Letters From Iwo Jima

Pros: Haunting, effective storytelling.
Cons: Shameless manipulation of the audience.

Last night, heartily sick of 2008 politics, I sat down to take in Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima, the second half of his film endevour to tell the story of one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. The film is part of a two movie ...

Pros: A worthy companion piece to Flags Of Our Fathers
Cons: Some have objected to the portrayal of the Japanese troops

In Flags Of Our Fathers, Clint Eastwood took viewers on a look at one of the most famous moments of World War II, and the events that ensued. In Letters From Iwo Jima, Eastwood took a second look at the 1945 conflict, but from a Japanese ...

Pros: Well-made, nicely acted, and a technical masterpiece
Cons: Its mostly all-Japanese dialog track may turn off some viewers, graphic war scenes might, too.

One of the interesting things about Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima isn't so much that it's a cinematic rarity - an American-produced movie with a mostly-Japanese dialog soundtrack that qualified for a Golden Globe award for Best Foreign ...

Pros: Humanization of war
Cons: Doesn't present the proper context of the battle

In finishing up this review I learned it is up for Best Picture by the The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Because of that nomination I'll add some additional thoughts in that regard. I'll state here that though this is an excellent film ...

Pros: Wonderful acting, avoids some pitfalls
Cons: music sometimes adds too much sentiment

As a companion piece to Flags of our Fathers, Clint Eastwood has now given us the Japanese side of the story of the battle for Iwo Jima in World War II. Letters from Iwo Jima is a powerful film that gives us very human Japanese characters ...

Pros: Outstanding cinematography; compelling story-line; outstanding direction
Cons: N/a

On Feb. 23, 1945, after days of pitched battle five U.S. Marines and one U.S. Navy sailor—a Hospital Corpsman—planted a makeshift flagpole atop Mount Surabachi on the tiny isle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific Ocean. They were ...

Pros: The humanizing impulse; photography; acting
Cons: Glosses over larger context, to the detriment of truth in place of sentiment; manipulative music

Letters From Iwo Jima (2006) is the companion film to Flags of Our Fathers (2006), two films created fast upon one another (and released at once) that approach the famous 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima from opposing angles, the former from the ...

Pros: A thought provoking look at something from a perspective we rarely if ever consider.
Cons: Hard to watch - lots of carnage. Hard to see 'bad' Americans at times.

My wife and I saw this film on a rainy afternoon in Northern California yesterday. Uniquely, it is the first movie dealing with warfare that she has ever (in 40 years of marriage and film going) taken the initiative to suggest. After more than 2 hours ...

Pros: Eastwood's Direction, Script, Locations, Cinematography, Editing, Sound, Music, & Cast.
Cons: None.

In 2006, Clint Eastwood released Flags of Our Fathers about the famous battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. The film was told from an American perspective along with the iconic image of the men raising the flag on Mount Suribachi and its ...

Pros: Cast, photography, pure truth.
Cons: All subtitled.

The movie is second in Clint Eastwood's series of the experiences of the Battle of Iwo Jima from the eyes of the Japanese soldiers. There are two sides one can see this movie from, a military side and civilian side as well. My views are based on the ...

Pros: script, plot, acting, everything
Cons: nothing

I was lucky enough to hear about and be able to attend a special viewing of all five best pictures nominated films at AMC theaters this past Saturday. So I got to see all the best picture nominees back to back. Letters from Iwo Jima was of ...

Pros: This film is the proverbial "other side of the story."
Cons: None really, although it is quite violent, as might be expected in a war film.

This review reveals major events in, not only this film by Eastwood, but two of his other films, Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby. Paragraphs that contain details are noted by "Spoiler Paragraph." In two of Clint Eastwood’s recent film ...

Pros: Fine performances and evocative locations. Interesting to see war from this perspective.
Cons: Very difficult to follow the actual time, progress and strategy of the battle.

This is a well-made, honorable movie that somehow didn't quite click on an emotional level for me. I'm an admirer of Eastwood's understated directing style, where he let's the actors do some acting without having to add frantic editing and other tricks. ...

Pros: Touching storyline, Clint Eastwood, Action scenes.
Cons: Have to depend on subtitles, slightly biased.

I watched Letters from Iwo Jima a day after I watched Flags of our fathers. Out of the two movies, it was the Letters from Iwo which touched me more. I have watched a few Japanese movies like Audition and Ju'On. I can say that Japanese movies are ...