From Academy Award-winning director Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven) comes the World Was II epic Flags of Our Fathers, produced by Eastwood, Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List), and Rob Lorenz (Mystic River), and from a screenplay adapted by William Broyles, Jr. (Cast Away) and Oscar winner Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby, Crash). February 1945. Even as victory in Europe was finally within reach, the war in the Pacific raged on. One of the most crucial and bloodiest battles of the war was the struggle for the island of Iwo Jima, which culminated with what would become one of the most iconic images in history: five Marines and a Navy corpsman raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi. The inspiring photo capturing that moment became a symbol of victory to a nation that had grown weary of war and made instant heroes of the six American soldiers at the base of the flag, some of whom would die soon after, never knowing that they had been immortalized. But the surviving flag raisers had no interest in being held up as symbols and did not consider themselves heroes; they wanted only to stay on the front with their brothers in arms who were fighting and dying without fanfare or glory. Flags of Our Fathers is based on the bestselling book by James Bradley with Ron Powers, which chronicled the battle of Iwo Jima and the fates of the flag raisers and some of their brothers in Easy Company. Bradley's father, John "Doc" Bradley, was one of the soldiers pictured raising the flag, although James never knew the full extent of his father's experiences until after the elder Bradley's death in 1994.
Thematically ambitious and emotionally complex, Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers is an intimate epic with much to say about war and the nature of heroism in America. Based on the non-fiction bestseller by James Bradley (with Ron Powers), and adapted by Million Dollar Baby screenwriter Paul Haggis (Jarhead screenwriter William Broyles Jr. wrote an earlier draft that was abandoned when Eastwood signed on to direct), this isn't so much a conventional war movie as it is a thought-provoking meditation on our collective need for heroes, even at the expense of those we deem heroic. In telling the story of the six men (five Marines, one Navy medic) who raised the American flag of victory on the battle-ravaged Japanese island of Iwo Jima on February 23rd, 1945, Eastwood takes us deep into the horror of war (in painstakingly authentic Iwo Jima battle scenes) while emphasizing how three of the surviving flag-raisers (played by Adam Beach, Ryan Phillippe, and Jesse Bradford) became reluctant celebrities - and resentful pawns in a wartime publicity campaign - after their flag-raising was immortalized by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal in the most famous photograph in military history.
As the surviving flag-raisers reluctantly play their public roles as "the heroes of Iwo Jima" during an exhausting (but clearly necessary) wartime bond rally tour, Flags of Our Fathers evolves into a pointed study of battlefield valor and misplaced idolatry, incorporating subtle comment on the bogus nature of celebrity, the trauma of battle, and the true meaning of heroism in wartime. Wisely avoiding any direct parallels to contemporary history, Eastwood allows us to draw our own conclusions about the Iwo Jima flag-raisers and how their postwar histories (both noble and tragic) simultaneously illustrate the hazards of exploited celebrity and society's genuine need for admirable role models during times of national crisis. Flags of Our Fathers defies the expectations of those seeking a more straightforward war-action drama, but it's richly satisfying, impeccably crafted film that manages to be genuinely patriotic (in celebrating the camaraderie of soldiers in battle) while dramatizing the ultimate futility of war. Eastwood's follow-up film, Letters from Iwo Jima, examines the Iwo Jima conflict from the Japanese perspective. --Jeff Shannon
Beyond Flags of Our Fathers
Other World War II DVDs
Essential DVDs by Director Clint Eastwood
Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley
Stills from Flags of Our Fathers (click for larger image)
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
Flags of our Fathers:
War is hell and thats what shows in this movie. Its also about the men who raised the flag and how the government used them to raise money.
Ambitious but dull:
In Flags of Our Fathers, director Clint Eastwood attempts to deliver a stirring and thought provoking film that honors the sacrifices made by the veterans of World War II, while at the same time fixing a critical gaze on the U.S. government for their exploitation of those vets to promote public support of the war. Kudos to Clint for thinking big, but he seems to have bitten off more than he can chew in this case. The movie shifts back and forth between the bloody battle of Iwo Jima, where we watch... more info
Captures the sacrifices of the Vets:
Having seen this three times now (once in movie theater and two times on DVD), it makes me appreciate the sacrifices of the Marines in the island hopping campaigns of Pacific during WW II. Clint Eastwood has done a marvelous job in capturing the suffering of those who were involved in the Iwo Jima battle. Also, it was an informative movie to me. I had no idea about the 2nd flag rising and the fate of those who did it. Job well done!
Falls a little short:
A big ambitious film, this one tries very hard but ultimately falls short of being the majestic look at the meaning of it all that Clint strove for. The story behind the Iwo Jima flag raising is an intriguing one and this film lays it bare, though the structure of flashbacks may not help. Is it about the misplaced idoltry, the meaning of war, the Greatest Generation, the stories of the soldiers involved? Yes, yes yes etc. It just doesn't quite achieve those goals. Still, it's a valiant effort, well worth... more info
