The Militarists (1970): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1970, The Militarists is a drama and war film directed by Hiromichi Horikawa, running about 134 minutes.

What it’s about. This tremendous blockbuster hit from 1970, showing the rise to power of Tojo Hideki, is perhaps the most important film to come out of Japan since the 7 Samurai! Interspersed with actual footage dating back to the 1930’s and throughout the Great Pacific War it shows in exciting detail the early successes and ultimate failure of the Japanese war machine. Never before has there been a chronicle of this magnitude about the war in the Pacific Theater of Operations, rivaling Saving Private Ryan with its intense battle scenes. With a brilliant cast featuring Kobayashi Keiju as Tojo, Yamamura So as former Prime Minister Yonai, Mifune Toshiro as Admiral Yamamoto, and Kayama Yuzo as an intrepid newspaper reporter whose articles detailing Japanese losing battles infuriates Tojo to the point of putting his life in danger! The final hour of this film features some of the most disturbing aspects of how the Japanese fought to save their nation and their honor!

Who’s in it. The Militarists stars Keiju Kobayashi as Premier Hideki Tojo, Yûzô Kayama as Goro Arai, Toshirō Mifune as Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto and Sō Yamamura as Mitsumasa Yonai, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 8.0/10, The Militarists sits among the best-reviewed titles in the catalogue.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch The Militarists page.

If you liked it. Fans of The Militarists tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Schindler's List and The Godfather Part II.