is a 1960 color (Eastmancolor) Japanese film

Cinema of Japan

The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...

 directed by Shūe Matsubayashi.

It is the first color widescreen war film from Toho Studios. It was made in 1960 by many of the same individuals behind the Godzilla

Godzilla

is a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...

 franchise, such as producer Tomoyuki Tanaka

Tomoyuki Tanaka

----Tomoyuki Tanaka was a Japanese film producer, most famous for creating the Godzilla series. He was born in Kashiwara, Osaka, Japan on April 26, 1910, and died in Tokyo on April 2, 1997. He died of a stroke at the age of 86....

 special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya

Eiji Tsuburaya

was the Japanese special effects director responsible for many Japanese science-fiction movies, including the Godzilla series...

, and assistant special effects director Teruyoshi Nakano

Teruyoshi Nakano

, is a Japanese special effects director, most notable for his contributions to the Godzilla film series and other tokusatsu movies. Nakano was a special guest at G-Fest XI, where he was the recipient of the Mangled Skyscraper Award....

.

It was released in 1961 in the United States in a dubbed and abridged 98 minute version directed by Hugo Grimaldi as I Bombed Pearl Harbor. Some scenes were incorporated as stock footage in the 1976 film Midway

Midway (film)

Midway is a 1976 war film directed by Jack Smight and produced byWalter Mirisch from a screenplay by Donald S. Sanford. The music score was by John Williams and the cinematography by Harry Stradling, Jr...

(which also stars Toshirō Mifune

Toshiro Mifune

Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, from 1948 to 1965, in works such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo...

).

Plot

The film follows a young Japanese bombardier Lt. Koji Kitami (Yosuke Natsuki) aboard the and his participation in two battles in the Pacific during World War II, the attack on Pearl Harbor

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...

 and the Battle of Midway

Battle of Midway

The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...

. 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 the battle of Midway

Battle of Midway

The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...

.

Cast

Actor	Role
Yosuke Natsuki	Lt. Koji Kitami
Toshirō Mifune Toshiro Mifune Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, from 1948 to 1965, in works such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo...	Tamon Yamaguchi
Makoto Satô Makoto Satō Makoto Satō was a Japanese documentary film director. Among his best-known films were Living On the River Agano and Self and Others....	Lt. Matsuura
Koji Tsuruta Koji Tsuruta was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 260 feature films.-Career:Born in Shizuoka Prefecture as Eiichi Ono, Tsuruta was studying at Kansai University when he was drafted into the Japanese Imperial Navy. After the war he joined Kōkichi Takada's theater troupe and made his film debut at Shochiku...	Lt. Tomonari
Misa Uehara	Keiko
Takashi Shimura Takashi Shimura was a Japanese actor.He was born in Ikuno, Hyogo, Japan.His debut as actor was the film Akanishi Kakita and cast in the Kenji Mizoguchi's film Osaka Elegy ....	Tosaku
Jun Tazaki	Hiryu Captain
Akihiko Hirata Akihiko Hirata was a Japanese film actor. While Hirata starred in many movies , he is most well known for his work in the kaiju genre, including such films as King Kong vs. Godzilla, The Mysterians, and his most famous role of Dr...	Officer
Hiroshi Koizumi Hiroshi Koizumi is a Japanese actor. He was born in Japan. In a 1999 interview with Steve Ryfle, Koizumi laments that while he stated he has easy parts to play, he felt he could have done more in his performances...	Pilot