Letters from Iwo Jima

Movie poster for Letters from Iwo Jima.

Letters from Iwo Jima is a 2006 Japanese-language American war film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood, starring Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya. The film portrays the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and is a companion piece to Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers, which depicts the same battle from the American viewpoint; the two films were shot back to back. Letters from Iwo Jima is almost entirely in Japanese, although it was produced by American companies DreamWorks Pictures, Malpaso Productions, and Amblin Entertainment. After Flags of Our Fathers flopped at the box office, Paramount Pictures sold the U.S. distribution rights to Warner Bros. Pictures.

The film was released in Japan on December 9, 2006 and received a limited release in the United States on December 20, 2006 in order to be eligible for consideration for the 79th Academy Awards. It was subsequently released in more areas of the U.S. on January 12, 2007, and was released in most states on January 19. An English-dubbed version of the film premiered on April 7, 2008. Upon release, the film received critical acclaim and did slightly better at the box office than its companion.

Plot

In 2005, Japanese archaeologists explore tunnels on Iwo Jima, where they find something in the dirt.

The scene changes to Iwo Jima in 1944. Private First Class Saigo and his platoon are digging beach trenches on the island. Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi arrives to take command of the garrison and immediately begins an inspection of the island defenses. He saves Saigo and his friend Kashiwara from a beating by Captain Tanida for 'unpatriotic speeches', and orders the men to begin tunneling underground defenses into Mount Suribachi. Kuribayashi and Lieutenant Colonel Baron Takeichi Nishi, a famous Olympic gold medalist show jumper, clash with some of the other officers, who do not agree with Kuribayashi's defense in depth strategy: Kuribayashi believes the US will take the beaches quickly, and that the mountain defenses will have a better chance for holding out.

Poor nutrition and unsanitary conditions take their toll; many die of dysentery, including Kashiwara. The troops begin using the caves. Kashiwara's replacement, Superior Private Shimizu, arrives for duty. Saigo suspects that Shimizu is a spy from the Kempeitai sent to report on disloyal soldiers.

Soon, American aircraft and warships begin to appear and bombard the island, causing significant casualties. A few days later, the U.S. Marines land. The American troops suffer heavy casualties, but the beach defenses are quickly overcome, as Kuribayashi predicted, and the attack turns to the positions on Mount Suribachi. While delivering a request for more machine guns from his commander to the Suribachi garrison, Saigo overhears Kuribayashi radioing orders to retreat. The commander, however, ignores the General and instead orders his company to commit suicide. Saigo runs away with Shimizu, convincing him to continue the fight rather than die. They find two other soldiers, but one is incinerated by an American flamethrower, and they witness a captured Marine being bayoneted to death.

Saigo and the soldiers in Mount Suribachi try to flee with Lt. Colonel Oiso at night, but they run into Marines, who wipe out all except Saigo and Shimizu. They flee to friendly lines, but are accused by Lieutenant Ito of desertion. Ito raises his sabre to execute them for cowardice, but Kuribayashi arrives and saves Saigo again by confirming his order to retreat.

The Japanese attack US positions but take heavy losses. The survivors are told to regroup with Colonel Nishi while Ito heads to the US lines with three mines, intending to throw himself under a tank. Nishi converses in English with a captured Marine, Sam, until Sam eventually dies from his wounds. Later, blinded by shrapnel, Nishi orders his men to withdraw and asks Lieutenant Okubo to leave him a rifle. Upon leaving, the soldiers hear a gunshot from Nishi's cave.

Saigo plans surrender, and Shimizu reveals that he was dishonorably discharged from the Kempeitai because he disobeyed an order to kill a civilian's dog. Shimizu escapes and surrenders to Americans, but is later shot dead by his guard. Meanwhile, Ito, desperate and malnourished, breaks down and, when found by the US Marines, surrenders. Okubo is killed as he and his men arrive at Kuribayashi's position. Saigo meets up with Kuribayashi, and one last attack is planned. Kuribayashi orders Saigo to stay behind and destroy all documents, including his own letters, saving Saigo's life a third time.

