Flags of Our Fathers
The Battle of Iwo Jima, fought in the winter of 1945 on a rocky island south of Japan,
... more
brought a ferocious slice of hell to Earth: in a month's time, more than 22,000 Japanese soldiers would die defending a patch of ground a third the size of Manhattan, while nearly 26,000 Americans fell taking it from them. The battle was a turning point in the war in the Pacific, and it produced one of World War Two's enduring images: a photograph of six soldiers raising an American flag on the flank of Mount Suribachi, the island's commanding high point. One of those young Americans was John Bradley, a Navy corpsman who a few days before had braved enemy mortar and machine-gun fire to administer first aid to a wounded Marine and then drag him to safety. For this act of heroism Bradley would receive the Navy Cross, an award second only to the Medal of Honour. Bradley, who died in 1994, never mentioned his feat to his family. Only after his death did Bradley's son James begin to piece together the facts of his father's heroism, which was but one of countless acts of sacrifice made by the young men who fought at Iwo Jima. Flags of Our Fathers recounts the sometimes tragic life stories of the six men who raised the flag that February day--one an Arizona Indian who would die following an alcohol-soaked brawl, another a Kentucky hillbilly, still another a Pennsylvania steel-mill worker--and who became reluctant heroes in the bargain. A strongly felt and well-written entry in a spate of recent books on World War Two, Flags of our Fathers gives a "you-are-there" depiction of that conflict's horrible arenas--and a moving homage to the men whom fate brought there. --Gregory McNamee
brought a ferocious slice of hell to Earth: in a month's time, more than 22,000 Japanese soldiers would die defending a patch of ground a third the size of Manhattan, while nearly 26,000 Americans fell taking it from them. The battle was a turning point in the war in the Pacific, and it produced one of World War Two's enduring images: a photograph of six soldiers raising an American flag on the flank of Mount Suribachi, the island's commanding high point. One of those young Americans was John Bradley, a Navy corpsman who a few days before had braved enemy mortar and machine-gun fire to administer first aid to a wounded Marine and then drag him to safety. For this act of heroism Bradley would receive the Navy Cross, an award second only to the Medal of Honour. Bradley, who died in 1994, never mentioned his feat to his family. Only after his death did Bradley's son James begin to piece together the facts of his father's heroism, which was but one of countless acts of sacrifice made by the young men who fought at Iwo Jima.Flags of Our Fathersrecounts the sometimes tragic life stories of the six men who raised the flag that February day--one an Arizona Indian who would die following an alcohol-soaked brawl, another a Kentucky hillbilly, still another a Pennsylvania steel-mill worker--and who became reluctant heroes in the bargain. A strongly felt and well-written entry in a spate of recent books on World War Two,Flags of our Fathersgives a "you-are-there" depiction of that conflict's horrible arenas--and a moving homage to the men whom fate brought there. --Gregory McNamee
Advantages: A story worth telling... Disadvantages: ...but a story badly told
~~ Flags of Our Fathers ~~
Film Review Only
Director: Clint Eastwood
Screenplay; William Broyles Jr. and Paul Haggis
Actors: Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, John Benjamin Hickey, John Slattery.
Classification: 15
Run Time: 127 minutes
~~ Introduction ~~
I've been impressed with recent films directed by Clint Eastwood (Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby) and I really wanted to like this film, but unfortunately I found the outcome ... ...days. Furthermore, there were to flags hoisted that day and although the three soldiers named above did actually hoist the stars and stripes, they weren't part of the group that hoisted the first flag. The original flag was put up by soldiers who were later killed in combat and who were never given credit whilst other soldiers who had nothing to do with the event were treated as heroes. If that seems confusing you'll be even more confused after watching ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: A solid ensemble of actors. Disadvantages: A lack of emotional depth and sometimes clumsy direction.
During the later stages of World War Two, American interest in the conflict was waning. This was also true of military morale and financial contributions to the war effort. The US government was desperate for a symbol to rally behind. They got in the form of now iconic image "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima", which depicts five Marines and one Navy Corpsman raising the Stars and Stripes on Mount Suribachi. Pulling the three surviving flag-raisers out ... ...fundraising War Bond Tour. But the men are uncomfortable with their new-found celebrity, considering the real heroes to be those who died on Iwo Jima.
I consider Clint Eastwood a reliable, workmanlike director rather than an innovative one. Stylistically this film takes a slightly different tack to his normally talky movies. Visually it is most closely related to "Saving Private Ryan" with its bleached-out film stock and hand-held camerawork that ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Excellent Directing - Tells the politics of War Disadvantages: None
-----FILM REVIEW ONLY - WARNING MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS-----
This film was released just before Christmas, however I had the privelige of going to a special preview a couple of weeks before. This is the latest film directed by Clint Eastwood and I have to say he hasn't let his reputation for producing excellent films slip. Although this is technically a War film, the story does not centre on the war, but the politics that run behind wars. After 911 ... ...an American flag at Ground Zero - this photo was actually a reproduction of a photo that became very famous in the US during World War II. The photo was actually taken on a little known Japanese Island called Iwo Jima. This photo was used by the American Government to instill confidence in the American people that the war was being won and encourage them to buy War Bonds so that the government could fund the war. I don't want to include too many ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: True story, a real view of war Disadvantages: extremely graphic, but that's it!
...war against Japan.
Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers, approaches a difficult subject very well. In the case the enigmatic photo taken by Joe Rosenthal of 5 marines and a navy corpsman raising the american flag over the beaches of Iwo Jima.
Following the research by a son of one of the flag raisers, it follows their stories and life before, during and after the war and the politcal exploitation of the surviving soldiers. It brings into question the ... ...soldiers says "you call me a hero, but all I was trying to do was avoid getting shot".
It's a film that will make you want to weep at the cruelty of war both for the Allied forces and the Japanese.
Be warned, this is an extremely graffic film, but honestly and thoughtfully done.
There are extras on this DVD, but I haven't been able to bring myself to view them yet, but I'm sure they will be as good as the film.
You may also be interested in the ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Great Film, Amazing story, wonderful acting Disadvantages: very graphic
...war against Japan.
Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers, approaches a difficult subject very well. In the case the enigmatic photo taken by Joe Rosenthal of 5 marines and a navy corpsman raising the american flag over the beaches of Iwo Jima.
Following the research by a son of one of the flag raisers, it follows their stories and life before, during and after the war and the politcal exploitation of the surviving soldiers. It brings into question the ... ...soldiers says "you call me a hero, but all I was trying to do was avoid getting shot".
It's a film that will make you want to weep at the cruelty of war both for the Allied forces and the Japanese.
Be warned, this is an extremely graphic film, but honestly and thoughtfully done.
There are extras on this DVD, but I haven't been able to bring myself to view them yet, but I'm sure they will be as good as the film.
You may also be interested in the ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
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19.11.2007
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