I remember my Dad taking me to see Tora Tora Tora at the Alabama theater when it first came out. it is interesting in that the Japanese portion of the film was directed by two Japanese directors and the screenplay was written by Akira Kurosawa the renowned Japanese director. It was very historically accurate being based on a book by two University of Maryland history professors.

There are no big stars in the film, because the producer Darryl F. Zanuck did not want any big names like Charlton Heston or John Wayne detracting from the story. He wanted the story to be the main theme of the movie. He also wanted the movie to be a fair and balanced as possible, hence using Japanese directors for the Japanese portions of the film and American directors for the American portions.

It is also interesting to note that footage from Tora Tora Tora was used in the later production of Midway.

Midway is a great film, it has a stunning cast of characters, solid directing, and is a great story, but I'm still a little partial to Tora Tora Tora for it's historical significance in the way the film was made.

Honestly I think both films should be watched in sequence.