Movielogr
Battle of the Japan Sea (1969)
Directed by Seiji Maruyama
Twitter Facebook Google+Overview
Japan and Russia clash in what comes to be known as the Russo-Japanese War. An attempt by the Japanese fleet and army to take Port Arthur fails, and a Russian fleet bears down on the Sea of Japan. Admiral Heihachiro Togo sends his fleet to confront the Russians, with results which stun both nations. Meanwhile, Major Genjiro Akashi makes secret negotiations with the Bolshevik revolutionaries in Russia, negotiations that have repercussions far beyond the conflict at hand.
Length 128 minutes
Actors
Toshirō Mifune | Tatsuya Nakadai | Yûzô Kayama | Chishū Ryū | Susumu Fujita | Mitsuko Kusabue | Ryutaro Tatsumi | Hakuô Matsumoto | Toshio Kurosawa | Yôko Tsukasa | Akira Kubo | Makoto Satō | Akihiko Hirata | Yoshio Tsuchiya | Kenji Sahara | Yoshifumi Tajima | Hiroshi Koizumi | Jun Tazaki | Takeshi Katô | Atsushi Higashiyama | Keiji Higashiyama | Seiji Matsuyama | Jun Funato | Eijirô Yanagi | Masao Shimizu | Toru Yasube | Gen Shimizu | Ryuji Kita | Kanta Mori | Toshiyuki Takahashi | Shin Takioka | Takamaru Sasaki | Yoshio Inaba | Ken Mitsuda | Yutaka Sada | Kazuo Suzuki | Wataru Ômae | Chôtarô Tôgin | Seishirô Kuno | Yutaka Oka | Noriko Honma | Ted Gunther | Jacob Shapiro | Harold Conway | Hans Horneff | Osman Yusuf | Peter Williams | Andrew Hughes
Viewing History (seen 1 time)
| Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04/05/2020 | TV | Broadcast | Other | 7.5 stars |
| (Average) 7.5 stars |
Viewing Notes
Mifune was 49 when he made this, portraying the famous Navy commander Togo at age 56. I always think Mifune’s late 60s work he’s older but he’s just in roles of older characters. At this point I wonder which military hero Mifune hasn’t portrayed in the movies.
Tsubaraya’s excellent miniature FX is the real showcase here. Really great naval battle sequences in the enormous Toho ocean pool set, which is sadly no longer there.
Regardless of good or bad intentions / decisions, the tremendous loss of life of soldiers and sailors in these wars will never not be alarming and terribly tragic. Just waves and waves of young men sent to their death.
Really curious if the ending of this film is how it truly went down with the Russian admiral.
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