The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya

The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKajiro Yamamoto
Special effects byEiji Tsuburaya
Written byKajiro Yamamoto
Produced byNobuyoshi Morita
StarringKaoru Ito
Susumu Fujita
Akitake Kohno
Setsuko Hara
CinematographyAkira Mimura
Mitsuo Miura
Edited byFusao Hata
Music bySeiichi Suzuki
Production
company
Distributed byFilm Distribution Corporation
Release date
  • December 3, 1942 (1942-12-03) (Japan)
Running time
117 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Budget¥1 million

The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya is a 1942 Japanese epic war film directed by Kajiro Yamamoto, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced by Toho and distributed by Film Distribution Corporation, the film is propaganda produced with support from the Navy Ministry that was intended to influence the Japanese public into believing they could prevail in the Pacific War.

The military reportedly converted the idea of a documentary film on the attack on Pearl Harbor that featured special effects since it was difficult to record footage of the attack. Prior to the attack and Japan's subsequent entry into World War II, an Imperial Japanese Navy official met Tsuburaya and requested the production of a film about the attack as soon as possible when the war broke out. Production took place from May to November 1942, on a record breaking budget of ¥770,000.

The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya was released on December 3, 1942, to critical acclaim. The film won Kinema Junpo's Best Picture Award and Tsuburaya received an award for his special effects. Reportedly viewed by 100 million people in Japan and its occupied territories, it became the highest-grossing film in the history of Japanese cinema upon its distribution.