Clint Eastwood's Iwo Jima Epics

[5OClockLighting]

In the fall and the winter Eastwood will be releasing two movies about the Batlle of Iwo Jima. The first one will be "Flags of our Fathers" told from the American perspective. The second one will be "Letters from Iwo Jima" told from the perspective of the Japanese.

The Japanese trailer for the movies can be seen here. http://wwws.warnerbros.co.jp/iwojima...ler/large.html

The IMDB websites;
http://imdb.com/title/tt0418689/
http://imdb.com/title/tt0498380/

Something similar was done with "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (which was done together with a Japnese film studio), and thought it did good job of showing both sides of Pearl Habor.

[5OClockLighting]

Here is the American Trailer for the film.
http://www.flagsofourfathers.com/pub...ler1_large.mov

Looks great, can't wait.

[CptCrunch]

Looks awesome. I need to pick up the book this week.

[BillBuckner]

That looks like a must see.

[xenochimera]

the 2nd one looks like a bad idea.

[Sam18]

I can't wait for both of them. I love war movies.

[YankeePride1967]

Saw the preview to Flags of Our Fathers today. Coming out Oct. 20.

[Barb51850]

Looks awesome. I need to pick up the book this week.

The book is amazing. I just finished it.

[BrooklynBotz]

the 2nd one looks like a bad idea.

Why do you say that?

[RhodeyYankee2638]

I read the book awhile go and it was great (it focuses mainly on the participants of the famous flag raising photo). I fully expect this to be an outstanding movie, especially coming from Eastwood

[xenochimera]

Why do you say that?

i just find that its going to "humanize" the enemy, a nation which has killed tens of millions without officially apologizing and changing their history. i just think they don't deserve "humanization" if their pathetic government can't even owe up to their history.

[Barb51850]

I read the book awhile go and it was great (it focuses mainly on the participants of the famous flag raising photo). I fully expect this to be an outstanding movie, especially coming from Eastwood

I loved the book. It was interesting to know the stories of the men in that photo.

[jlw1980]

I can't wait for Flags of our Fathers.

[BillBuckner]

Just got back from seeing Letters from Iwo Jima. It was a pretty good movie. The Japanese viewpoint made it very unique. It was very interesting to see it through their eyes, and strange to see American soldiers attacking you. All in Japanese though, so If you don't like reading subtitles, it isn't for you.

[Octoberbaby]

Just got back from seeing Letters from Iwo Jima. It was a pretty good movie. The Japanese viewpoint made it very unique. It was very interesting to see it through their eyes, and strange to see American soldiers attacking you. All in Japanese though, so If you don't like reading subtitles, it isn't for you.

I loved the movie! It really made a statement about war in general. However, I didn't feel like the American's were attacking me. I still identified with the Americans but had an empathy for the Japanese in a way that I'm sure no one had during WW II.

What this film did was to show us what our troops in Iraq are up against, fighting a losing battle!

[Sam18]

Maybe the Japanese lost the war because they liked killing themselves more than the enemy? That's what I got out of this movie.

[Octoberbaby]

Maybe the Japanese lost the war because they liked killing themselves more than the enemy? That's what I got out of this movie.

I thought the same thing when I was watching the movie. They lost able bodied men needlessly because of their need to preserve their honor yet they didn't consider their honor when they attacked Pearl Harbor. Maybe they killed themselves so that they wouldn't be captured alive and have to give information to the enemy under orders from the Emporer. Either way it was not smart.

[4bronxbombers]

The book is amazing. I just finished it.

Wow.....I may just read this. Not too many book reviews have the word amazing.....sounds like a good read.

[Tribefan]

I read the book awhile go and it was great (it focuses mainly on the participants of the famous flag raising photo). I fully expect this to be an outstanding movie, especially coming from Eastwood

I read the book too and it was terrific--couldn't put it down when I got it and recommeded it to a lot of people afterward. I haven't seen either movie yet. I hate to get disappointed after reading a book I really like and then the movie doesn't measure up.

[whiffleball]

I finally saw Flags last weekend and I'm curious if anyone else found it hard to follow? The flashback scenes went back and forth and were confusing at least to me.

