TORA TORA TORA (1970)

No dearth of Pearl Harbor movies--and this one is the best by far, for four reasons: It's an American/Japanese production, so the other side is portrayed realistically, not in the "Yellow Peril" paint of so many other "Day of Infamy" movies. It's done in a documentary style, without the sappy love stories and maudlin tragic deaths of kid soldiers. The special effects of the attack are incredibly good, considering that 1970 was the early dawn of CGI.

And, most important, the cast: EG Marshall and Wesley Addey as the Army and Navy intelligence guys vainly trying to get someone to pay attention to their decrypts pointing to an attack; Martin Balsam (one of the most versatile and underappreciated actors ever) as Adm. Kimmel, and Jason Robards as Gen. Short, the Navy and Army honchos at Pearl; George ("Mr. Detestable") Macready as Secy. of State Hull; Joseph Cotton as Secy. of War Stimson; and look fast for Neville Brand as an Army Air Corps officer; Richard ("The Evil One") Anderson as a Navy Capt., and G.D.(Senator Geary) Spradlin as an aide to Kimmel. The Japanese side is strong, too, with Su Yamamura as Adm. Yamamoto, the reluctant warrior, and Takahito Tamura as Lt. Commander Fuchida, leader of the air attack. A fine movie that vividly portrays the inevitability of the attack--and the stupidity on both sides that led to it.