That night, Kuribayashi launches a final surprise attack. Most of his men are killed, and Kuribayashi is critically wounded, but Kuribayashi's loyal aide Fujita drags him away. The next morning, Kuribayashi orders Fujita to behead him; however, Fujita is shot dead by a Marine sniper before he can do so. Saigo appears, having buried some of the documents and letters instead of burning them all. Kuribayashi asks Saigo to bury him where he will not be found, then draws his pistol, an American M1911 — a gift Kuribayashi was given in the US before the war — and commits suicide. A tearful Saigo then buries him.

Later, a US patrol find Fujita's body. One Marine officer finds Kuribayashi's pistol and tucks it under his belt. They search the area and find Saigo with his shovel. Seeing the pistol in the Marine lieutenant's belt, Saigo becomes furious and attacks the Americans with his shovel. Too weak to fight, he is knocked unconscious and taken to the POW beach. Awakening on a stretcher, he glimpses the setting sun and smiles grimly.

Back in 2005, the archeologists complete their digging, revealing the bag of letters that Saigo had buried, and open it. As the letters spill out, the voices of the Japanese soldiers who wrote them resound.

Cast

Ken Watanabe: General Tadamichi Kuribayashi

Kazunari Ninomiya: Private First Class Saigo

Tsuyoshi Ihara: Lieutenant Colonel Baron Takeichi Nishi

Ryō Kase: Superior Private Shimizu

Shidō Nakamura: Lieutenant Ito

Hiroshi Watanabe: Lieutenant Fujita

Takumi Bando: Captain Tanida

Yuki Matsuzaki: Private First Class Nozaki

Takashi Yamaguchi: Private First Class Kashiwara

Eijiro Ozaki: Lieutenant Okubo

Alan Sato: Sergeant Ondo

Nae Yuuki: Hanako, Saigo's wife (in a flashback)

Nobumasa Sakagami: Admiral Ohsugi

Masashi Nagadoi: Admiral Ichimaru

Akiko Shima: lead woman (in a flashback)

Luke Eberl: Sam, wounded American Marine (credited as Lucas Elliot)

Jeremy Glazer: American Marine Lieutenant

Ikuma Ando: Ozawa

Mark Moses: American officer (in a flashback)

Roxanne Hart: Officer's wife

Production

Although the film is set in Japan, it was filmed primarily in Barstow and Bakersfield in California. All Japanese cast except for Ken Watanabe were selected through auditions. Filming in California wrapped on April 8, and the cast and crew then headed back to the studio in Los Angeles for more scenes.

Ken Watanabe filmed a portion of his scenes on location on Iwo Jima. Locations on Iwo Jima which were used for filming included beaches, towns, and Mount Suribachi. Because the crew were only allowed to film minor scenes on Iwo Jima, most of the battle scenes were filmed in Reykjavik, Iceland. Filming in Los Angeles lasted for approximately two months, and other locations across the US including Virginia, Chicago, and Houston.

The filmmakers had to be given special permission from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to film on Iwo Jima, because more than 10,000 missing Japanese soldiers still rest under its soil. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) operates a naval air base on Iwo Jima, which is used by the United States Navy for operations such as nighttime carrier landing practice. Civilian access to the island is restricted to those attending memorial services for fallen American Marines and Japanese soldiers.

The battleship USS Texas (BB-35), which was used in closeup shots of the fleet (for both movies) also participated in the actual attack on Iwo Jima for five days. The only character to appear in both Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima is Charles W. Lindberg, played by Alessandro Mastrobuono.

Sources

The film is based on the non-fiction books "Gyokusai sōshikikan" no etegami ("Picture letters from the Commander in Chief") by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (portrayed on screen by Ken Watanabe) and So Sad To Fall In Battle: An Account of War by Kumiko Kakehashi about the Battle of Iwo Jima. While some characters such as Saigo are fictional, the overall battle as well as several of the commanders are based upon actual people and events.

