is a 1942 black-and-white Japanese war film directed by Kajiro Yamamoto, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya.

Plot

Production

''Hawai Mare oki kaisen'' was the most costly film made in Japan up to that time, costing over , when a typical film cost no more than $40,000. It used special effects and miniature models to create realistic battle scenes. These were intercut with genuine newsreel material to make the appearance of a documentary. The film was released during the week of the first anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The special effects are by Eiji Tsuburaya.

Reception

Box office

Within its first eight days at the Japanese box office, the film had grossed . According to Toho, it was viewed by 100 million people in Japan and the country's occupied territories.

Critical response

Joseph L. Anderson comments that ''Hawai Mare oki kaisen'' was "representative of the national-policy films", with the aim of dramatizing "the Navy Spirit as culminated at Pearl Harbor." Critics at the time considered it the best film of 1942.

Douglas MacArthur's response

''The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya'' was confiscated by Supreme Command Allied Powers after the war, who mistook it for genuine news footage of the attack, and it was released by Movietone as such.

Accolades

Cast

* Susumu Fujita * Setsuko Hara * Fumito Matsuo * Kunio Mita * Denjirō Ōkōchi * Jiro Takano * Daihachiro Takebayashi * Haruo Tanaka *

Frank Tokunaga Frank B. Tokunaga was a Japanese actor, director, and screenwriter who worked in Japan and Hollywood. Biography Career Frank began his career in show business in 1912 while managing a troupe of Japanese acrobats for Barnum & Bailey, and later wor ...

as Bunroku Tokunaga * Hiroshi Yamagawa

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya Japanese World War II propaganda films Japanese black-and-white films 1942 films Films directed by Kajiro Yamamoto 1942 war films Best Film Kinema Junpo Award winners Toho films