What should have been a one or two-day cakewalk turned into a forty-day ordeal that turned out to be the single bloodiest battle of WWII.
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Note: In the following joint review, Dean wrote about "Flags of Our Fathers," and John wrote about "Letters from Iwo Jima" and the bonus documentary disc.
Clint Eastwood's pair of 2006 war films, "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima," comes in all flavors, thanks to the two studios that produced it, Warner Bros. and DreamWorks. There are single-disc editions, double-disc editions, full-screen editions, widescreen editions, HD-DVD editions, Blu-ray editions, and now this big "Five-Disc Commemorative Collector's Edition," with both films in standard-definition, widescreen, two-disc formats, plus the documentary disc "Heroes of Iwo Jima."
Flags of Our Fathers
Clint Eastwood is a national treasure. At seventy-five years old, the veteran actor and director just keeps churning out incredible films. Whereas he thrilled audiences with numerous memorable character roles such as Harry Callahan the infamous man with no name in Sergio Leone's spaghetti western trilogy, Clint Eastwood is one of the quintessential tough guy actors and perhaps the stereotypical image of a cinematic gunslinger. Though he has been directing films since 1971's "Play Misty For Me," Eastwood did not get the credit he deserved as a filmmaker until 1991's stunning revenge western, "Unforgiven." He has gotten numerous accolades since "Unforgiven" for films such as "Mystic River" and picked up a second Best Director Oscar for "Million Dollar Baby." In the year 2006, Eastwood signed on with Steven Spielberg for an unprecedented project – filming both sides of the Iwo Jima conflict concurrently and releasing them within a few months of each other. With the praise and support of the Japanese people and the permission to film on the island of Iwo Jima, Eastwood continues to be nothing short than amazing as both films were nominated for Academy Awards in various categories, including Best Picture and Best Director.
I grew up on military and war films. My father retired from the Air Force after twenty nine years with the rank of Master Sergeant. He takes his military history and films that portray any conflict or branch of the service with a keen and critical eye. Despite being raised in an Air Force family, I joined the United States Army and served in the Infantry during the first Gulf War conflict. As an example of my love for military history, one of my prized possessions is a World War II vintage M1 Garand rifle, complete with a 1942 bayonet. Needless to say, there was quite fervor upon hearing the news that Eastwood was going to film two pictures detailing the historic conflict that occurred on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima and give the perspective from both sides of the conflict. The only other time that a major Hollywood production attempted something like this was the 1970 film "Tora! Tora! Tora!," and though that is a remarkable film for its period, it does not delve into any great depth due to its relatively short running time of 144 minutes. By dedicating two distinct films to the conflict, Eastwood promised perhaps the most comprehensive film of any World War II battle ever to be delivered to the big screen.
"Flags of Our Fathers" was completed and released first and featured the American perspective on the battle for Iwo Jima. The film primarily deals with the three surviving men who hoisted the flag for the infamous photograph, immortalized in Washington, D.C., as the National Marine Memorial. "Flags of Our Fathers" looks at their involvement in the actual conflict trying to take Iwo Jima and its strategic airfield and their struggles in fighting a financial war across the United States in raising war bonds to help finance the final stages of World War II. Six men raised that second flag that was captured in the photograph, but only three men survived. Not all of the men enjoyed touring the country and not being involved in the final stages of conflict in bringing Japan to its knees and the event was not without controversy. Firstly, the flag was not the initial flag raised on Suribachi. It was the second. Secondly, one of the men that died and was said to have been in the photograph was part of the first flag raising and not one of the men that appeared in the famous photo.
John "Doc" Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford) and American Indian Ira Hayes (Adam Beach) were the three soldiers who survived the month-long conflict on the small Japanese volcanic island. They were promptly given a free pass home and thrust into an effort to raise billions and billions of dollars from the American taxpayers and corporations to fund the building of tanks, plans and ammunition. Gagnon and Bradley were more accepting of their roles as financial cows for the military, though Bradley was tormented by his memories of what happened on the island. Hayes suffered from alcoholism and felt himself to be a disgrace and desperately wanted to be back with his Marine compatriots and fighting the war and not trying to raise money. Hayes was haunted by the loss of his friend and fellow flag raiser Mike Strank (Barry Pepper) and truly did not view himself as a hero, but idolized Strank and thought of him as such. Franklin Sousley (Joseph Cross) lost his life as well before the end of the conflict. Hank Hanson (Paul Walker) was claimed to have been one of the six, but, in fact, he was not. The actual sixth man was Harlon Block (Benjamin Walker), and Block's mother could recognize her son from a shot of his posterior and knew immediately it was really her son in the photograph.