Reception

Critical Response in the United States

The film was critically acclaimed, and well noted for its portrayal of good and evil on both sides of the battle. The critics heavily praised the writing, direction, cinematography and acting. The review tallying website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 184 out of the 202 reviews they tallied were positive for a score of 91%, and an average rating of 8.20/10, and a certification of "fresh." The site's consensus states: "A powerfully humanistic portrayal of the perils of war, this companion piece to Flags of Our Fathers is potent and thought-provoking, and it demonstrates Clint Eastwood's maturity as a director." Metacritic gave the movie a score of 89 based on 37 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly, Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times, and Richard Schickel of Time were among many critics to name it the best picture of the year. In addition, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone and Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune both gave it four stars, and Todd McCarthy of Variety praised the film, assigning it a rare 'A' rating.

On December 6, 2006, the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures named Letters from Iwo Jima the best film of 2006. On December 10, 2006, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association named Letters from Iwo Jima Best Picture of 2006. Furthermore, Clint Eastwood was runner-up for directing honors. In addition, the American Film Institute named it one of the 10 best films of 2006. It was also named Best Film in a Foreign Language on January 15 during the Golden Globe Awards, while Clint Eastwood held a nomination for Best Director.

CNN's Tom Charity in his review described Letters from Iwo Jima as "the only American movie of the year I won't hesitate to call a masterpiece." On the "Best Films of the Year 2006" broadcast (December 31, 2006) of the television show Ebert & Roeper, Richard Roeper listed the film at #3 and guest critic A. O. Scott listed it at #1, claiming that the film was "close to perfect." Roger Ebert awarded the film a perfect score (4 out of 4 stars) and raved about it as well. James Berardinelli awarded a 3 out of 4 star review, concluding with that although both 'Letters' and 'Flags' were imperfect but interesting, 'Letters from Iwo Jima' was more focused, strong and straightforward than its companion piece.

On January 23, 2007, the film received four Academy Award nominations. Eastwood was nominated for his directing, as well as Best Picture along with producers Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz. It was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay. The film took home one award, Best Sound Editing.

The film also appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2006.

Critical Response in Japan

The film was far more commercially successful in Japan than in the U.S., ranking number 1 for five weeks, and receiving a warm reception from both Japanese audiences and critics. The Japanese critics noted that Clint Eastwood presented Kuribayashi as a "caring, erudite commander of Japan's Iwo Jima garrison, along with Japanese soldiers in general, in a sensitive, respectful way." Also, the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun noted that the movie is clearly "distinguishable" from previous Hollywood movies, which tended to portray Japanese characters with non-Japanese actors (e.g., Chinese-Americans, and other Asian-Americans). Consequently, incorrect Japanese grammar and non-native accents were conspicuous in those former films, jarring their realism for the Japanese audience. In contrast, most Japanese roles in Letters from Iwo Jima are played by native Japanese actors. Also, the article praised the film's new approach, as it is scripted with excellent research into Japanese society at that time. According to the article, previous Hollywood movies describing Japan were based on the stereotypical images of Japanese society, which looked "weird" to native Japanese audiences. Letters from Iwo Jima is remarkable as the movie that tries to escape from the stereotypes. Owing to the lack of stereotypes, Letters from Iwo Jima was appreciated by Japanese critics and audiences.

Since the film was successful in Japan, a tourist boom has been reported on the Ogasawara islands, of which Iwo Jima is part.

Nicholas Barber's review in the UK's The Independent on Sunday, argued that the movie was "a traditional film wearing the uniform of a revisionist one" which proved Hollywood could be "as mawkish about other country's [sic] soldiers as it can about its own", and that the Japanese characters were "capable of being decent, caring fellows, just so long as they've spent some time in the United States".

Despite favorable reviews, the film only grossed $13.7 million domestically in the United States. Foreign sales of $54.9 million helped to boost revenue over production costs of $19 million.

