There were 14,000 Japanese killed or wounded. Another 9000 died of disease or starvation. About a thousand were captured. Guadalcanal together with Midway were really the turning of the tide of the Pacific War. At Guadalcanal the Americans proved the Japanese could make mistakes and could be beaten.
Victory is usually the result of a combination of skill and luck.
And at Guadalcanal the American forces could feel they had defeated the Japanese through genuine military skill unlike at Midway where the Japanese were beaten not as much by the Allies and much more by an incredible run of really bad luck. But these two great Japanese losses really sealed the fate of the Japanese in the Pacific War. Well-worn themes of sibling jealousy, the high price of fame and success, the comparative rewards of the simple life out of the public eye, and family tragedy combine in Frank Cottrell Boyce's screenplay, based on a novel by Hilary and her brother Piers. The film is entertaining and well-produced but falls short of its high reputation. 4 mixed From those who would make great music the gods extract a heavy toll.