Tokyo Trial

With so much mindless fluff on television, how great it is to see a serious and superbly done docudrama. Tokyo Trial covers the legal and political battles that were bitterly fought behind closed doors for two years after the Japanese surrender. The tribunal wrestled with the issue of whether Japanese leaders could be punished for aggression when there really was no law against aggression and whether the Japanese incursion into China was really any different from the British in India or the Americans' genocide of their native population. We are privy to some superb behind the scenes legal discussions. The series exudes honesty and accuracy. It uses one very effective technique. The scenes in the courtroom are shown in newsreel style black and white while the dialogue is heard in the tinny, halting voice of the translator. Most effective! The various judges are brilliantly drawn. Each is a unique personality. The clothing, the accents, even the body language, are all carefully presented and give the series a genuine " slice of the past" quality that few films achieve. I sometimes despair that we use our amazing video technology for trivialities and trash. This series shows what television can accomplish but so seldom does.

This is one of the finest courtroom dramas after 12 Angry Men. There is never over the top sentimental (or) emotional narrative despite the subject taken is highly sensitive. This is exactly how judges go about and come to their conclusion inspite of political interference. Fanstically made series based on true history!! Must watch for every Management aspirants!

This miniseries starts off a little clunky, but any faults of the first episode, are forgotten by the end of the second episode. If it wasn't for one of the other reviewers who abandoned the series after watching just one episode, I would not have made this remark.

The series attempts to present the personalities and professional conduct of each Justice appointed to conduct the trails. It is not revisionist as some of the other reviewers have stated. We have had decades of documentaries about Japan's involvement in WW2, but none have attempted to cover the due judicial process to the extent of Tokyo Trial. And I think I would not have enjoyed the series if it was not dramatised, as I would have turned off to another narrated documentary.

For performances of the actors, the editing, and production are all good, especially from the end of the second episode. There is a lot to take in, I found myself enthralled by the story, and unexpectedly quite emotional at the end. I have worked on translation projects for academic material, related to this subject, but Tokyo Trial has a richer more human story to tell.

Good history, fine acting. The moral nuances become very real as the Justices deliberate. I expect my attorney friends will really like this. For the most part the film succeeds in avoiding black and white characters and draws out the complexities of personalities and values. This is not a thriller, more of a morality play based on real high-stakes deliberations. The casting for General MacArthur was a minus, not because of the acting, there was little meat in the role, but there must be thousands of actors who would look like MacArthur and could handle this role. No one else's likeness was relevant, who knew the judges? But...

Not for the impatient, this 4 part series is designed for viewers who are willing to listen to everything that is said.

Ideas about atrocities, crimes against humanity, and what is acceptable in war-making are presented throughout. Always in the background: the Nuremberg Trials and how posterity will view the trial and the judges.

Production values are top-notch but never over the top. There's a very clever interpolation of actual courtroom newsreel footage with scenes from this show -- very good set and color matching.

This is a show about ideas and about how the winners view morality and their roles in defining what is and is not acceptable in warfare.

Recommended.