Flags of our Fathers

[Nome]

Too long - 2 1/2 hours. Disappointing. No real plot. Character development poor. Tell me what you think. There have been so many WWII movies and this added nothing.

Andy

[Tifoso]

Andy,

Thanks for the review. I was going to see it, but probably won't now.

[JDPNYY]

Andy,

Thanks for the review. I was going to see it, but probably won't now.

Based on 1 review?


(no offense Andy)

[Tifoso]

Nah, if the rest of you like it, I'll go

[Tifoso]

Oh, hush--you know you wanted to say it.

[NYYFAN]

Call me when the DVD comes out...thanks Nome

[Barb51850]

I do not plan on seeing it. The book was excellent, but some chapters gave me nightmares.

[Nome]

I do not plan on seeing it. The book was excellent, but some chapters gave me nightmares.

The book WAS fantastic.

Andy

[Barb51850]

The book WAS fantastic.

Andy

The story of Ira Hayes was particularly sad.

[5OClockLighting]

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/flags_of_our_fathers/
3/4 of the press reviews are positive.

[5OClockLighting]

The story of Ira Hayes was particularly sad.

Ever hear the Jonhnny Cash song about him?

http://www.fatznew.com/song_of_the_day/Mar19.htm

[Barb51850]

Ever hear the Jonhnny Cash song about him?

http://www.fatznew.com/song_of_the_day/Mar19.htm

Yes I have heard the song. What a sad way for such a man to die. He was only 32 years old.

[Dave Visbeck]

The story of Ira Hayes was particularly sad.

The Navajo?

[Dave Visbeck]

I want to see the movie but with the baby it is kind of hard. We usually wait for the video to come out.

Doe's anyone here know that baseball lost one of its own on Iwo Jima? Although he had only played for a very brief time in the Majors.

[Barb51850]

The Navajo?

He was from the Pima tribe of Arizona. (Which may be the same as Navajo. I'm not sure).

http://www.thegoldweb.com/voices/irahayes.htm

[fredgmuggs]

I want to see the movie but with the baby it is kind of hard. We usually wait for the video to come out.

Doe's anyone here know that baseball lost one of its own on Iwo Jima? Although he had only played for a very brief time in the Majors.

Harry O'Neill?

[Dave Visbeck]

Harry O'Neill?

Jumped over here from LTE. Yep. March 6, 1945.

[Dave Visbeck]

Another guy was lost over in Europe before O'Neill. France during the war. I think those baseball guys are the only two - but the second guy isn't related to what this thread is about.

[-tz]

Well, if anyone wants my opinion, I thought the movie was terrific. It does require a little concentration as it jumps around among three time periods: the battle, the war bond tour that the the three surviving flag raisers were sent on as the battle continued to be fought, and the present day, when the son of one of the flag raisers goes in search of information about the central scene in his father's life, which he would never talk about. (The film is of course based on the non-fiction book by James Bradley, the son of flag raiser John Bradley.)

I found the three young actors who play the leads very believable and sympathetic ... it is basically their story, what happened to them in battle and immediately afterwards, as they were forced into the position of playing "heroes" for the American public, for the sake of raising money to continue the war. They were very conflicted about this role, haunted by the battle and by the comrades they had left behind, living and dead, but obliged to "perform" as required precisely because of those ties: If the U.S. was going to win the war, it was absolutely necessary to raise a huge amount of money as quickly as possible. The public would do anything that the "heroes of Iwo Jima" asked of them, so "heroes" they had to be.

The battle scenes are extremely graphic, and the cinematography in those scenes is done in such a desaturated palate that it approaches black and white, making the yellow-orange flare of gunfire and the gore of open wounds all the more dramatic. The home front scenes evoke the look and feel of the period very well.

I hope people will give this one a chance!

[DanB]

He was from the Pima tribe of Arizona. (Which may be the same as Navajo. I'm not sure).

http://www.thegoldweb.com/voices/irahayes.htm

My kid's from the PIMA tribe too...Pain in my A$$

[fredgmuggs]

I'll probably see it next week. A buddy of mine sent me a 1000 word email on why he didn't like it... but what does he know? He's a Sox fan.

