Lt. Col. Senda resists the idea of sending Japanese fighter pilots on suicide missions. He believes that what is really necessary for Japan to regain momentum in the war is for the air force to gather its most brilliant pilots into an elite squadron and use the unit to pinpoint attacks on the Americans. Disrespected by the kamikaze pilots who think the "non-suicidal" pilots are afraid, the unit redeems itself by stunning victories. But success leads the military leaders to expect too much of the unit, and new orders portend disaster.
Toshirō Mifune
Yūzō Kayama
Takashi Shimura
Yōsuke Natsuki
Makoto Satō
Yuriko Hoshi
Ryō Ikebe
Kiyoshi Atsumi
Kō Nishimura
Ichirō Nakatani
Akihiko Hirata
Jun Tazaki
Seiji Miyaguchi
Jun Funato
Susumu Fujita
Seizaburō Kawazu
Yoshio Kosugi
Yoshibumi Tajima
Senkichi Ōmura
Tadao Nakamaru
Masao Shimizu
Hideo Sunazuka
Ren Yamamoto
Masao Oda
Gen Shimizu
Hisaya Ito
Kōji Iwamoto
Yutaka Nakayama
Toshihiko Furuta
Shinji Uemura
Yasuhiko Saijō
Mitsuo Tsuda
Katsumi Tezuka
Kōzō Nomura
Kō Mishima
Shin Ōtomo
Akira Wakamatsu
Shōichi Hirose
Yasuhisa Tsutsumi
Yutaka Oka
Goro Kataoka
Wataru Ōmae
Kenzo Echigo
Hiroo Kirino
Haruo Nakajima