20世纪30年代，日本全民备战，社会从上到下充满了亢奋情绪。农村少年平田一郎（中村吉右卫门 饰）和好友本多（岛田正吾 饰）怀着一腔热情，报考了军校，结果平田考就江田岛海军学校，本多则进入陆军军校，两个好友就此分开。平田刚进入军校后还有些动摇，但经过四年学习和训练，成功成长为一名拥有“江田岛精神”的帝国海军精英。随着太平洋战争爆发，平田被派往前线，却经历了日军各种不利，也目睹老友本多战死。带着遗憾和愧疚回国养伤之后，平田回到母校担任教官，虽然战事低迷影响国人精神，但平田还是努力想把“江田岛精神”传递下去。随着战局恶化，老兵被召唤回冲绳战场，平田在学员整齐歌声送别之下，直赴最后为国捐躯的机会……

Extras start off with "That Man Is Dangerous: The Birth of Takeshi Kitano" (20:20) in which producer Masayuki Mori (Brother) reveals that the film was originally to be directed by Kinji Fukasaku (Battle Royale) who withdrew from the production when Kitano could not accede to his requirement of two months of his schedule due to Kitano's busy schedule. Mori suggested Kitano direct the film himself because he was already heavily involved in writing, staging, and multi-camera editing on his television shows. He also reveals that Kitano so thoroughly "rewrote" the original comic script by Hisashi Nozawa that the author asked to have his name removed from the credits. Said rewriting consisted of improvising nearly ninety-percent of the film, retaining only names and settings, as co-star Ashikawa recalls. Recruited both as an actor and as a player on Kitano's amateur baseball team, Ashikawa recalls nervousness at Kitano's lack of direction for him only to realize that Kitano knew exactly where he was going with the character of Kikuchi from the start. Mori also recalls Kitano's conflicts with the crew, including the cinematographer with whom he disagreed on the framing and length of takes (Mori notes that the cinematography is thus a clash of styles between their two preferences). Other extras include the film's original Japanese trailer (2:16) and a new re-release trailer (1:22) created by Film Movement, along with previews for other releases. Included in the case is a collector's booklet by Tom Vick, the Asian film Curator for the Freer and Sackler Galleries (The Smithsonian's Museums of Asian Art).