Battle of the Japan Sea

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Seiji Maruyama’s sanitized docu-drama, retelling the Japanese conduct of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, which culminated with Japan’s stunning naval victory in the Tsushima Strait. Tsushima’s significance is practically mythic, amounting to a national symbol. From a director who has shown reverence for military values, you might expect a painstakingly conscientious propaganda film. That’s what you get here, complete with diagrams and explanatory narration. The emphasis is about equal between historic personalities and epic battles, both depicted with detachment and restraint, both almost bloodless by the standards of today. Confrontations are dignified, carnage is comparatively decorous. Toshiro Mifune and a debonair Tatsuya Nakadai stand out among a fine studio cast. Foreign actors playing Russians… well, less was expected of them. The unseen star is technical director Eiji Tsuburaya. At times you can all but smell the coal smoke from his model warships. The English subtitles are so flawed that they conclude with an apology. They’re still preferable to the English-language version incongruously dubbed by an American vocal cast.