Who did it better?

The Japanese scenes are more humble and for lack of a better word sad. Perhaps because the Directors knew that their side lost or that in 1970 feelings about the war were still pretty raw. Maybe it is also because we are used to seeing American films and so it seemed normal watching it for us whereas the Japanese scenes had a sense of the exotic about them?


Sometimes a movie or tv show plot is so stupid that only the stupid can understand it.

The Japanese scenes had a level of solemnity and intensity that seemed exotic and alien, compared to the demeanor of the American officers. I doubt any non-Japanese director would have been familiar enough with Japanese culture, specifically Japanese military culture of that period, to have pulled those scenes off as convincingly. The facial expressions, body language, and voices of the Japanese officers and enlisted men bore such a contrast to those that Americans are accustomed to that if the scenes had been directed by an American, there might have been accusations of caricaturing or stereotyping of Japanese behavior. Turning those scenes over to Japanese directors served to ensure authenticity and prevent such accusations.

By degree of difficulty, it's the American director. This is a Hollywood film, and most of the story is told from the U.S. perspective, so the story is more involved, ten times more dialog, and a much larger cast and locations.

From a viewing perspective, it's a dead heat. None of the Japanese scenes seemed amateurish or out of place in a Hollywood film with some name brand actors in it. I think the Japanese contingent did a fabulous job.