplifies the extraordinary spirit America’s fighting men and women show day in and day out in their sacred duty to protect this country, it would be this one. Here’s a chunk of what I wrote about this scene back in February of 2009 when actor James Whitmore died:

Whitmore plays Sgt. Kinnie, the battle hardened leader of a small group of soldiers lost and confused in the midst of the Battle of the Bulge. Because of frostbite, Kinnie limps through most of the film as he leads the men through increasingly difficult times right up to that dreaded moment where bayonets are necessary because the ammunition’s run out.

Whitmore’s superb in the role, was nominated for an Oscar as a supporting actor (he won the Golden Globe), and launched a sixty year career that would include memorable turns in “The Asphalt Jungle” (1950), “Kiss Me Kate” (1953), “Them!” (1954), “Planet of the Apes” (1968), “Tora! Tora! Tora!” (1970), “Chato’s Land” (1972), “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994), numerous television appearances and two successful one man stage shows as Will Rogers and Harry Truman.

But the closing scene of “Battleground” is how I’ll always remember him

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The way I see it television needs, among other things, the following:

1. Science Fiction/Thriller/Horror Channel

A short form/short film channel showcasing those genres. Independent producers, writers, creators could submit work to be aired. It wouldn’t have to be, nor should it be at the Sundance level of professionalism delivered on DigiBeta and starring Cameron Diaz doing a favor for the filmmaker because it’s her friend’s cousin, either.

We don’t want that. There’s plenty of that kind of venue and they turn down 99% of the stuff submitted anyway, mainly because it’s not the work of someone’s friend’s cousin. So forget that right away. It has to be underground, guerilla, shoestring and, most important, good. Very good. Damn good. But not expensive. How can you do that, you say? 

With writing.   (more…)