| Storm Over the Pacific | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Shūe Matsubayashi |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | Tomoyuki Tanaka |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Kazuo Yamada |
| Edited by | Kôichi Iwashita |
| Music by | Ikuma Dan |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Toho |
Release date |
|
Running time | 118 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Storm Over the Pacific (ハワイ・ミッドウェイ大海空戦 太平洋の嵐,Hawai Middouei daikaikusen: Taiheiyo no arashi) (literally,Hawaii-Midway Battle of the Sea and Sky: Storm in the Pacific Ocean) is a 1960Eastmancolor Japanesewar film directed byShūe Matsubayashi. The story is an account of a young Japanese bombardier, Lt. Koji Kitami (Yosuke Natsuki) stationed aboard theHiryu and his participation in two battles in the Pacific duringWorld War II, theattack on Pearl Harbor and theBattle of Midway.
Storm Over the Pacific was the first color widescreen war film fromToho Studios. The film was made by many of the same individuals behind theGodzilla franchise, such as producerTomoyuki Tanaka, special effects directorEiji Tsuburaya, and assistant special effects directorTeruyoshi Nakano.Storm Over the Pacific was released in 1961 in the United States in a dubbed and abridged 98 minute version produced by Hugo Grimaldi asI Bombed Pearl Harbor.[2]
Some special effects scenes were later incorporated as stock footage in the 1976 filmMidway (which also starsToshirō Mifune).
In 1941, Lt. Koji Kitami (Yosuke Natsuki) is a young Japanese bombardier, stationed aboard theHiryu. On 1 December 1941, a Japanese fleet of 30 warships sails for Hawaii. When diplomatic negotiations in Washington fail, the task force commander, Adm.Tamon Yamaguchi (Toshiro Mifune) receives orders to attack Pearl Harbor. On December 7, the surprise attack is carried out successfully.
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Koji returns to Japan and his childhood sweetheart, Keiko (Misa Uehara). Although deeply in love with Keiko, Koji fears that marriage will make him less worthy as a naval officer.
His faith in his leaders and his country remains strong through the successful campaigns of the early war, but is severely shaken by the disastrous events during theBattle of Midway, learning that reports back to the homeland are lies. In the battle, his carrierHiryu is attacked by U.S. dive bombers and badly damaged. High-ranking officers order the ship abandoned, but rather than leave it as a prize of war, a Japanese destroyer is given instructions to sink the carrier. As theHiryu goes down, Koji and others give a final salute.
| Actor | Role | English voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Yosuke Natsuki | Lt. Koji Kitami | Marvin Miller |
| Toshiro Mifune | Tamon Yamaguchi | Paul Frees |
| Makoto Sato | Lt. Matsuura | |
| Kōji Tsuruta | Lt. Tomonari | Paul Frees |
| Misa Uehara | Keiko | Virginia Gregg |
| Takashi Shimura | Tosaku | Marvin Miller |
| Jun Tazaki | Hiryu Captain Tomeo Kaku | |
| Akihiko Hirata | Officer | |
| Hiroshi Koizumi | Pilot | |
| Susumu Fujita | Isoroku Yamamoto |
Film historian Stephen Pendo inAviation in the Cinema (1985) notedStorm Over the Pacific heavily utilized models to create realistic battle scenes.[3] The special effects were supervised byEiji Tsuburaya who was renown for his work in numerous 1950s and 1960s Japanese horror and science fiction films.[4] During his 50-year career as a special effects director, Tsuburaya worked on approximately 250 films in total.[5]
In World War II, Tsuburaya had created the realistic attack scenes inHawai Mare oki kaisen (The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya) (1942) that depicted the Pearl Harbor attacks. The same model scene was reprised forStorm Over the Pacific.[6] Tsuburaya and his special effects team created 136 ship models forStorm Over the Pacific, includingJapanese aircraft carrier Akagi andUSS Yorktown aircraft carriers, 11 and 13 metres respectively. The 1/16th scale models of ships were shot in a large water tank.[7]
The miniature photography inStorm Over the Pacific was subsequently re-used in a number of later films, includingMidway (1976) and the Japanese filmsAdmiral Yamamoto (1968) andThe Imperial Navy (1981).[8]
WhenStorm Over the Pacific was released, it met with critical approvals and was widely recognized as "telling the other side" or giving the Japanese perspective of World War II in the Pacific. Film historians Jack Hardwick and Ed Schnepf, however, dismissed the English version,I Bombed Pearl Harbor (1961) as poorly dubbed and with the predominance of "miniatures", as a pallid rival toTora! Tora! Tora! (1970).[9]