Japanese war films

[m10bob]

When I was a kid, the Japanese film studios became adept at making films which turned a quick profit with flicks like Rodan and Godzilla. It was apparent the Japanese had also learned to appreciate the American audience, and this was obvious in the fact that American actor Raymond Burr had scenes filmed in the U.S. spliced into the original movie (Godzilla), and the splice was good enough an entire generation saw the film never realizing the truth.
Most of the Japanese studios avoided the topic of the (then) recent war, but there were a few exceptions.
One I remember was "I Bombed Pearl Harbor", which used models of most of the ships and planes which would be used in that film. It was not a financial success.
During the seventies, I saw another film called "Zero", which really showed how Japanese model making had reached a point of near excellence.
This film roughly followed Sakai's book, and while it has temporarily filled a much-needed niche, many self-appointed critics still prefer to point out the obvious weaknesses in the film, (the almost obligatory romance story, and a few shots of a more modern Nissan pick up truck).
Soon, we will get to see a film about the Yamato, and recently, we have seen "Letters From Iwo Jima".
Maybe Japan has seen there is both profit and interest in the history of this war, from both sides?

[AcePylut]

I just purchased and watched Yamato, it was pretty good all in all.

Seems as if they went out of their way to "get things right". Other than a couple of "bad flight modelling" scenes (that lasted very briefly, and didn't take away from the movie at all), I had no complaints with it.

Some of the translastions are pretty funny, as is to be expected. it's not "All your base are belong to us"... but I remember this one line... "The american is too individualisticism to want to fight"

[Ian R]

Maybe Japan has seen there is both profit and interest in the history of this war, from both sides?
 
Not really.
 
Japanese high school texts teach that the US forced Japan into war becuase the US wanted a war, ignore all the atrocities committed by the Japanese military, and say Japan never had a chance on economic grounds but fought honouirably until its cities were firebombed and A-bombed.

I suppose the last one is half true.

[Ian R]

Before anyone asks:
 
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/08/news/japan.php
 
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/01/news/japan.php
 
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3823/is_199901/ai_n8837553
 
http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=5552
 
http://www.users.bigpond.com/battleforaustralia/JapWarCrimes/Denying_truth2.html
 
 

[AcePylut]

Yamato was good in that it didn't pull the old "American war movie" trick in which a bunch of young, dumb 18 year old kids magically know everything about the entire geo-political situation and always derive a leftist pov conclusion. 
 
"Yamato" just treated the main character as the main character was... a 15year old that was sent to war by his country.  He didn't ask why, he didn't ask how, he didn't make some sweeping political declaration about the war.
 
They didn't pull another typical "US War movie" and make sure the Holocaust is mentioned, which in itself is nearly always  misleading becasue when was the last time you saw a US war movie mention that 11 million people were killed in the Holocaust, not just 6 million jews?  You typically don't.  All you typically ever hear about is the 6 million jews, but not the other 5 million victims.
 
They didn't make any sort of political 'for' or 'against' Hiroshima/Nagasaki, and all you see is that as the main char is sent off for the Yamato's mission, the girlfriend tells him she got a job in a Hiroshima arms factory.  Next time you see her, she is all bandaged up and dying from her wounds.  But you didn't get some massive "this a-bomb attack was a terrible war crime by the US" kind of tripe from the main character... The movie did this scene pretty great actually, in that any sort of "declaration" by the main character would have detracted from the entire scene of his gf dying, and him there to help.
 

overall, outside of the last mission plot, one of the main themes is that every soldier knew that Japan was losing the war, and how each soldier would deal with the suicide mission they were on.  And it also protrayed the typical "soldiers helping their comrades" through hardship and inevitable death.

The movie didn't make any sort of "pro" or "anti" US stance, didn't paint the US as super evil or super good... the US was just some nameless faceless enemy.
 

[decaro]

ORIGINAL: Ian R

... Japanese high school texts teach that the US forced Japan into war becuase the US wanted a war, ignore all the atrocities committed by the Japanese military ...

China and Korea haven't ignored them!

[GaryChildress]

ORIGINAL: Ian R
Japanese high school texts teach that the US forced Japan into war becuase the US wanted a war, ignore all the atrocities committed by the Japanese military, and say Japan never had a chance on economic grounds but fought honouirably until its cities were firebombed and A-bombed.

I suppose the last one is half true.

Whew! At least they haven't discovered the truth yet, that Pearl Harbor was staged by the CIA using SBDs painted with red circles, launched from carriers Enterprise and Lexington! [:D]

[GaryChildress]

ORIGINAL: Ian R
Japanese high school texts teach that the US forced Japan into war becuase the US wanted a war...

Actually, isn't that a little like saying Britain and France started the war in Europe by coming to the aid of Poland? Poor Hitler. The guy was just misunderstood! [8|]

[Gem35]

It's odd if that is true about Japanese students and the history they are taught. If it wasn't for the U.S. Japan would still be a third world country.

[crsutton]

Two films that go against the grain and are high quality films.
 
"Grave of the Fireflies" is a wonderful bit of annimation from Stuidio Ghibli and is about the fire bombing of Japan. A Japanese anti war film that points no fingers. The quality of the annimation is supberb as well.
 
"The Burmese Harp" also comes to mind. Long considered a classic and nominated for best foreign film in 1957.
 
 

[SireChaos]

ORIGINAL: Gary Childress

ORIGINAL: Ian R
Japanese high school texts teach that the US forced Japan into war becuase the US wanted a war...

Actually, isn't that a little like saying Britain and France started the war in Europe by coming to the aid of Poland? Poor Hitler. The guy was just misunderstood! [8|]

Actually, the standard modern-day Nazi view on history is that Poland started the war by refusing Hitler´s polite requests and thus forcing the poor pacifist saint to invade them.

[Snowman999]

Japanese high school texts teach that the US forced Japan into war becuase the US wanted a war

I don't know if this is true or not, but it is true that the US embargoes against Japan were not insignificant factors in Japanese planning and timing.

[tocaff]

Present day Japan purchases all the raw materials her industry needs.  The invasions of China, Korea and later the DEI weren't Japan's only options.  The embargo was an attempt to get Japan to quit China, the Japanese government had a choice to make and made it. 

[bradfordkay]

Sure, the allied embargoes against Japan were a clear factor in that nation's decision to go to war. However, the original invasion of China, which was the cause of those embargoes, was a choice made by Japan - so it is clearly convoluted logic to say that the allies forced Japan into attacking them. If the Japanese had withdrawn their forces from China, or if they had never attempted to take over that nation, then the embargoes would never have been emplaced.

It's rather like a schoolyard bully claiming that he was forced to beat up a kid who had stepped between him and his original intended victim. If he wasn't so aggressive in the first place, there would have been no fight...

[m10bob]

Seems this thread has been hijacked!

[DuckofTindalos]

After the previous ones, are you surprised?

[pasternakski]

ORIGINAL: Gem35

If it wasn't for the U.S. Japan would still be a third world country.

If it wasn't for Japan, the U.S. wouldn't have become a third-world country.

[pasternakski]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

After the previous ones, are you surprised?

It's okay with me. I like Japanese models.

[DuckofTindalos]

Yeah, that's a nice... sword...[:D]

[String]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

Yeah, that's a nice... sword...[:D]

Meh.. looks like a cheap supermarket knockoff to me.. fake!!! [:D]

*runs and hides*