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This is the first volume of a two-part treatment of the battle for Iwo Jima which shows the American view. The story line appears somewhat linear but then is interspersed with future tense retrospective commentary that then loops back to the linear timeline of the battle. There are many focus points that are very graphic in their violence and observation of the physical casualties in the battle. Any actual experience with these focus points would give the participant PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) for a lifetime, and the presentation of such trauma was intended to give the viewer an insight to the PTSD the citizens who participated in this battle and survived had to contend with for the rest of their lives. The second part of this treatment of the battle is "Letters from Iwo" which presents the Japanese Imperial Army participation. That film incorporates overlapping scenes from this film showing two distinct views of the same situations. This is somewhat an unusual film style reminiscent of D.W Griffith's film "Intolerance". Overall a good movie for the subject matter, and excellent for it's recreation of the period.Read full review
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As to a good WWII movie, this isn’t all action, gun blazing and men dying. It has another plot also, it shows us how 6 men who raised a flag in time of war, were used to promote the growing problems that exists today. Paying for war, and how the best is was to do that, back in WWII and the mid 1945’s, it was showing off those who were honored heroes. Even if they really wasn’t the true heroes, but one that the Government made that way, but in the end did they treat then as heroes? The movie has a lot of good points, but also has some flaws. I love Clint Eastwood and think he is possible one of our best actors/directors of our time, the cinematography like all Eastwood movies was impressive and unbelievable, making you feel as if you were on Iwo Jimo beaches. I would recommend this film to all, but beware, it will also leave you pondering things. If this a movie to own or rent?? For was buffs, a movie to own, to others a great rental. If you found this to be helpful them please remember to VOTE!!!! Thanks and enjoy. Support our Vets today!!!!!!!!!!!!Read full review
I did find this movie entertaining at times, but there is a whole list of problems, both artistic and philosophic, I have with this movie. You see, though the director tried to make the film seem fuller by constantly flashing backward, forward, sideways, and kitty-corner, all it served to do was make the viewer frustrated with the short-attention-span MTV video style of storytelling. There was no resonance - I did not become invested in the characters' lives, and I couldn't have cared less what happened to them if they were fictional, as they were all portrayed as 2-dimensional cardboard cutouts (the alcoholic Indian, the man exploiting his temporary fame, the manipulative political fundraiser, etc.). Not only would a more linear narrative have been appreciated, but I could have done without the constant bludgeoning with themes and symbols. If I heard one more person say "what is a hero," "I'm not a hero, _____ is," or even "why do we need heroes," I very likely would have thrown something through the screen. Moreover, I take issue with any film that blatantly points out its own symbolism. It's as if the filmmakers think the audience has the perspicacity of a developmentally disabled four year old! For instance, zooming in on the strawberry sauce being poured over the ice cream sculpture of the flag raisers, then hovering there as the medic stared in horror was just as good as installing a neon light flashing the words, "Dear idiot audience, this is important - write it down and have someone smarter explain it later!" Needless to say, this movie insults your intelligence as a viewer. Furthermore, I'm not sure if the late introduction of the interviewer as Doc's son was supposed to be a surprise, or if they just failed to mention earlier that this guy was interviewing people to write a biography. Normally when you use the frame story method, you give people at least some idea why. There is more, including ridiculously bad acting by several integral characters, and sub-par editing and direction, but I will stop while I can still bear writing about this film. It might not have been the worst WWII movie I've seen, but my expectations were quite high, seeing as this Was an Eastwood/Spielberg production, and I loved their respective previous efforts. But this movie will never touch Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan, Tora! Tora! Tora!, or any of the other classics. It is a fine rental, but that's about it.Read full review
This movie tells a complex tale of the lives of the military men who hoisted the flag (some of them twice) on the top of Mount Sirabachi during the Battle for Iwo Jima. The story does a magnificent job of putting a hero's tale into the context of it's time. Incredibly, it illustrates the horrors of war, the effects of war on real people over the course of their lives, the power of a mother's love and the propaganda machine perpetuating lies upon the masses by the US government (for good or ill). The cutting back and forth between the bond tours the flag raisers were sent on following the publication of the famed picture (later imortalized in the famous war memorial in Washington DC)and their war experience and after war lives can be a bit confusing but is well done, nonetheless. My hat is off to Eastwood, who has crafted a materpiece of the human condition. It's story and timing provides a lesson to every gullible American about the nature of war and the lies that are told to garner support for one. Whether intended or not, this piece could not have arrived on our movie and television screens at a better time in history. I look forward tothe Japanese sequel and completely understand why the Japanese have little part in the telling of this tale.Read full review
AS ALWAYS WE WANT OUR FIGHTING MEN TO BE HEROES, BUT THEY ARE HUMANS JUST AS WE ARE AND HOPE FOR THE BEST. POLITICS PLAYS IN PART FOR THE NEED OF WAR CHEST MONEY . THE FIGHTING MEN WHO RAISED THE FLAG ON IWO JIMA ARE MISCREDITED AND SOON FORGOTTEN
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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