Awards and Honors

Won

79th Academy Awards:

Best Sound Editing (Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman)

Berlin Film Festival:

Cinema for Peace Award

12th BFCA Critics' Choice Awards:

Best Foreign Language Film

19th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards:

Best Foreign Language Film

13th Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards:

Best Foreign Language Film

64th Golden Globe Awards:

Best Foreign Language Film

32nd Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards:

Best Picture

78th National Board of Review Awards:

Best Picture

11th San Diego Film Critics’ Awards:

Best Director (Clint Eastwood)

Best Picture

Japan Academy Prize:

Outstanding Foreign Language Film

Nominated

79th Academy Awards — Best Picture – Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg & Robert Lorenz

79th Academy Awards — Best Director – Clint Eastwood

79th Academy Awards — Best Original Screenplay – Iris Yamashita & Paul Haggis

64th Golden Globe Awards — Best Director – Clint Eastwood

12th BFCA Critics' Choice Awards — Best Film

12th BFCA Critics' Choice Awards — Best Director – Clint Eastwood

19th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards — Best Picture

19th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards — Best Director – Clint Eastwood

19th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards — Best Original Score

19th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards — Best Screenplay, Original – Iris Yamashita

2007 MPSE Golden Reel Awards — Best Sound Editing in a Feature Film: Dialogue and Automated Dialogue Replacement

2007 MPSE Golden Reel Awards — Best Sound Editing in Sound Effects and Foley for a Feature Film

Top Ten Lists

1st – A.O. Scott, The New York Times

1st – Claudia Puig, USA Today

1st – Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times (tied with Flags of our Fathers)

1st – Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

1st – Richard Schickel, TIME

1st – Mike McStay, Socius

2nd – Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

2nd – Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter

2nd – Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

2nd – Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

2nd – Scott Foundas, LA Weekly (tied with Flags of our Fathers)

3rd – Jack Mathews, New York Daily News (tied with 'Flags of our Fathers)

3rd – Lou Lumenick, New York Post (tied with Flags of our Fathers)

3rd – Nathan Rabin, The A.V. Club

3rd – Peter Travers, Rolling Stone (tied with Flags of our Fathers)

3rd – Shawn Levy, The Oregonian (tied with Flags of our Fathers)

3rd – Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times (tied with Flags of our Fathers)

4th – David Ansen, Newsweek

4th – Marjorie Baumgarten, The Austin Chronicle

5th – Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

5th – Michael Rechtshaffen, The Hollywood Reporter

5th – Stephen Holden, The New York Times

5th – Ty Burr, The Boston Globe

6th – Keith Phipps, The A.V. Club

9th – Rene Rodriguez, The Miami Herald

General Top Ten

Carrie Rickey, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal

Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor

Steven Rea, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Other Honors

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

2008: AFI's 10 Top 10:

Nominated Epic Film

Home Media

Letters from Iwo Jima was released on DVD by Warner Home Video on May 22, 2007. It was also released on HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Furthermore, it was made available for instant viewing with Netflix's "Watch Instantly" feature where available. The film was rereleased in 2010 as part of Clint Eastwood's tribute collection Clint Eastwood: 35 Films 35 Years at Warner Bros. The Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition DVD is also available in a Five-Disc Commemorative Set, which also includes the Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition of Flags of Our Fathers and a bonus fifth disc containing History Channel's "Heroes of Iwo Jima" documentary and To the Shores of Iwo Jima, a documentary produced by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

The English dubbed version DVD was released on June 1, 2010. This version was first aired on cable channel AMC on April 26, 2008.

General Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe, far right), who is surrounded by Maj. General Hayashi (Ken Kensei, from left), Admiral Ichimaru (Masashi Nagadoi) and Lieutenant Fujita (Hiroshi Watanabe), surveys the oncoming Allied forces in "Letters from Iwo Jima," directed by Clint Eastwood.

Director Clint Eastwood with Ken Watanabe on the set of Letters from Iwo Jima.

Still from Letters from Iwo Jima.

Director Clint Eastwood on the set of Letters from Iwo Jima.

Still from Letters from Iwo Jima.

Still from Letters from Iwo Jima.

Still from Letters from Iwo Jima.

Still from Letters from Iwo Jima.

Flags of Our Fathers

Movie poster for Flags of Our Fathers.

Flags of Our Fathers is a 2006 American war film directed, co-produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by William Broyles Jr. and Paul Haggis. It is based on the 2000 book of the same name written by James Bradley and Ron Powers about the 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima, the five Marines and one Navy corpsman who were involved in raising the flag on Iwo Jima, and the aftereffects of that event on their lives.

