| Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo | 
 enlarge | Actors: Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson, Robert Mitchum
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $11.31
You Save: $8.67 (43%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (49 reviews)
Sales Rank: 3782
Format: Full Screen, Ntsc, Subtitled
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 139 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 79711
UPC: 012569797116
EAN: 0012569797116
ASIN: B000NTPG6Q
Release Date: June 5, 2007
Theatrical Release Date: November 1944
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
First B-25's in training for bombing mission over Japan under General Jimmy Doolittle's command.Running Time: 138 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre:ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating:PG - 13 UPC:012569797116 Manufacturer No:79711
Amazon.com
There is no more ringing title among World War II movies than Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, and the mission it celebrates was unquestionably historic: a 400-mile bombing raid to carry the war to Japan itself mere months after that nation's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Yet the film is less memorable than many WWII pictures with less exalted factual basis. At the time, critic James Agee eloquently defined both its virtues and limitations as "a big-studio, big-scale film, free of artistic pretension ... transformed by its not very imaginative but very dogged sincerity into something forceful, simple, and thoroughly sympathetic in spite of all its big-studio, big-scale habits." That remains true today, but perhaps the movie--and its unimpeachably noble, admirably life-sized characters--wouldn't seem so stuck in the amber of a bygone era if Mervyn LeRoy and company had pumped a little "artistic pretension" into it. Spencer Tracy--as James H. Doolittle, architect of the raid--rates the most towering screen credit, and he's superb. But his role's an extended cameo; the emotional core of the film is B-25 pilot Ted Lawson (Van Johnson) and his wife, Ellen (the glowing Phyllis Thaxter). Lawson's bestselling memoir (with Bob Considine) of his training for the secret mission, his group's launching from the aircraft carrier Hornet, and his crash landing and protracted ordeal in China--where he lost a leg--has been faithfully served. The film is long on homely detail and all-American decency (including a remarkably outspoken regret over the unavoidability of civilian casualties) but achieves its greatest impact in the raid itself. That sequence, in addition to boasting Oscar-winning special effects, is mostly shot in riveting silence. --Richard T. Jameson
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| Customer Reviews: Read 44 more reviews...
 Very accurate rendering of Lawson's book September 20, 2008
This movie on DVD follows remarkably well Ted Lawson's story as told in his book of the same title. For us older folks who remember World War II, there are excellent scenes of the twin engine B-25 in action. In real life Ted Lawson was injured far worse than shown in the movie, but Van Johnson captured the spirit of the man. The love scenes seem a little long for those who wanted to see more action with the airplanes and their crews. Robert Mitchum, who later became a big movie star, plays a rather small role here. Spencer Tracy plays Doolittle in a very favorable way. All considered, however, this is a well done film.
Stirring Tale of True-Life Heroes August 27, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
There's no question the film is framed in a very straightforward, literal way, and that the characters are somewhat hokey All-American stereotypes.
But I think to dismiss the film as simplistic is mistaken. Soon-to-be-Blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo includes some deft concepts of collective responsibility and moral tension, including not just the passage on civilian casualties, but also the exchange where the soldiers agree that that they don't hate the Japanese people.
I would also recommend this disc for the special features -- a great short on bad movie etiquette, a vintage cartoon about a bear air raid warden, and a superb 15 minute documentary on the loss of the SS Normandie.
 Good Wartime Movie March 2, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Most war movies actually made during WW2, are a bit too soppy and unrealistic for my liking, but this movie was quite good and it portrayed a major event during WW2 in the Pacific. Spencer Tracy did a good job, as Jimmy Doolittle and Van Johnson wasn't bad either. I don't know how Van Johnson's wife in the movie, got pregant when they where sleeping in seperate bed's?? I liked the fact that the aircraft, ships etc in the movie looked authentic. There is nothing worse in a war movie then seeing a Mustang or Trainer painted up to look like ME-109. Having said that, the Trainers made up to look like Zero's in "Tora Tora Tora" looked the part. Overall a good war movie, well worth the money.
 Sometimes revenge is not a dish best eaten cold. February 18, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
If you are a WWII buff, you can't miss this classic. Released in 1944 long before the end of the war, Hollywood and the Army cooperated in getting this top-secret out before the public, as a morale booster. Think about it: December 7, 1941 and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Just over four months later, on April 18, 1942, the unbelievable mission of launching 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers off of the (short) deck of the U.S.S. Hornet for the purpose of bombing Tokyo. Talk about getting even quickly! The bombs didn't do a strategic amount of damage, but the insult to the Japanese emperor and the Japanese war leadership were, as the ad states, "priceless". The action is realistic; the facts are correct; and real names and locations are utilized.
thirty seconds over tokyo January 28, 2008
wonderful movie arrived very quickly and in good condition will diffently purchase other movies in the future
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