Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo Blu-ray review
Jul 13, 2026- Permalink
Mervyn LeRoy’s 1944 war drama Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, written by Dalton Trumbo, follows the training, execution, and aftermath of the Doolittle Raids. When United States Army Air Forces Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle (Spencer Tracy) plans a dangerous carrier-launched bomber raid on the Japanese mainland after Pearl Harbor, pilot Captain Ted W. Lawson (Van Johnson) says goodbye to his expectant wife (Phyllis Thaxter) and volunteers for the mission. The film also stars Robert Walker and marks the film debut of Robert Mitchum. Warner Archive has now released the film on Blu-ray and thanks to them and Allied Vaughn, I had a chance to take a look. Warner Bros. likes disclaimers, so though this disc was provided to me, the thoughts and opinions are mine.
The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio. It’s almost repetitive to say that Warner Archive does a good job with these releases. The video presentation has great detail from facial features to textiles and environments. The black levels are nice and deep and there’s a pleasing film grain.
On the audio side, there’s an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. Dialogue is clear, effects have sufficient weight, and there is no real sign of hiss or pops.
The Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo Blu-ray does not come with a digital code. Bonus features include the patriotic music medley “Ode to Victory”, the Oscar-nominated short
“A Lady Fights Back” which details the luxury liner’s path to becoming a troop transport, the Tom and Jerry short “Mouse Trouble”, and the theatrical trailer.
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo is a wartime record of an important event in America’s war against Japan. A great cast combined with Warner Archive’s excellent work on the audio and video and a nice selection of extras make this a recommended release.