The Storm of the Pacific (1960)

Storm Over the Pacific (ハワイ・ミッドウェイ大海空戦 太平洋の嵐, Hawai Middouei daikaikusen: Taiheiyo no arashi) (literally, Hawaii-Midway Battle of the Sea and Sky: Storm in the Pacific Ocean) is a 1960 color (Eastmancolor) Japanese film 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 franchise, such as producer Tomoyuki Tanaka special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, and assistant special effects director Teruyoshi Nakano.

It was released in 1961 in the United States in a dubbed and abridged 98 minute version produced by Hugo Grimaldi as I Bombed Pearl Harbor. Some special effects scenes were incorporated as stock footage in the 1976 film Midway (which also stars Toshirō Mifune).

Synopsis

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

Actors