World War 2 In Review

German Air Power in View

Dornier Do 335A-12 Pfeil, WkNr 240112, Luftwaffe, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, circa 22 April 1945 to 31 May 1945. One of two Do 335A-12 trainers completed by Dornier. The two-seat Pfeil was nicknamed Ameisenbär (anteater). Photo most probably taken at Oberpaffenhofen where this aircraft was captured by U.S. forces. Assigned to the British as AM223, it crashed into a school near Farnborough on 18 January 1946. The RAE pilot lost his life but no one on the ground was seriously hurt.

Dornier Do 335A.

A Dornier Do 217 bomber on an airfield in Finland with reindeer in the foreground, 26 July 1941.

Dornier Do 215B-3, PK-EM, Luftwaffe, circa 1939-40. The Do 215 reconnaissance bomber was an export variant of the Do 17. Batches ordered by Sweden, Yugoslavia and the Netherlands were taken by the Luftwaffe instead, but this is one of two Do 215B-3 aircraft that were delivered to the Soviet Union early in 1940.

Troops disembarking from the Dornier Do 26 V1 in Norway. This aircraft, named Seeadler (sea eagle) had served as a transatlantic mail plane for Lufthansa in 1939. It was destroyed in the Rombaksfjord along with the V2 on 28 May 1940.

The Dornier Do 24 V1 has made it into the war-torn port of Narvik after an adventurous flight. The crew had asked a shepherd for directions.

Dornier Do 24T-2, WkNr 0030, "Wilhelm Arndt", CH+EV, Luftwaffe, Mersa Matruh harbor, Egypt, circa 10 November 1942 to 20 November 1942. The Do 24 entered Luftwaffe service as an expensive rescue asset - the equivalent of today's heavy combat SAR helicopter. As such it saw action all around Europe. Built on the Dutch Do 24 production line, CH+EV was delivered to Seenotstaffel 7 in Athens in December 1941. It was damaged by Allied naval gunfire in this small Egyptian port on 12 August 1942, and declared a Totalverlust (total loss) on 28 August. The Allies retook Mersa Matruh during the Second Battle of El Alamein early in November.

Dornier Do 17Z-1.

Blohm & Voss Bv 40 V1 (PN+UA). The Bv 40 single-seat glider interceptor was a radical idea for intercepting USAAF heavy bomber formations operating by daylight. Battle experience had indicated that the frontal area of an FW 190's radial engine provided a target which could be hit by an average gunner at a range of more than a thousand yards. This frontal area could only be reduced drastically by eliminating the engine, and the glider interceptor, a small heavily armed and armored glider manufactured largely from non-strategic materials and towed to attack altitude by an orthodox fighter, provided such a small target in a head-on attack that it would be virtually invisible to the bomber's gunners before it had actually opened fire with its two 30 mm MK 108 cannon. Nineteen prototypes (V1 to V19) and 200 production Bv 40s were ordered, and the Bv 40 V1 made its first flight at the end of May 1944 towed behind a Bf 110. After modifications, a second flight test was made on June 2, 1944 at Wenzendorf airfield, but the pilot lost control and the prototype crashed. The second prototype, the Bv 40 V2, flew on June 5th, the third prototype was tested to destruction, and four additional prototypes had been flown when the program was abandoned in the autumn of 1944.

Bayerische Flugzeug Werke Bf 162 V2 Jaguar (D-AOBE, 818).

Messerschmitt Bf 110E 'Zerstorer' of ZG1 'Wespe' (wasp).

Messerschmitt Bf 110 wearing the distinctive "shark mouth" markings of Zerstörergeschwader 76.

Messerschmitt Bf 110E Zerstörer after returning from a combat flight in 1940.

Messerschmitt Bf 109F-2, Stab/JG51 Geschwaderkommodore Oberstleutnant Werner Moelders in Russia, June 1941. Werner Mölders (18 March 1913 – 22 November 1941) was a World War II German Luftwaffe pilot, wing commander, and the leading German fighter ace in the Spanish Civil War. He became the first pilot in aviation history to shoot down 100 enemy aircraft and was highly decorated for his achievements. Mölders developed fighter tactics that led to the finger-four formation. He died in a plane crash as a passenger.

