Dai Nippon teikoku

I totally reject the intro given: "Favorable portrayal of Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, who approved of the bombardment of Pearl Harbor, as a patriot. The film is a jingoistic defense of Japanese imperialism."

First off, the film spends very little time on Pearl Harbor as it focuses on the latter years when Japan is exhausted and on the verge of devastating defeats across the Pacific. Second, the film does not defend Japanese imperialism or even the war itself, but portrays how every war involves all sorts of human drama and moral struggles soldiers face. Frankly, jingoism is depicted in most war movies where one side is so virtuous and devoid of almost any shortcomings, both as the victorious force and as human beings - this film is not one of them, and it goes beyond what Oliver Stone's Platoon does.

Released in 1982, this type of film could not have been made without those who actually fought in WWII, and that includes actors such as Tanba and members of the crew.