Wing Commander Movie Night: Tora! Tora! Tora!

You have to work pretty hard not to love Return of the Jedi… and frankly, we're not willing to do that much work; it was great! This week, we're back to World War II with Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970). Tora! Tora! Tora! is a spectacular retelling of the attack on Pearl Harbor that brought the United States into World War II. The movie's production is as much an epilogue to the story as it is a telling of it: the film is a massive international co-production divided between American and Japanese teams with directors from both countries filming their parts of the story. You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.

Chris Roberts discussed Tora! Tora! Tora! as an inspiration for the Wing Commander movie frequently during interviews. He repeatedly described Wing Commander as an attempt to update Tora! Tora! Tora! for a science fiction setting.

“For me, it's sort of like a classic, nautical World War II movie, taking elements of Das Boot, or Tora! Tora! Tora! and sort of updating it and putting it in a science-fiction universe.” - “3 Questions With Chris Roberts” in Cinescape (March 1999)

“‘Das Boot’ heavily influenced the film in terms of its look. Films like ‘Tora! Tora! Tora!’ [and] ‘Midway’ -- I tried to make my film in a sort of old-fashioned World War II sense.” - “‘Wing Commander’ Creator Takes the Director’s Chair” in Salon (12 March 1999)

The movie was also cited as specific inspiration for the movement of capital ships in Wing Commander. An April 1999 Cinefex article says:

"Seeking inspiration for the movement of the juggernaut capital ships, Digital Anvil viewed documentary footage and studied the war films Tora! Tora! Tora! and Midway."

… and of course Wing Commander's introduction with its surprise dive bombing of Pegasus is taken directly from Pearl Harbor via the visuals made popular by Tora! Tora! Tora!. So that's going to be a big one to watch! Chris even wanted to open the movie with a bit of a fake out where we would first see sailors on a tropical beach before spinning the camera to reveal it was actually an environment in the asteroid base.

But there's another beloved Wing Commander project that owes nearly the entirety of its existence to Tora! Tora! Tora!: the prequel novel Action Stations. Written as an in-universe story of Wing Commander's Pearl Harbor, the battle of McAuliffe, Action Stations takes copious amounts of material straight from the movie and its source. Here's one very easy example where Dr. Forstchen takes the famous 'sleeping giant' line… which comes from the film and not a real historical source!

Harga closed his eyes and Jukaga realized just how old his father's friend really was. His mane had gone nearly to white, the ripples of muscle on his limbs were melting away into nothingness.

Harga opened his eyes and looked back at Jukaga and his voice suddenly sounded distant and old, as if already whispering from the beyond. "I fear that all that the Crown Prince shall succeed in doing is awakening the sleeping giant."

Along those lines you might enjoy looking at the source for the film. Tora! Tora! Tora! was based on a series of articles by the same name by historian Gordon Prange. He served as historical advisor for the movie and his article and research was later expanded into a book called At Dawn We Slept (published posthumously). At Dawn We Slept is very much the 'real' Action Stations and anyone looking for more context for either the Wing Commander novel, the Tora! Tora! Tora! Movie or Pearl Harbor itself should be encouraged to read it!

Where can I find a copy of the movie for the watch party?

Tora! Tora! Tora! is available to download free from the Internet Archive (you may need to add subtitles to cover the Japanese sections of the movie). It is also available for rent or purchase on all the standard services. If you would like a physical copy, the movie was released on BluRay in 2012 and remains in print around the world. If you are not able to locate a copy please stop by the Discord and ping a CIC staff member before Friday's showing.

How do we watch the movie together?

It's pretty low tech! Simply join the Wing Commander CIC Discord on Friday and we will be chatting (in text) along with the film in the main channel. Everyone who wants to join in should bring their own copy and we will count down to play them together at 10 PM EST. Everyone is welcome and we encourage you to join in the conversation; sharing your thoughts helps make the experience better for everyone!