Review Rating: 0
Flags of Our Fathers is a World War 2 story about the men who raised the flag up on Iwo Jima on the 5th day of the attack. A photographer takes a photograph of the men raising the flag and this picture becomes a propaganda tool to help America win the war. The only problem is they raised 2 different flags on the exact same spot and took two exact same photographers with 2 different photographers. So who were those men? The American public sees them as heroes. However to the press and Washington they are a perfect propaganda tool to sell War Bonds. Now Eastwood craft yet another perfect film for Oscar season. I doubt he does that to win another Oscar but nonetheless this film is Oscar worthy. The story revolves around three soldiers that are picked to be the surviving members of that immortal photograph. They each have a different reaction to be made into a celebrity and that is what is at the heart of this movie. What makes a hero? Phillippe, Bradford, and Beach are fantastic and represent three very different cl***es of Americans from the forties. There is the dreamer, the worker, and the neglected. The war brings these men together and shows them that they are all brothers. However war will not last forever and the return to the real world will bring them back to their lives. A fate they cannot escape, but one that Breach's character is desperately trying so hard to. Through a series of flash backs we learn about each man and his ties to the other through various moments and other members of their platoon. When they return home to start the war bond drive we learn even more about them but we see their families and the mothers of the men who didn't survive. However since we are not exactly sure who their older versions are of their younger counter parts it is difficult to put it all together. This is obviously done to deliver who lived and who died moments that come through out the film. This film has few horrific war moments. None that rival Saving Private Ryan (1998), so it isn't as brutal on the senses, but it is just as heart felt when it comes to the brothers in arms comradery. I insist that if you do see this film sit trough the credits and look at the actual photographs taken at Iwo Jima. Pay attention to the pictures because you just saw all those moments brought to life on screen.
I was kind of disappointed. I read the book first, which can alway be an issue, but I felt like the movie was choppy and difficult to follow. Toward the end it felt like they were just trying to kill off the key characters just to get it over with and remain true to the story. I enjoyed it over all. Watched it on Pay-Per-View so I didn't get the full screen theater experience. That likely would have helped for this particular movie.
This was a great movie that depicts the greatest generation in a very realistic way. My father was an Iwo survivor. He lived long enough to read the book, but no to see the movie. I wish he could have seen it, because the book upset him quite a bit. He had been good friends with Ira Hayes and knew both of the other survivors. He was upset by the way Hayes was depicted, but I think the job that eastwood did showed Ira Hayes as a victim and not a drunk. Eastwood did a good job of recreating Iwo Jima since the Japanese government refused to allow filming on the island. Every American needs to know that President Johnson gave the island back to Japan in the 1960s. Since that time Japan only allows Americans to return one per year and are a true pain in the @@# about it. They claim it is "a sacred open grave", but the amount of trash on the beaches and lack of care of the island makes a visitor question question that expression. I have been there and seen it, and witnessed the lack of co-operation with the USMC that the Japanese showed. Bottom line is that they were beaten there and do not want to have to remember it. I have not seen the movie yet, but hope that all Americans remember that theae were not honorable men. These were men who murdered wounded Marines, killed Navy Corpsman, (which was against the rules of war) who were tending the wounded. Before anyone finds sympathy for the Japanese soldier, please read THE RAPE OF NANKING or BUSHIDO; THE ANATOMY OF TERROR. Remember, the Japanese forces made the NAZI look like choir boys.
Sorry I left out the line that was going to refer to LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA. That is the movie I have not seen. sorry
Beautifully done, and thought provoking. I'm not a fan of many war movies. But this one, made its way onto my favorites list. For a moment, I thought of enlisting. Just for a moment though.
Thought it was a good movie.
when will this be released on DVD?? I missed it.
THERE ARE NO BAD WAR MOVIES JUST BAD WARS
There's less to this movie than meets the hype. It is essentiallty Saving Private Ryan but not as good. Once I saw it, I forgot it.
You are so wrong, please watch it again with an open mind. I saw Saving Private Ryan it was a good film, but it was about one family. In the Movie Flags of our Fathers, it was about the terrible hurts, deaths and destructions of many men and their familys. Which included the Japanese soldiers. And the goverment perpetuated this when they did not correct the fact that the mother of the boy that died was not told of the mistake, nor was she invited to the ceremony. Every single man, woman who have ever served in the armed forces is a Hero in my eyes. They have pledged a time out of their lives to protect their fellow countrymen if necessary, wether they think that it is a ligitimate war or not. It is their decision to protect their generation and the generations to come. They should be treated with the respect that they deserve. IF YOU SEE A MAN IN UNIFORM IN A RESTURANT, BAR, FILLING HIS CAR WITH A TANK OF GAS, DON'T LET HIM PAY FOR THAT, DO WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR THE PERSON THAT IS PUTTING THEMSELVES ON THE LINE FOR YOU. PAY FOR WHATEVER IT IS AND WALK UP TO THAT PERSON AND THANK THEM, NOT ONLY FOR WHAT THEY ARE DOING FOR YOU, BUT YOUR FUTURE GENERATIONS. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT, THOSE OF US THAT DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THE FORCES OWE A RESPECT FOR THOSE THAT HAVE, AND NEED TO EXPRESS THAT. WE ARE A PLENTIFUL NATION, WE GET TOGETHER WHEN THERE IS A DISASTER, AND GIVE UNTIL IT HURTS WELL THE MEN AND WOMEN IN OUR ARMED FORCES DESERVE THE SAME, MAYBE MORE. THANK YOU MR. EASTWOOD FOR HELPING PEOPLE TO REMEMBER THAT THOSE OF US THAT ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO LIVE IN THIS AMERICA, WHERE WE CAN OPENLY COMPLAIN ABOUT POLITICS AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, OWE A THANK YOU TO THOSE THAT LAYED DOWN THEIR LIVES, FOR THE GENERATIONS TO COME, AND THEY MADE THAT FREEDOM POSSIBLE THEIR REWARD IS IN HEAVEN, WITH ALL THE ANSWERS TO THEIR QUESTIONS, LOOKING DOWN TO SEE WHAT THEIR SACRAFICE WAS FOR, AND BE PROUD, ENJOY BEING A HERO
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