This is an interesting historical piece. It's the recreation of the last day of Japan before they announced their surrender to Allied forces on 8/15/45. And, it plays like a docudrama--with great attention to detail.

The film is quite unusual in that the title credits for "Nihon No Ichiban Nagai Hi" do not appear until 21 minutes into the film. The time before this all is a condensation of the events in the final weeks of the war--the Potsdam ultimatum, the entry of the Soviet Union into the Pacific war and the use of the two atomic bombs. It is amazing that even after this, many of the more militaristic in the Cabinet wanted to continue fighting! To break this impasse, the Emperor himself decided that enough was enough--surrender must take place on the 15th. The bulk of this film is what occurs in the hours following his decision--when certain elements in the government refused to actually follow the dictates of their Emperor. To them, it was honorable and necessary to continue this futile struggle.

The production is first-rate all around. Several big-name Japanese actors starred in this film--including Chishû Ryû and Toshirô Mifune. Interestingly, the actor who played the Emperor is difficult to ascertain, as you only catch tiny glimpses of him. I think this is because the cinematography was meant as a metaphor for the man--someone few Japanese had even seen and had never appeared in public or on radio to that point.

By the way, while this film is excellent all around and also shows to a modern audience just how militaristic and determined the Japanese were (presenting a good argument for the use of the atomic bombs) , you should be aware that like the failed insurrection, it is very bloody--very. This is not a film for kids or the squeamish.

I had thought the title of this one was an American invention to capitalize off of the American film The Longest Day, but I do believe "Japan's Longest Day" is the actual title. It has nothing to do with the other film. It, in fact, depicts perhaps the most tense day in modern Japanese history, the 24 hours between August 14th and 15th, 1945. The simplified version of WWII history has the Japanese quickly surrendering with their tales between their legs after the Allies dropped the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but a nation so wound up in nationalistic and militaristic pride wasn't ready to give up that easily. The film doesn't depict the citizenry – one could imagine they would be mostly sick of war. But the military certainly was ready to go all the way, to have every person in Japan martyred. Emperor Hirohito, who is supposed to be looked upon as divine by his people, decided that his empire must surrender. Many of the heads of military only agree grudgingly. Many of their underlings rebel. Hirohito makes a recording of his surrender message, to be played at noon on the 15th. A group of soldiers tries to rally others not to listen, and they attempt a coup and try to steal the record. The film is long – 2 hours and 37 minutes. We are given the names of every single character in the film – I would venture to guess that over 100 names are thrown at us over the film, right up until the end. It's difficult to follow, but I don't believe it's necessary to understand every nuance of what was happening. The previous year, Kihachi Okamoto made what is probably his best (and best-known) film, Sword of Doom. Why choose him for this project? Well, there is at least one scene where that is pretty much answered (just remember that the Japanese soldiers still had samurai swords). Really, though, I don't think the direction is that impressive. As a film, it's nothing fantastic. But for the depiction of the minutiae of history, it's well worth watching. Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura and Chishu Ryu all have large roles, but I honestly didn't even recognize them. They fade into these historical characters perfectly.

What is a soldier, who has been told from first day of his enlistment that surrender is not only unacceptable but is treason, to do when he learns that his government, including his own military superiors, are going to surrender? This movie pulls no punches in showing what happened when that exact scenario occurred in Japan in the closing days of World War Two. The two words that can best describe how the Japanese soldiers must have felt are betrayal and despair. The movie further underscores the essential hypocrisy of the Japanese imperial leadership and the sudden realization that everything they had been spouting about the Bushido spirit was just hot air, mere hyperbole. As the movie so graphically shows, the junior Japanese officers who revered their generals simply could not accept what seemed to them a shameless repudiation of principles that they were told were sacrosanct. The movie is excellent for several reasons: first, it tells a compelling story; second, it has an all-star cast; third, it is structured as a documentary; fourth, the story is candidly and forthrightly portrayed; fifth, the movie has excellent continuity; sixth, it avoids becoming moralistic; and seventh, it educates the audience about a critical event in history.