Hawai Mare oki kaisen (1942)

Original title

ハワイ・マレー沖海戦

Directed by

Motoyoshi Oda, Kajirō Yamamoto

Genre

war film

Country

Japan

Runtime

1h 56m

Rating

7.0 of 10 from 2 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This is a 1942 Japanese war film that portrays the attack on Pearl Harbor and subsequent naval battles. It was made with support from the Navy Ministry to boost public morale during World War II.

propagandisticpatrioticvisually ambitioustriumphantfast-pacedspectacularnationalistichistorical

What happens

The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya is a 1942 Japanese epic war film directed by Kajiro Yamamoto, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced by Toho and distributed by Film Distribution Corporation, the film is propaganda produced with support from the Navy Ministry that was intended to influence the Japanese public into believing they could prevail in the Pacific War. The military reportedly converted the idea of a documentary film on the attack on Pearl Harbor that featured special effects since it was difficult to record footage of the attack. Prior to the attack and Japan's subsequent entry into World War II, an Imperial Japanese Navy official met Tsuburaya and requested the production of a film about the attack as soon as possible when the war broke out. Production took place from May to November 1942, on a record breaking budget of ¥770,000. The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya was released on December 3, 1942, to critical acclaim. The film won Kinema Junpo's Best Picture Award and Tsuburaya received an award for his special effects. Reportedly viewed by 100 million people in Japan and its occupied territories, it became the highest-grossing film in the history of Japanese cinema upon its distribution. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

• Menace of the Rising Sun (1942)
• Tsubasa no gaika (1942)
• Wake Island (1942)
• Mother Never Dies (1942)
• Lady from Chungking (1942)
• Remember Pearl Harbor (1942)
• Navy Bomb Squadron (1940)
• Bouquet of the South Seas (1942)