The film is taken from the American viewpoint of the Battle of Iwo Jima, while its companion film, Letters from Iwo Jima, which Eastwood also directed, is from the Japanese viewpoint of the battle. Although it was a box office failure, only grossing $65.9 million against a $90 million budget, the film received favorable reviews from critics.

The companion film Letters from Iwo Jima was released in Japan on December 9, 2006, and in the United States on December 20, 2006, two months after the release of Flags of Our Fathers on October 20, 2006.

Until June 23, 2016, the author Bradley's father John Bradley, Navy corpsman, was misidentified as being one of the figures who raised the second flag, and incorrectly depicted on the memorial as the third bronze statue from the base of the flagstaff with the 32-foot (9.8-m) bronze statues of the other five flag-raisers on the monument.

Plot

As three US servicemen – Marine Private First Class Ira Hayes, Private First Class Rene Gagnon, and Navy Pharmacist’s Mate 2nd Class John "Doc" Bradley – are feted as heroes in a war bond drive, they reflect on their experiences via flashback.

After training at Camp Tarawa in Hawaii, the 28th Marine Regiment 5th Marine Division sails to invade Iwo Jima. The Navy bombards suspected Japanese positions for three days. Sergeant Mike Strank is put in charge of Second Platoon.

The next day, February 19, 1945, the Marines land in Higgins boats and LVTs. The beaches are silent and Private First Class Ralph "Iggy" Ignatowski wonders if the defenders are all dead before Japanese heavy artillery and machine guns open fire on the advancing Marines and the Navy ships. Casualties are heavy, but the beaches are secured.

Two days later, the Marines attack Mount Suribachi under a rain of Japanese artillery and machine gun fire, as the Navy bombards the mountain. Doc saves the lives of several Marines under fire, which later earns him the Navy Cross. The mountain is eventually secured.

On February 23, the platoon under command of Sergeant Hank Hansen reaches the top of Mount Suribachi and hoists the United States flag to cheers from the beaches and the ships. Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, who witnesses the flag raising as he lands on the beach, requests the flag for himself. Colonel Chandler Johnson decides his 2nd Battalion deserves the flag more. Rene is sent up with Second Platoon to replace the first flag with a second one for Forrestal to take. Mike, Doc, Ira, Rene, and two other Marines (Corporal Harlon Block and Private First Class Franklin Sousley) are photographed by Joe Rosenthal as they raise the second flag.

On March 1, the Second Platoon is ambushed from a Japanese machine gun nest. During the fight over the nest, Mike is hit by a U.S. Navy shell and dies from his wounds. Later that day, Hank is shot in the chest and dies, and Harlon is killed by machine gun fire.

Two nights later, while Doc is helping a wounded Marine, Iggy is abducted by Japanese troops and dragged into a tunnel. Doc finds his viciously mangled body a few days later. On March 21, Franklin is killed by machine gun fire and dies in Ira's arms. Of the eight men in the squad, only three are left: Doc, Ira, and Rene. A few days after Franklin's death, Doc is wounded by artillery fire while trying to save a fellow corpsman. He survives and is sent back home. On March 26, the battle ends and the U.S. Marines are victorious.

After the battle, the press gets hold of Rosenthal's photograph. It is a huge morale booster and becomes famous. Rene is asked to name the six men in the photo; he identifies himself, Mike, Doc, and Franklin, but misidentifies Harlon as Hank. Rene eventually names Ira as the sixth man, even after Ira threatens to kill him for doing so.

Doc, Ira, and Rene are sent home as part of the seventh bond tour. When they arrive to a hero's welcome in Washington, DC, Doc notices that Hank's mother is on the list of mothers of the dead flag raisers. Ira angrily denounces the bond drive as a farce. The men are reprimanded by Bud Gerber of the Treasury Department, who tells them that the country cannot afford the war and if the bond drive fails, the U.S. will abandon the Pacific and their sacrifices will be for nothing. The three agree not to tell anyone that Hank was not in the photograph.