Clint Eastwood's film spends more time during the War Bond drive than it does on the volcanic beaches of Iwo Jima and slopes of Mount Suribachi. The three actors portraying Bradley, Gagnon and Hayes all do justice to their characters. Most impressive was Adam Beach as Ira "Chief" Hayes. In Beach's performance, you can see the torment and pain of a man who is lost in alcohol and cannot even remotely accept being called a hero in light of those that died and the unspeakable things he did and witnessed on Iwo Jima. Beach's speech given when his character is told he is no longer part of the War Bond drive was done perfectly. Jesse Bradford portrays Gagnon as a man who enjoyed the spotlight a bit too much and came across like a slimy used car salesman. If Gagnon was truly like this, then Bradford nailed it. Hayes and Gagnon did not get along and Ryan Phillippe is given the task of bringing peacemaker Doc Bradley to life. Bradley was asked to postpone needed surgery to complete the war bond drive and he is the most level-headed and aware of the three, though he is tormented by the combat he was a part of. I've never been much of a Ryan Phillippe fan, but in "Flags of Our Fathers," he earned some of my respect.
As the three principal actors and Eastwood bring about the trials and tribulations of dealing with ghosts of a conflict and the public eye, "Flags of Our Fathers" takes on a feel that is unlike most other war films. The film rides the fence as to taking an antiwar stance or a pro-war stance as it shows the horrible effects that war can have on men and how veterans can move from neo-celebrity status to being easily forgotten quite quickly. The fall of Ira Hayes is especially disheartening. The three men were more of a sideshow than they were a display of the humanity and effects of war. They are put on display and their story is distorted to have them appear to be larger than life. The uncomfortable and demeaning existence they are forced into is perfectly captured by Eastwood during the mock flag raising at Soldier Field. Each of the three actors bring about a different feel to a combat veteran, and with Eastwood guiding them, "Flags of Our Fathers" shows the unfortunate situation the surviving flag raisers of the historic photograph had befall them.
The film is not without its combat sequences. With Steven Spielberg serving as producer, the influence of "Saving Private Ryan" is certainly felt. The beach storming sequence is not initially as graphic or as hectic as Spielberg's landmark film, but the cinematography and aura of the event echoes that of the older film. In "Flags of Our Fathers," Eastwood does not shy away from blood and guts. They are prevalent. The combat is hectic and the viewer is placed in the center of the action. Gunshots fly in all directions, and as was the case with "Saving Private Ryan," the viewer is certainly given the notion of being placed in the center of the battle. War is hell and ever since that was first driven home by Spielberg, filmmakers have taken note and are no longer afraid to water down how violent and ugly battles truly are. No longer is John Wayne shot and he simply falls to his death. Instead, actors are blown to bits in violent and horrendous visions of death. Eastwood learned from working with Spielberg, and though I am admittedly tiring of "Saving Private Ryan" clones, "Flags of Our Fathers" is done well.
This is a brilliant film, and our national treasure, Mr. Eastwood, has done an amazing job delivering one of the absolute best war films ever made. War is not just about the blood that is spilled, the men that are lost, the metal that is disintegrated and the land that is conquered. It is about the men that served in the conflict and the effects that seeing the blood, destruction and death of a battle have on a man. The time that is spent on the ashen and rocky beaches of Iwo Jima does justice to the general feel of conflict on the island from the American perspective, though the adjoining "Letters from Iwo Jima" was certainly the better film in regards to showing the conflict. The battles scenes are not necessarily easy to stomach and many will object to the considerable amount of time spent by Eastwood on the War Bond drive. By devoting precious screen time to this aspect of war, Eastwood has entered near virgin territory in a war film. I'm sure the vast majority of the American public is familiar with the photograph from Iwo Jima, but I bet most know nothing about the men and the story behind about it. Clint Eastwood felt it was time to educate us and he did an incredible job.
