Plot Outline The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.
Plot Synopsis: The island of Iwo Jima stands between the American military force and the home islands of Japan. Therefore the Imperial Japanese Army is desperate to prevent it from falling into American hands and providing a launching point for an invasion of Japan. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi is given command of the forces on the island and sets out to prepare for the imminent attack. General Kuribayashi, however, does not favor the rigid traditional approach recommended by his subordinates, and resentment and resistance fester among his staff. In the lower echelons, a young soldier, Saigo, a poor baker in civilian life, strives with his friends to survive the harsh regime of the Japanese army itself, all the while knowing that a fierce battle looms. When the American invasion begins, both Kuribayashi and Saigo find strength, honor, courage, and horrors beyond imagination.
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Number of discs: 2
Rating
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: May 22, 2007
Run Time: 140 minutes
Average Customer Review: based on 55 reviews.
DVD Features:
Available Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Available Audio Tracks: Japanese (Dolby Digital 5.1)
"Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of Letters from Iwo Jima": Led by Clint Eastwood, take an inside look at the creation of the film with many of the key players involved who brought this epic film together
"The Faces of War: The Cast of Letters from Iwo Jima": Cast members introduce the characters they portray in the film
Images from the Frontlines: The Photography of Letters from Iwo Jima
Amazon.com
Critically hailed as an instant classic, Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima is a masterwork of uncommon humanity and a harrowing, unforgettable indictment of the horrors of war. In an unprecedented demonstration of worldly citizenship, Eastwood (from a spare, tightly focused screenplay by first-time screenwriter Iris Yamashita) has crafted a truly Japanese film, with Japanese dialogue (with subtitles) and filmed in a contemplative Japanese style, serving as both complement and counterpoint to Eastwood's previously released companion film Flags of Our Fathers. Where the earlier film employed a complex non-linear structure and epic-scale production values to dramatize one of the bloodiest battles of World War II and its traumatic impact on American soldiers, Letters reveals the battle of Iwo Jima from the tunnel- and cave-dwelling perspective of the Japanese, hopelessly outnumbered, deprived of reinforcements, and doomed to die in inevitable defeat. While maintaining many of the traditions of the conventional war drama, Eastwood extends his sympathetic touch to humanize "the enemy," revealing the internal and external conflicts of soldiers and officers alike, forced by circumstance to sacrifice themselves or defend their honor against insurmountable odds. From the weary reluctance of a young recruit named Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) to the dignified yet desperately anguished strategy of Japanese commander Tadamichi Kuribayashi (played by Oscar-nominated The Last Samurai costar Ken Watanabe), whose letters home inspired the film's title and present-day framing device, Letters from Iwo Jima (which conveys the bleakness of battle through a near-total absence of color) steadfastly avoids the glorification of war while paying honorable tribute to ill-fated men who can only dream of the comforts of home. --Jeff Shannon
On the DVDs Like the film itself, the two-disc special edition of Letters from Iwo Jima is predominantly Japanese in content, and that's as it should be. Disc 1 presents the film in a flawless widescreen transfer, with a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround soundtrack that perfectly captures the film's wide dynamic range. The optional subtitles can be turned off for those wishing to immerse themselves in a completely Japanese viewing experience. Disc 2 opens with "Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of Letters from Iwo Jima," a 20-minute behind-the-scenes documentary that concisely covers all aspects of production, from director Clint Eastwood's initial decision to create a companion piece to Flags of Our Fathers, to interview comments from principal cast and crew, the latter including Flags screenwriters Paul Haggis and Letters screenwriter Iris Yamashita, costume designer Deborah Hopper, editor Joel Cox, cinematographer Tom Stern, production designer James Murakami (taking over for the ailing Henry Bumstead), and coproducer Rob Lorenz. "The Faces of Combat" is an 18-minute featurette about selecting the Japanese (and Japanese-American) cast of Letters, and how they were chosen through the international collaboration of Eastwood's long-time casting director Phyllis Huffman (who turned over some of her duties to her son while struggling with terminal illness) and Japanese casting associate Yumi Takada, who filled important roles with Japanese celebrities (like pop star Kazunari Ninomiya, who plays "Saigo") and unknown actors alike.
"Images from the Frontlines" is a 3.5-minute montage of images from the film and behind-the-scenes, set to the sparse piano theme of Eastwood's original score. The remaining bonus features chronicle the world premiere of Letters in Tokyo on November 15, 2006. The premiere itself is covered in a 16-minute featurette taped at the famous Budokan arena, where we see the red-carpet procession, a full-capacity audience despite cold November weather, and introductory comments from the film's primary cast and crew, many of them quite moving with regard to the satisfaction of working on a film that helps Japanese viewers come to terms with a painful chapter of their history. The following day's press conference (at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo hotel) is a 24-minute Q&A; session covering much of the same territory, with additional testimony from principal cast & crew. Throughout this two-day event, it's clear that Eastwood (referring to himself as "a Japanese director who doesn't speak the Japanese language") was warmly embraced by the Japanese, and that Letters from Iwo Jima had served its intended purpose, reminding us of the horrors of war while uniting both Japanese and Americans in somber reflection, 61 years after the battle of Iwo Jima. --Jeff Shannon
Product Description
Nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima tells the untold story of the Japanese soldiers who defended their homeland against invading American forces during World War II. With little defense other than sheer will and the volcanic rock of Iwo Jima itself, the unprecedented tactics of General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai) and his men transform what was predicted to be a swift defeat into nearly 40 days of heroic and resourceful combat. Their sacrifices, struggles, courage and compassion live on in the taut, gripping film Rolling Stone calls "unique and unforgettable." It is the powerful companion piece to Flags of Our Fathers.