Dummy wooden Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter constructed by the Luftwaffenbautruppen as a decoy. Two real Messerschmitts are visible in the background.

Messerschmitt Bf 109G-10, 2.NAG14, 12+5F, WNr 770269, Furth, Germany, May 1945.

Beneš Mráz BE-252 (OK-OYA). Still in its Czechoslovakian markings, but with a Swastika on the tail. The BE-252 was used in small numbers by the German Luftwaffe as a trainer.

Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Uhu tactical reconnaissance aircraft. The Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Uhu (Owl) is a German twin-engine, twin-boom, three-seat tactical reconnaissance and army cooperation aircraft. It first flew in 1938 (Fw 189 V1), entered service in 1940 and was produced until mid-1944.

Focke-Wulf Fw 57 V1. The Focke-Wulf Fw 57 was a prototype German fighter-bomber. Prototypes were built in 1936 but never entered production.

Halle Fh 104 V1 Hallore (D-IQPG). The Siebel Fh 104 Hallore was a small German twin-engined transport, communications and liaison aircraft built by Siebel.

Siebel Fh 104 "Hallore" with registration code D-IQPG, built in Halle, Germany in the 1930s.

Siebel Fh 104 cockpit.

Focke-Achgelis Fa 225.

One of the two Curtiss Hawk Type IIs Ernst Udet had shipped to Germany. Note the Olympic rings beneath the cockpit on the fuselage side.

A 1938 photo of the Do 24 V1 as used in the Narvik airlift, showing the Jumo diesel engines insisted on by the Reich Air Ministry. Although the Netherlands Navy raved about it, the Do 24 was not initially accepted for German use. After the capture of the Dutch license production line the Luftwaffe adopted the type as a rescue aircraft.

Daimler Benz DB 613 C-1, 4,000 hp 24-cylinder coupled engine. Construction as DB 606 and DB 610; comprising two DB 603E/Gs.

Blohm & Voss BV 155 V2.

Three Messerschmitt Bf 110s towing a Messerschmitt Me 321.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E-7 Jagdgeschwader 27 being used in support of the Afrika Korps.

Ground operations around a Messerschmitt Bf 109E-7 of the Luftwaffe’s Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG27) possibly during its brief operational spell in Gela, Sicily between the 3rd and 24th of May 1941. During its stay in Sicily, III./JG27 operated over Malta.

Bf 109 with Soviet Yak 9s in the background.

Messerschmitt Bf 108.

1. Staffel I. Gruppe Aufklärungsgruppe 121 - 1.(F)/121. Aufklärungsgruppe 121 (121st Reconnaissance Group) was a German Air Force air reconnaissance group that participated in the Axis-led invasion of Yugoslavia during World War II. The group consisted of four Staffeln (squadron): 1.(F)/121, 2.(F)/121, 3.(F)/121, 4.(F)/121. Disbanded: 1945. Country: Nazi Germany. Branch: Luftwaffe. Role: reconnaissance. Garrison/HQ: Prenzlau. Aircraft flown: Reconnaissance Junkers Ju 88.

Dornier Do 26 V1 (D-AGNT c/n 791) Lufthansa "Seeadler" (Sea Eagle). This is the first prototype, first flown May 21, 1938 by Erich Gundemannn.

Dornier Do 26 V1 "Seeadler" (D-AGNT).

Gotha Go 242 (TD+IN). The Gotha Go 242 was a transport glider used by the Luftwaffe during World War II. It was an upgrade over the DFS 230 in both cargo/troop capacity and flight characteristics. Though it saw limited action, it appeared in multiple variants.

Gotha Go 242 (DL+DV), XI Air Corps, Italy, March 1943.

Glider troops in a Go 242, Russia, 1943.

Soldiers loading into a Go 242 glider, Russia, January 1942.

Go 242 glider, Russia, January 1942.

Go 242 wreckage, Russia, January 1942.

Another view of Go 242 wreckage, Russia, January 1942.

Go 242 glider ready to be towed by a He 111, Russia, January 1943.