Video:
"Flags of Our Fathers" is not an easy film to visually digest as its combat scenes are viscerally detailed and graphically disturbing at times. The camera moves swiftly and uneasily across the volcanic beaches. The style taken by Clint Eastwood and director of photography Tom Stern is to dilute the colors and desaturated them to a point where the film retains its colors, but gives an archival and dated appearance to the entire picture. When the action is taking places on the beaches of Iwo Jima, colors are the least vibrant and the picture takes a closer step towards being a black in white picture, while when the cameras focus on 1940's America, colors are present, but not nearly as strong as you would expect in today's modern films. Of course, considering the film is less than a year old, this is completely stylistic on the filmmaker's part and intended to make the film and its subject matter appear older. It is en vogue to film war movies in this manner. I don't mind the appearance and have come to expect war movies to not be colorful and pretty, but to be grimy and grungy in appearance.
The special effects and battles scenes look superb. The digital navy is most impressive, and I absolutely loved the flyover sequences of the Naval aircraft approaching Iwo Jima. Sequences of the mighty battleships laying waste to Mount Suribachi were also visually stimulating and when the bellows of fire rolled from their magnificent guns, it provided the warmest colors of the film. Eastwood relied heavily on digital effects for these sequences of the massive might of the United States military and when utilizing the desaturated hues of "Flags of Our Fathers," the CGI looks all the more realistic. One wonders how long it will be until Hollywood produces a big-budget, black-and-white film. I'd love it, but maybe this is just my dream and my hope. Back to "Flags of Our Fathers," the combat sequences are perhaps a notch below what we saw in "Saving Private Ryan," but the film is still one of the better-looking war movies that you will ever pay witness to.
The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer of this standard-definition DVD release is quite good. Though the film is nowhere near as colorful as most modern films, its dated and period look is well done and nicely rendered by the digital transfer. With a length of over two hours, "Flags of Our Fathers" does not share any disc space with supplemental materials and the film benefited in having all of that space to wholly dedicate to the visual presentation of the film. What colors were left to thrive by the filmmakers are clear and clean with solid contrast. In a few moments when yellows and reds appear, it is easy to see that "Flags of Our Fathers" is a top-notch digital transfer. With an appearance that falls between modern coloring and old black and white, "Flags of Our Fathers" requires strong shadow detail. The disc has that in spades. Black levels are equally strong and considering the dark appearance of much of the sequences in this film, "Flags of Our Fathers" never falters. The source materials are pristine and this is definitely a great looking picture.
Audio:
With "Letters from Iwo Jima" getting most of the love from the Academy, "Flags of Our Fathers" is not forgotten. It was nominated for an Oscar in both "Best Achievement in Sound Editing and Best Achievement in Sound Mixing. "Letters from Iwo Jima" share an Oscar nod for the Sound Editing category, but the Oscar was won by "Letters from Iwo Jima." There is a reason that "Flags of Our Fathers" earned a nomination for both sound categories. It is impressive sounding and very aggressive. As I said earlier, war is hell and the soundtrack does every little thing it can to help root you in the center of combat during the scenes that take place on Iwo Jima. It also does the best job it can in having you stand along side Gagnon, Bradley and Hayes as they find themselves surrounded by massive crowds and hungry press and photographers. This soundtrack rivals nearly every film released and perhaps only the technically impressive beach landing at Normandy from "Saving Private Ryan" surpasses the sounds of war that are provided in "Flags of Our Fathers."
"Flags of Our Fathers" is empowered with a clean and powerful Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround mix. An adjoining Dolby Digital 2.0 mix is also provided for English listeners that do not have multichannel surround capability or are watching the film on a television with no surround system. With the dynamic and aggressive nature of the soundtrack, the 2.0 mix has a lot of value, as the film sounds much cleaner on just a television with this track in place and not the 5.1 mix. A French 5.1 mix is also provided. The rear surrounds are in constant use during "Flags of Our Fathers" and though they are more so used during the combat sequences, there are times during the War Bond drive when sounds such as Camera shutters are easily heard in one or two of the surround speakers and the moments in Yankee Stadium and Chicago's Soldier Field, the crowd noise can be deafening in a full 360 degree sound space. Dialogue is fully intelligible, even during the most hectic and hellacious battle sequences. Stereo imaging is perfect. There is a reason that this film and its bookend companion were nominated for Academy Awards in the sound fields and the DVD drives those reasons home.
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[release]20997[/release]