is a 1963 Japanese film directed by

Shue Matsubayashi Shue is a surname. It may be an Americanized spelling of the German surnames Schue or Schuh. Additionally, it is an ad hoc romanization of various Chinese surnames, including those spelled in pinyin as Xǔ () and Xuē (). The 2010 United States ...

, with special effects by

Eiji Tsuburaya was a Japanese special effects director and cinematographer. Known as the he worked on 250 feature films in a career spanning 50 years. He is regarded as one of the co-creators of the ''Godzilla'' series, as well as the main creator of the ...

. The film is about Lt. Colonel Senda (

Toshiro Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 150 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration (1948–1965) with Akira Kurosawa in such works as ''Rashomon'', ''Seven Samurai'', ''The Hidden Fortress'', ''Throne of Blood'', and ' ...

) who commands three fighter squadrons, eventually being dominated by Allied forces in June 1944.

Release

''Attack Squadron!'' was released in Japan on 3 January 1963 where it was distributed by

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...

. The film was Toho's second highest-grossing film of the year and the 9th highest-grossing domestic film production in Japan in 1963. The film was released theatrically in the United States by Toho International with English subtitles on February 1, 1975. It was released to home video by Combat Home Video in 1988 as ''Kamikaze'' with an English-language dub. Stuart Galbraith IV commented on this release, stating that it was panned-and-scanned with "some of the wore telecine work ever done; the entire film appears to have been mastered showing only the extreme left side of the image."

Cast

as Senda *

Yūzō Kayama is a Japanese popular musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Life and career Son of mid-twentieth century film star Ken Uehara,and actress Yoko Kozakura, ( ja) Kayama graduated from Keio University. Yuzo Kayama signed with Toho and made hi ...

as Taki *

Yosuke Natsuki was a Japanese actor. He had participated twice in the Dakar Rally as a racing driver. He did a lot of work for the Toho Company and made his debut in the film ''The H-Man''. He appeared in Akira Kurosawa's '' Yojimbo'' in 1961. In the same ye ...

as Aaka * Makoto Satō as Yano *

Kō Nishimura was a Japanese actor who appeared in supporting roles in such films as Akira Kurosawa's ''The Bad Sleep Well'' and '' Yojimbo'', Kihachi Okamoto's ''Sword of Doom'', Yoshitaro Nomura's ''Zero Focus'', and Kon Ichikawa's '' The Burmese Harp'' ( ...

as Inaba *

Yuriko Hoshi , real name , was a Japanese actress. She appeared in more than 90 films beginning in 1959. Career Born in Tokyo but raised in Kobe, Hoshi made her film debut in 1958 at Toho. Hoshi died in Kyoto, Japan, at age 74. Selected filmography Film ...

as Miyako Tamai *

Ryō Ikebe was a Japanese actor. He graduated from Rikkyō University and originally wanted to be a director, but ended up debuting as an actor at Tōhō in 1941. He did not achieve popularity until starring in a series of youth films in the late 1940s. H ...

as Mihara *

Akihiko Hirata (December 16, 1927 – July 25, 1984), born , was a Japanese film actor. While Hirata starred in many movies (including Hiroshi Inagaki's ''Samurai'' trilogy), he is most well known for his work in the '' kaiju'' genre, including such films as ' ...

as Katō *

Ichirō Nakatani was a Japanese actor. He attended Waseda University, but withdrew before completing his degree and joined the Haiyuza Theatre Company. In 1959, Nakatani won Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year. Nakatani was well known for his role as Ninj ...

as Nakamura *

Kiyoshi Atsumi Kiyoshi Atsumi (渥美清 ''Atsumi Kiyoshi''), born Yasuo Tadokoro (田所康雄 ''Tadokoro Yasuo'', 10 March 1928 – 4 August 1996), was a Japanese actor. He was born in Tokyo, and started his career in 1951 as a comedian at a strip-show the ...

as Tange *

Takashi Shimura was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1934 and 1981. He appeared in 21 of Akira Kurosawa's 30 films (more than any other actor), including as a lead actor in '' Drunken Angel'' (1948), ''Rashomon'' (1950), ''Ikiru'' (1952) a ...

Koshirō Oikawa was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and Naval Minister during World War II. Biography Oikawa was born into a wealthy family in rural Koshi County, Niigata Prefecture, but was raised in Morioka city, Iwate prefecture in northern Jap ...

Jun Tazaki , born Minoru Tanaka, was a Japanese actor best known for his various roles in kaiju films produced by Toho, often portraying scientists or military personnel. Career Tanaka began his career as a traveling stage actor in the 1930s, perform ...

as Nakama *

Seiji Miyaguchi was a Japanese actor who appeared in films of Akira Kurosawa, Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse, Tadashi Imai and many others. He succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 71. Distinctions One of Kurosawa's iconic '' Seven Samurai'', Miyaguchi won the 19 ...

Takijirō Ōnishi was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II who came to be known as the father of the ''kamikaze''. Early career Ōnishi was a native of Ashida village (part of present-day Tamba City) in Hyōgo Prefecture. He graduated fr ...

Susumu Fujita Susumu Fujita () (8 January 1912 – 23 March 1991) was a Japanese film and television actor. He played the lead role in Akira Kurosawa's first feature, '' Sanshiro Sugata'', and appeared in other Kurosawa films including ''The Men Who Tread O ...

Seiichi Itō was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and the flag officer of the task force centered around the battleship on her final mission towards the end of World War II. Biography Early career Born in Miike County Takada Town (present da ...

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

* Japanese World War II films Toho films Films directed by Shūe Matsubayashi 1960s Japanese films World War II aviation films {{WWII-film-stub