Unloading a BMW 801 engine for a FW 190 fighter from a Go 242 glider, Russia, 1943.

Soldiers load into a Go 242 glider, Russia, 1943.

Schwerer Zugkraftwagen 12t (Sd.Kfz. 8) tows a Go 242 glider (LN+2?), XI. Fliegerkorps, Italy, March 1943.

Unloading a Go 242, XI. Fliegerkorps, Italy, March 1943.

Manning a machine gun in a Go 242 glider, Russia, 1943.

Go 242 glider, Russia, 1943.

Removing wounded troops from a Go 242 glider, Russia, 1943.

Gotha Go 242 glider captured in North Africa. Two Messerschmitt Me 109 fighters are visible in the background. 1942.

Gotha Go 242 glider in Russia with Italian soldiers, pictured during the retreat from the Don in the winter of 1942-1943.

A wrecked German Gotha Go 242 glider in North Africa. Note that souvenir hunters cut out the swastika on the tail plane, circa 1942.

Gotha Go 241 (D-IRMM). Go 241 project was an evolutionary development of the concept Go 150 as a light transport and tourist plane - pilot and co-pilot / passenger, and behind them were two chairs sitting side by side in a closed cabin Designer Kalkert tried to improve the aerodynamics of the new aircraft (D-IRMM). The project received retractable main landing gear, flaps, and split twin-finned tail. The power plant of the new aircraft included two six-cylinder inverted inline engine Hirth HM 506A air cooled take-off power of 160 liters. with. (119 kW), although initially chose two star-engine BMW Bramo Sh.14A also air-cooled. Go 241 did not go in series production because of a series of World War II. The only prototype was lost in 1944.

Horten Ho 229 V3, one of the few times with the wings attached. Its nearly completed airframe was captured in production, with two Junkers Jumo 004B jet engines installed in the airframe. Because of the limited resources of the Horten organization, this aircraft was being built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik at Freidrichsroda, Germany where it was captured by the US Eighth Army. Shipped to the USA. Given Foreign Equipment number FE-490, Foreign Equipment Branch, Technical Data Laboratory, Air Technical Service Command, Wright Field, Dayton, OH. Foreign Evaluation Center, Air Technical Service Command, Freeman Field, Seymour, IN. Renumbered as T2-490, T-2 Office of Air Force Intelligence, Technical Data Laboratory, Air Materiel Command, Wright Field, Dayton, OH. Foreign Evaluation Center, Air Technical Service Command, Freeman Field, Seymour, IN. Set aside for proposed national aviation museum.

Unloading of the captured Horten Ho 229 V3 from a train. August 1945.

Unassembled Horten IX (Ho 8-229, Go 229), circa 1945.

Junkers Jumo 004 jet engine of unassembled Horten IX (Ho 8-229, Go 229), circa 1945.

Gotha Go 149 V1 (D-EJFR). The Gotha Go 149 was a military aircraft developed in Germany in the mid-1930s for training fighter pilots. It was a conventional low-wing cantilever monoplane with tailwheel undercarriage, the main units of which retracted inwards. The wing was wooden, while the monocoque fuselage was metal. Two prototypes were constructed, and an armed version was also proposed as a light home defense fighter (Heimatschutzjäger) armed with two 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns, but the Luftwaffe did not purchase either version of the design, and no further examples were built.

Gotha Go 146. The Gotha Go 146 was a twin-engine utility aircraft developed in Germany in the mid-1930s. It was a conventional low-wing cantilever monoplane with tailwheel undercarriage, the main units of which retracted into the engine nacelles on the wings. It was offered to the Luftwaffe as a high-speed courier aircraft, but the Siebel Fh 104 was selected instead. With Gotha unable to attract other customers, no serious production was undertaken and a small number of prototypes were the only examples built.

Gotha Go 145 (D-IMNC). The Gotha Go 145 was a German World War II-era biplane of wood and fabric construction used by Luftwaffe training units. Although obsolete by the start of World War II, the Go 145 remained in operational service until the end of the War in Europe as a night harassment bomber.

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.