10 Times Movies Did Their Research (And Nailed It)
6. Tora! Tora! Tora!
1970's Tora! Tora! Tora! offers an interesting contrast with the 2001 movie Pearl Harbor. Whereas both movies depict the events of Japan's infamous attack that brought the United States into World War II, the former movie portrays a far more realistic depiction of both the attack and the events leading up to it.
The 2001 film is a typical Michael Bay production, more interested in visual spectacle and "America Ooh-rah!" chest-thumping than taking a considered approach to the material. This leads to some rather unfortunate historical inaccuracies, like suggesting Japan deliberately bombed Pearl Harbor's medical centres (didn't happen), and that President Roosevelt was able to overcome his polio and stand up from his wheelchair through sheer patriotic fervour (definitely didn't happen).
Tora! Tora! Tora!, on the other hand, offers a much more nuanced take on the events surrounding Pearl Harbor. As detailed by Daily History, the 1970 film does an excellent job depicting America and Japan's disintegrating relationship in the run-up to the attack, and the bombing itself is detailed in both accurate and spectacular fashion. (Not for nothing did Tora! Tora! Tora! win an Academy Award for Visual Effects).
Tora! Tora! Tora! may not be for everyone - its first half certainly drags - but its devotion to accuracy does a better job of selling the horror and tragedy of the Pearl Harbor attack than Bay's cartoonish effort.