[-tz]

I'll probably see it next week. A buddy of mine sent me a 1000 word email on why he didn't like it... but what does he know? He's a Sox fan.

Well, I and the Yankee fan I saw it with both liked it!

[YankeePride1967]

Well, if anyone wants my opinion, I thought the movie was terrific. It does require a little concentration as it jumps around among three time periods: the battle, the war bond tour that the the three surviving flag raisers were sent on as the battle continued to be fought, and the present day, when the son of one of the flag raisers goes in search of information about the central scene in his father's life, which he would never talk about. (The film is of course based on the non-fiction book by James Bradley, the son of flag raiser John Bradley.)

I found the three young actors who play the leads very believable and sympathetic ... it is basically their story, what happened to them in battle and immediately afterwards, as they were forced into the position of playing "heroes" for the American public, for the sake of raising money to continue the war. They were very conflicted about this role, haunted by the battle and by the comrades they had left behind, living and dead, but obliged to "perform" as required precisely because of those ties: If the U.S. was going to win the war, it was absolutely necessary to raise a huge amount of money as quickly as possible. The public would do anything that the "heroes of Iwo Jima" asked of them, so "heroes" they had to be.

The battle scenes are extremely graphic, and the cinematography in those scenes is done in such a desaturated palate that it approaches black and white, making the yellow-orange flare of gunfire and the gore of open wounds all the more dramatic. The home front scenes evoke the look and feel of the period very well.

I hope people will give this one a chance!

I'm going tonight.

[Nome]

I am sure many, many people out there will enjoy it. I usually enjoy most movies. This one really didn't strike any chord with me. And I love almost all war movies.I guess I expected too much. I am a fan of the simpler done and far better origional "Sands of Iwo Jima". No one does it better than the Duke.

Andy

[fredgmuggs]

I just returned from seeing a late afternoon matinee (With 3 others in the theater. Clint didn't make much money today). Overall I thought it was a very good movie, but not great.

These are my chief criticisms: I thought the movie was a bit disconnected because of all the flash back sequences and I was surprised that the movie didn't have a better focus. Also, there is a lot of narration at the beginning and end of the movie which gave it an American Experience documentary feel to it (the PBS anthology series). Unfortunately, the narration was needed to tie up the loose ends which was a disappointment to me that a film maker of Eastwood's caliber would have to resort to that.

With that said, I definitely recommend it, but you're not going to be blown away by it.

[JDPNYY]

This is what happens when Clint makes a movie without Morgan Freeman.

[Tifoso]

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/flags_of_our_fathers/
3/4 of the press reviews are positive.

For sure not going, then.

[BillBuckner]

I want to see it no matter what the reviews say.

[jlw1980]

So was Saving Private Ryan better (just for comparison)? I loved that one, and wanted to see this one, too.

[5OClockLighting]

For sure not going, then.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0418689/
IMDB user like it too, so far. That is good enough for me.

[RhodeyYankee2638]

So was Saving Private Ryan better (just for comparison)?

is there any war movie better than SPR????

[jonnyc39]

Saw the movie last night, didn't like it AT ALL. It really wasn't anything new, IMO. Total cookie cutter movie. I didn't become particularly attached to any of the characters, pretty much the entirety of the scenery/backdrops were computer generated (distractingly so), the cinematography seemed cliche and the whole "son writing a memior about his father" plot to tie it all together was unoriginal and boring.

I am never one for these epic-type movies, but I expected more from Eastwood.

[#1PaFan]

is there any war movie better than SPR????

Saving Private Ryan is one of the greatest movies ever made.

The first time I saw it was in a packed theater where the vast majority of the crowd had to be WWII vets or damn close. It was an extremely emotional evening.

I'm just happy that a lot of folks from that era got to see that movie.

[5OClockLighting]

is there any war movie better than SPR????

Das Boot, Lawrence of Arabia, and Patton.

[fredgmuggs]

Das Boot, Lawrence of Arabia, and Patton.

.... All Quiet on the Western Front, Paths of Glory, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Schindler’s List, A Walk in the Sun, A Band of Brothers....