As the three are sent around the country to raise money and make speeches, Ira is guilt-ridden, faces discrimination as a Native American, and descends into alcoholism. After he throws up one night in front of General Alexander Vandegrift, commandant of the Marine Corps, he is sent back to his unit and the bond drive continues without him.

After the war, the three survivors return to their homes. Ira still struggles with alcoholism and is never able to escape his unwanted fame. One day after being released from jail, he hitchhikes over 1,300 miles to Texas to see Harlon Block's family. He tells Harlon's father that his son was indeed at the base of the flag in the photograph. In 1954, the USMC War Memorial is dedicated and the three flag raisers see each other one last time. In 1955, Ira dies of exposure after a night of drinking. That same year, Doc drives to the town where Iggy's mother lives to tell her how Iggy died, though it is implied that he does not tell her the truth. Rene attempts a business career, but finds that the opportunities and offers he received during the bond drive are rescinded. He spends the rest of his life as a janitor. Doc, by contrast, is successful, buying a funeral home. In 1994, on his deathbed, he tells his story to his son, James, and in a final flashback to 1945, the men swim in the ocean after raising the flags.

Cast

Ryan Phillippe as Pharmacist's Mate Second Class John Bradley, the only one of the six flag raisers who was not a Marine

George Grizzard as Older John Bradley

Jesse Bradford as Corporal Rene Gagnon

Adam Beach as Corporal Ira Hayes

John Benjamin Hickey as Technical Sergeant Keyes Beech

Paul Walker as Sergeant Hank Hansen, who helped with the first flag raising and was misidentified as Harlon Block

John Slattery as Bud Gerber

Barry Pepper as Sergeant Michael Strank

Jamie Bell as Private Ralph Ignatowski

Robert Patrick as Colonel Chandler Johnson

Neal McDonough as Captain Dave Severance

Harve Presnell as Older Dave Severance

Melanie Lynskey as Pauline Harnois Gagnon

Tom McCarthy as James Bradley

Chris Bauer as General Alexander Vandegrift, the Commandant of the Marine Corps

Gordon Clapp as General Holland Smith, who led the invasion of Iwo Jima

Judith Ivey as Belle Block

Ann Dowd as Mrs. Strank

Myra Turley as Madeline Evelley

Jason Gray-Stanford as Lieutenant

Joseph Michael Cross as Private First Class Franklin Sousley

Benjamin Walker as Corporal Harlon Block, who was misidentified as Hank Hansen

Alessandro Mastrobuono as Corporal Chuck Lindberg

Scott Eastwood as Private Roberto Lundsford

David Patrick Kelly as President Harry S. Truman

Jeremiah Kirnberger as Gunners Mate 1st Class

Production

The film rights to the book were purchased by DreamWorks in June 2000. Producer Steven Spielberg brought William Broyles to write the first drafts of the script, before director Clint Eastwood brought Paul Haggis to rewrite. In the process of reading about the Japanese perspective of the war, in particular General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, Eastwood decided to film a companion piece with Letters from Iwo Jima, which was shot entirely in Japanese. Bradley Cooper auditioned for one of the leading roles. Flags of Our Fathers was shot in the course of 58 days. Jared Leto was originally cast as Rene Gagnon but had to back out due to a tour commitment with his band, Thirty Seconds to Mars.

Flags of Our Fathers cost $55 million, although it was originally budgeted at $80 million. Variety subsequently downgraded the price tag to $55 million. Although the film is taken from the American viewpoint of the battle, it was filmed almost entirely in Iceland and Southern California, with a few scenes shot in Chicago. Shooting ended early 2006, before production for Letters from Iwo Jima began in March 2006.

Release

Critical Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 73% based on 196 reviews, with an average rating of 7.01/10. The site's consensus states: "Flags of Our Fathers is both a fascinating look at heroism, both earned and manufactured, and a well-filmed salute to the men who fought at the battle of Iwo Jima." On Metacritic, the film scored a 79 out of 100 based on 39 reviews, indicating "Generally favorable reviews."

