After bringing the story of the American soldiers who fought in the battle of Iwo Jima to the screen in his film Flags of Our Fathers, Clint Eastwood offers an equally thoughtful portrait of the Japanese forces who held the island for 36 days in this military drama. In 1945, World War II was in its last stages, and U.S. forces were planning to take on the Japanese on a small island known as Iwo Jima. While the island was mostly rock and volcanoes, it was of key strategic value and Japan's leaders saw the island as the final ...
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After bringing the story of the American soldiers who fought in the battle of Iwo Jima to the screen in his film Flags of Our Fathers, Clint Eastwood offers an equally thoughtful portrait of the Japanese forces who held the island for 36 days in this military drama. In 1945, World War II was in its last stages, and U.S. forces were planning to take on the Japanese on a small island known as Iwo Jima. While the island was mostly rock and volcanoes, it was of key strategic value and Japan's leaders saw the island as the final opportunity to prevent an Allied invasion. Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) was put in charge of the forces on Iwo Jima; Kuribayashi had spent time in the United States and was not eager to take on the American army, but he also understood his opponents in a way his superiors did not, and devised an unusual strategy of digging tunnels and deep foxholes that allowed his troops a tactical advantage over the invading soldiers. While Kuribayashi's strategy alienated some older officers, it impressed Baron Nishi (Tsuyoshi Ihara), the son of a wealthy family who had also studied America firsthand as an athlete at the 1932 Olympics. As Kuribayashi and his men dig in for a battle they are not certain they can win -- and most have been told they will not survive -- their story is told both by watching their actions and through the letters they write home to their loved ones, letters that in many cases would not be delivered until long after they were dead. Among the soldiers manning Japan's last line of defense are Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya), a baker sent to Iwo Jima only days before his wife was to give birth; Shimizu (Ryo Kase), who was sent to Iwo Jima after washing out in the military police; and Lieutenant Ito (Shidou Nakamura), who has embraced the notion of "Death Before Surrender" with particular ferocity. Filmed in Japanese with a primarily Japanese cast, Letters From Iwo Jima was shot in tandem with Flags of Our Fathers, and the two films were released within two months of one another. Mark Deming, Rovi
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Studio:
Paramount Pictures (USA) / Warner Brothers / Warner Brothers...
Released:
May 22, 2007
Language:
English
MPAA Rating:
R
Alibris ID:
18102922630
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Seller's Description:
Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, Shidou Nakamura. New in new packaging. 2 discs. Languages: English, Japanese. Run time: 141 mins. Originally released: 2006.
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New. Size: 5x5x0; Buy from insomniacs! We dont sleep until your order is shipped! Professional packaging, same day shipping on most orders. View our feedback and buy with confidence.
Studio:
Paramount Pictures (USA) / Warner Brothers / Warner Brothers...
Released:
06/01/2010
Language:
English
MPAA Rating:
R
Alibris ID:
18108207227
Shipping Options:
Standard Shipping: $3.46
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, Shidō Nakamura. New. 2006 Run time: 141. Buy with confidence-Satisfaction Guaranteed! Delivery Confirmation included for all orders in the US.
I had just finished reading "Flyboys" by James Bradley, which is a fantastic book about the American pilots who were executed on Japanese islands, the rise of Japan as a world power and how Japanese culture produced the never-surrender battle ethic during WWII. This movie backed up everything I had read about the period and I always applaud historical accuracy in a film.
The film is superbly acted and directed, and tells a fascinating story of what Japanese soldiers went through, and how they struggled as human beings against the Japanese party line that a) they needed to die to prove their loyalty to the Emperor and b) that Americans were enemies and not worthy of friendship.
A great portrayal of a very unusual place and time in world history.
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