[5OClockLighting]

.... All Quiet on the Western Front, Paths of Glory, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Schindler’s List, A Walk in the Sun....

Forgot about Paths of Glory, it gets overshadowed by Kubrick's other movies. I really don't consider Schindler's List a war movie, for me it has to deal with combat, and the soldiers and sailors in those combat situations and their aftermath (SL is bigger than a war movie).

I will also take Apocalypse Now over SPR too.

[RhodeyYankee2638]

Paths of Glory..

ok i'll agree on that one

[Barb51850]

The is a very obscure war movie that I remember seeing on TV as a kid -
"Attack"

http://www.amazon.com/Attack-Jack-Pa...?ie=UTF8&s=dvd

Does anyone else remember it? It's very interesting.

[Dave Visbeck]

Das Boot, Lawrence of Arabia, and Patton.

Wow!

[Dave Visbeck]

Saving Private Ryan is one of the greatest movies ever made.

The first time I saw it was in a packed theater where the vast majority of the crowd had to be WWII vets or damn close. It was an extremely emotional evening.

I'm just happy that a lot of folks from that era got to see that movie.

Did you like "Glory" George?

[Barb51850]

The is a very obscure war movie that I remember seeing on TV as a kid -
"Attack"

http://www.amazon.com/Attack-Jack-Pa...?ie=UTF8&s=dvd

Does anyone else remember it? It's very interesting.

Looks like I'm the only one here who saw this movie. Well, I did say it was obscure.

[5OClockLighting]

Wow!

Not a fan? I like the big epic bio pics (O'Toole and Scott are great in their parts).

[5OClockLighting]

Looks like I'm the only one hear who saw this movie. Well, I did say it was obscure.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0048966/ Dosen't have a lot of votes, but the few that saw it loved it. If I see it on TCM, I'll watch it.

[Barb51850]

http://imdb.com/title/tt0048966/ Dosen't have a lot of votes, but the few that saw it loved it. If I see it on TCM, I'll watch it.

It's excellent. I haven't seen it on TV (cable or otherwise) in years. The last time I saw it must have been 30 years ago.

I can still hear Jack Palance saying this line:

Listen to me, Cooney! If you put me and my men in a wringer - -if you send us out there and let us hang - -I swear, I swear by all that's holy, I'll come back. I'll come back and take this grenade and shove it down your throat and pull the pin!

[BillBuckner]

Saving Private Ryan is one of the greatest movies ever made.

The first time I saw it was in a packed theater where the vast majority of the crowd had to be WWII vets or damn close. It was an extremely emotional evening.

I'm just happy that a lot of folks from that era got to see that movie.

How the hell did that movie get screwed out of Best Picture? Shakespeare in Love sucked.

[texasyankee]

How the hell did that movie get screwed out of Best Picture? Shakespeare in Love sucked.

That's the question I asked myself. The best I could figure was that after Forrest Gump, Philadelphia & Castaway, Hollywood decided that a good stopping point was a Tom Hanks war movie.................

[BillBuckner]

That's the question I asked myself. The best I could figure was that after Forrest Gump, Philadelphia & Castaway, Hollywood decided that a good stopping point was a Tom Hanks war movie.................

Castaway sucked too.

[yankeesAZ]

Castaway sucked too.

"Wilson" was the best actor in that movie. He really nailed his lines!

[texasyankee]

"Wilson" was the best actor in that movie. He really nailed his lines!

[texasyankee]

Saving Private Ryan is one of the greatest movies ever made.

The first time I saw it was in a packed theater where the vast majority of the crowd had to be WWII vets or damn close. It was an extremely emotional evening.

I'm just happy that a lot of folks from that era got to see that movie.

I agree with you. When it first came out, I had to see it on the big screen. It was everything I had heard and MORE. So, next, I took my teenage daughter to it......

As soon as the movie came out on tape, I rented it & showed it to my Father......as my Dad didnt go to theatres anymore..... He couldnt watch it all.......


Still to this day, whenever it shows on DirecTV, I find myself watching it....I cant think of anything better....


Concerning, "Flags Of Our Fathers," - I plan on going to the big screen & watching it, too.....