The film made the top-10 list of the National Board of Review. Eastwood also earned a Golden Globe nomination for directing. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards — for Best Sound (John T. Reitz, David E. Campbell, Gregg Rudloff, and Walt Martin) and Sound Editing. Film critic Richard Roeper said, "Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers stands with the Oscar-winning Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby as an American masterpiece. It is a searing and powerful work from a 76-year-old artist who remains at the top of his game... [and] Flags of Our Fathers is a patriotic film in that it honors those who fought in the Pacific, but it is also patriotic because it questions the official version of the truth, and reminds us that superheroes exist only in comic books and cartoon movies."

Top Ten Lists

Flags of Our Fathers was listed on numerous critics' top ten lists for 2006.

1st – Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times (tied with Letters from Iwo Jima)

1st – Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

1st – Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter

1st – Stephen Hunter, The Washington Post

2nd – Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly (tied with Letters from Iwo Jima)

3rd – Peter Travers, Rolling Stone (tied with Letters from Iwo Jima)

3rd – Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian (tied with Letters from Iwo Jima)

3rd – Jack Matthews, New York Daily News (tied with Letters from Iwo Jima)

3rd – Lou Lumenick, New York Post (tied with Letters from Iwo Jima)

3rd – Richard Roeper, At the Movies (tied with Letters from Iwo Jima)

3rd – Claudia Puig, USA Today

4th – William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

5th – Ray Bennett, The Hollywood Reporter

5th – Richard Schickel, Time

5th – David Edelstein, Fresh Air (tied with Letters from Iwo Jima)

7th – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times (tied with Letters from Iwo Jima)

Best of 2006 (listed alphabetically, not ranked) – David Denby, The New Yorker

Box Office

Despite critical acclaim, the film under-performed at the box office, earning just $65,900,249 worldwide on an estimated $90 million production budget. Its companion film Letters From Iwo Jima was more profitable with a box office run of $71 million on a budget of $19 million.

Spike Lee Controversy

At the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, director Spike Lee, who was making Miracle at St. Anna, about an all-black U.S. division fighting in Italy during World War II, criticized director Clint Eastwood for not depicting black Marines in Flags of Our Fathers. Citing historical accuracy, Eastwood responded that his film was specifically about the Marines who raised the flag on Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima, pointing out that while black Marines did fight at Iwo Jima, the U.S. military was segregated during World War II, and none of the men who raised the flag were black. Eastwood believed Lee was using the comments to promote Miracle at St. Anna and angrily said that Lee should "shut his face". Lee responded that Eastwood was acting like an "angry old man", and argued that despite making two Iwo Jima films back to back, Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers, "there was not one black Marine in both of those films".

Contrary to Lee's claims, however, black Marines (including an all-black unit) are seen in several scenes during which the mission is outlined, as well as during the initial landings, when a wounded black Marine is carried away. During the end credits, historical photographs taken during the Battle of Iwo Jima show black Marines. Although black Marines fought in the battle, they were restricted to auxiliary roles, such as ammunition supply, and were not involved in the battle's major assaults; they did, however, take part in defensive actions. According to Alexander M. Bielakowski and Raffaele Ruggeri, "Half a million African Americans served overseas during World War II, almost all in segregated second-line units." The number of African Americans killed in action was 708.

Spielberg later intervened between the two directors, after which Lee sent a copy of a film on which he was working to Eastwood for a private screening as a seeming token of apology.

Home Media

The DVD was released in the United States by DreamWorks Home Entertainment and internationally by Warner Home Video on February 6, 2007. It is devoid of any special features.

A two-disc Special Collector's Edition DVD (with special features) was released on May 22, 2007. It was also released on HD DVD and Blu-ray formats.

The Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition DVD is also available in a five-disc commemorative set that also includes the two-disc Special Collector's Edition of Letters from Iwo Jima and a bonus fifth disc containing History Channel's Heroes of Iwo Jima documentary and To the Shores of Iwo Jima, a documentary produced by the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps, released by Warner Home Video.

Still from Flags of Our Fathers.

Clint Eastwood on the set of Flags of Our Fathers.

Still from Flags of Our Fathers.

Still from Flags of Our Fathers.

Still from Flags of Our Fathers.

Still from Flags of Our Fathers.

Still from Flags of Our Fathers.