[RhodeyYankee2638]

I read the book too and it was terrific--couldn't put it down when I got it and recommeded it to a lot of people afterward. I haven't seen either movie yet. I hate to get disappointed after reading a book I really like and then the movie doesn't measure up.

the Flags movie sucked, don't waste your money

[BillBuckner]

I finally saw Flags last weekend and I'm curious if anyone else found it hard to follow? The flashback scenes went back and forth and were confusing at least to me.

A little. The plot was very disjointed by design. I plan on watching it again to get a clearer picture.

[GiambiRocks]

I read the book too and it was terrific--couldn't put it down when I got it and recommeded it to a lot of people afterward. I haven't seen either movie yet. I hate to get disappointed after reading a book I really like and then the movie doesn't measure up.

I read the book, thought it was outstanding but haven't seen the movie. IMO the movie will never live up to the book. Actually the only movie that I think was better than the book was John Grisham's The Firm. I preferred the movie over the book. I thought it was perfectly cast.

[Tribefan]

the Flags movie sucked, don't waste your money

I would think this book would have been difficult to make into a movie.

[Tribefan]

I read the book, thought it was outstanding but haven't seen the movie. IMO the movie will never live up to the book. Actually the only movie that I think was better than the book was John Grisham's The Firm. I preferred the movie over the book. I thought it was perfectly cast.

There are lots of books that I've read and made into movies that I haven't seen for this reason. I think The Godfather I and II are much better than the book. I like the film version of The Firm--but I saw the movie before I read the book.

I still may rent Letters from Iwo Jima just see that perspective.

[Octoberbaby]

There are lots of books that I've read and made into movies that I haven't seen for this reason. I think The Godfather I and II are much better than the book. I like the film version of The Firm--but I saw the movie before I read the book.

I still may rent Letters from Iwo Jima just see that perspective.

You will like Letters. It was great. I heard the movie of Flags was not good. I am going to get a hold of that book and read it though. Sounds like a good read.

[Tribefan]

Wow.....I may just read this. Not too many book reviews have the word amazing.....sounds like a good read.

I saw above that you saw the Letters movie. If you read the Flags book, you won't have much empathy for the Japanese soldiers--at least I didn't. It really gets to the heart of how brutal and cruel war is (and how it affects you afterward).

[BillBuckner]

I saw above that you saw the Letters movie. If you read the Flags book, you won't have much empathy for the Japanese soldiers--at least I didn't. It really gets to the heart of how brutal and cruel war is (and how it affects you afterward).

That's the way I've always felt. When people think war crimes during WWII, they usually think of Hitler and the Nazis. But some of the things the Japanese military did (Battan Death March, abuse of POWs, use of slave labor, etc.) was just inexcusibly barbaric. However one of the reasons I like Letters was because it really did a great job of portraying how human they still were. With all malice toward Americans and loyalty to the emperor aside, a lot of them were still just kids ripped away from their home and families who shared the same fears and anxieties, in many cases, as Western Allied soliders.

[Octoberbaby]

That's the way I've always felt. When people think war crimes during WWII, they usually think of Hitler and the Nazis. But some of the things the Japanese military did (Battan Death March, abuse of POWs, use of slave labor, etc.) was just inexcusibly barbaric. However one of the reasons I like Letters was because it really did a great job of portraying how human they still were. With all malice toward Americans and loyalty to the emperor aside, a lot of them were still just kids ripped away from their home and families who shared the same fears and anxieties, in many cases, as Western Allied soliders.

I agree with you. Even in Germany a lot of the troops were just kids who were doing their duty to their country and had no choice. My father was stationed in Okinawa during the war and he says he will never forgive the Japanese for that war which changed the direction of his life. Being a kid in the '50's you had a distrust of the Japanese because it was so close in time. However, these are wonderful people. My mother's family came to this country from Italy so that my Aunt would not have to go into Mussolini's Army. Italians fought on the side of Hitler. If my family had stayed there that was what was in store for them. Whatever country you are in you try to trust your government. That is why this movie was so important because, to me, it mirrors what we are facing now in Iraq. People who don't want to go are called traitors or cowards or unpatriotic. However, it is a losing battle which is only killing more and more innocent Iraqis and our soldiers are coming back gravely wounded or in a box. They are just doing what our country is presently requiring of them.