Tora! Tora! Tora!

While paling in comparison to Jerry Goldsmith's other World War II-themed project of 1970, his landmark score for Patton, Tora! Tora! Tora! remains an intriguing and inventive effort that abandons Patton's more cerebral and introspective approach in favor of addressing the larger canvas of combat. Drawing on traditional Asian music to more authentically evoke its Pacific theater subject, Goldsmith's soundtrack addresses the politics of war head-on, leaving the film's climactic battle sequence unscored while creating searing, visceral orchestral passages to mark the diplomatic machinations that anticipate the conflict. While the music is loud, cacophonous, and electrifying, it is never rousing. Goldsmith finds little heroism in war, instead communicating its appalling horror. ~ Jason Ankeny