Excellent retelling of events leading to the attack. While a slow movie at the start, once we get to the attack it is one of best and longest action sequences ever filmed. The Japanese parts were supposed to be directed by Akira Kurosawa, but for some reason he messed up his parts and was replaced. Movie did not do well in the U.S. because of its slow pace to the attack and Americans hate to be reminded of losses. The movie did do very well in Japan. One reviewer notes debunked myths that Roosevelt let the attack happen, which is not true at all. People need to just face the fact that "At Dawn We Slept". Everyone messed up, bad decisions everywhere, missed signals. Information not making it to the right people. While a brilliant and incredibly well executed plan, it was the start of the end of the Japanese Empire. I could never understand Yammamoto's thinking. They hit the wrong targets, made America incredibly angry. For someone who traveled and studied in America, he did not understand Americans of that period at all. General Short never defended himself after the hearings that were held. Admiral Kimmel died bitter over the findings of the inquest and defended himself until his death. Neither of them really believed the Japanese could pull it off and that was their fatal mistake.

Excellent film, first viewed at Southland 75 Drive in.
While small screen looses a bit of the effect, it is STILL an excellent telling of the events of 1941.
I MUCH prefer the representation of Adm. William "Bull" Halsey by James Whitmore in this edition. Even Robert Mitchum, in the follow up Film, "Midway" [1976] couldn't match it.
Based on 'At Dawn We Slept' by by Gordon W. Prange, I strongly recomend both, book for details and quotes, film for the feel of the times.

very good movie, my relatives heard the news about pearl harbor attacked by Japanese warplanes on Dec. 7th, 1941 by radio.

Japanese side fairly and generally accurately told. American side, not so much, as it's largely based on Ladislas Farago's obsolete intel study, The Broken Seal. In fact FDR (and Stark, and RK Turner) weren't "out of the loop", but knew details of the oncoming attack from the early AM of 26 November 1941 via the Brit Far East intel break of JN-25....which is why the sudden volte face from accomodation with Japan, as of 24 November, to confrontation via the ultimatum issued later on 26 November; Roosevelt et al. having failed to provoke Hitler via his undeclared 1940-41 Atlantic naval war, was then determined to back-door America's way into the World War by inciting Japan. All that aside, this vision of the attack is far superior to the later, Jerry Bruckheimer-directed 100% bunk & plastic Hollywood version.

Fine. I'll start this off even though I'm a sh**head.
I did not realize this way back when this movie first came out, but there are Japanese subtitles for the English speaking parts, and that the Japanese side was a separate Japanese filming unit. I'm not looking up the info on purpose in order to best convey my impressions, but it looks like this movie was a co-op between U.S. and Japanese productions and that it was shown in Japan as well as the U.S. While watching the show, I was continually imaging how a Japanese audience might feel about this as well as how I, as an American saw it.