Being a big Clint Eastwood fan, I attended "Flags of our Fathers" earlier this year expecting a monumental experience. Nothing could have surprised me more, however, with how disconnected I felt from that picture. It was a fascinating story and a nice tribute, but its awkward narrative framing and (more importantly) lack of genuine character development disappointed me. All I felt left with was a heavy-handed message with no real dramatic weight. I still looked forward to "Letters From Iwo Jima," however, intrigued by Eastwood's ambitions of portraying a Japanese perspective centered on the same event. Such a bold move makes me respect Eastwood even more. The film was rushed into release for the 2006 awards season when "Flags" failed to become a critical front-runner, and that decision seems to have paid off for the studio. Recognized by several major critic's groups, "Letters" also stands as a Best Picture candidate at the Academy awards.
Ironically, the aspect that left me unmoved with "Flags" is the strongest asset of "Letters"--and that is character development. Spending time with a handful of major characters, the film does a nice job fleshing them out in a real three-dimensional way. The film intimately examines their situation on Iwo Jima, the hopelessness, the strategizing. The interactions between the soldiers is well developed and genuine, and the incorporation of writing letters as a narrative device provides even more insight. We get to "hear" their thoughts and to explore their backstory. The moments that we step away from Iwo Jima in flashbacks are well integrated and provide a greater emotional context for their current situation.
As for plot, the film explores the American invasion of Iwo Jima. Near the end of the war, the Japanese soldiers left to maintain this stronghold have become increasingly isolated and unsupported from the mainland. With a new, somewhat controversial, General in command--it quickly becomes clear that this is a mission of holding on until death. American victory seems assured--so with honor, dignity and sacrifice, all the remaining soldiers are being asked to die in the name of duty. Building a complex system of bunkers within the mountain, they are (in essence) constructing their own graves. When the invasion actually begins, the battle scenes are harrowing and believable--and the awesome underground cavern system is a claustrophobic and memorable set piece.
One of the main popular criticisms of "Letters" comes from a perceived revisionist approach. By viewing the film's characters as protagonists with humanity, is it glossing over the atrocities committed in a wartime situation? And obviously, a legitimate movie could have been made to depict this too--but this isn't that movie. This is a film that examines a few individuals struggling with a moral code which is at odds with a desire to live. Not every Japanese soldier was a monster, nor was every German or Italian--but neither is every American soldier a saint. What the film has endeavored to impart is that, most importantly, we're all human. The average Japanese soldier had a lot in common with the average American soldier. The film is a tad heavy-handed in those connections, on occasion, but I personally had no problem seeing the characters in "Letters" as sympathetic and real.
The performances in "Letters" are uniformly excellent. The script is tight and logical, the color palette refreshingly bleak, and the staging impressive. There is a certain dignity and honor in the film--a certain respectful sense of dread as we are led to the inevitable conclusion. A truly memorable and compassionate piece, I recommend "Letters" without reservation. KGHarris, 01/07.
72 of 91 people found the following review helpful:
An anti-bushido movie, and an honest tribute to the Japanese who suffered under it., January 29, 2007
This is a great movie, and a truly original one, although not for the reasons that have been previously offered up by movie critics and fans.
First off, although this movie does portray the Japanese side of the story of the Battle of Iwo Jima, it does not glorify their role in this movie, nor does it ignore the lessons of history served up by this battle. For the few critics of this movie who say that the Japanese soldiers got what they deserved, that the Japanese started WWII, and that this movie only brings in undeserved sympathy for those soldiers, I say, as an American and a reader of military history, perhaps, but look deeper into what this movie is REALLY saying.
Although American film critics have almost universally hailed this movie as an anti-war movie, this movie is in reality only an anti-bushido movie. The movie has been extremely popular in Japan, and I cannot but help think that its underlying messages serve only to work against the cause of the resurgent and revisionist right-wing nationalist elements in Japan today. As the samurai coda of bushido itself is also in resurgence in Japan today, this movie comes none too soon as an antidote.
The movie has two centers - one is on the fictional and very hapless ex-baker Saigo, who has been drafted into the Japanese Army as a common foot soldier; the other is the real-life portrayal of General Kuribayashi, the Japanese commander at Iwo Jima.
The movie makes clear how the rigid military discipline and samurai coda of bushido worked against the Japanese throughout the fight for Iwo Jima. For although this rigid discipline helped to prevent mass desertions and surrenders, thus enforcing the will of the military elite for these soldiers to fight to the death, it also resulted in stupidly ceremonial suicides when the soldiers were clearly defeated.
The samurai coda of bushido also led to an unwillingness to adapt and learn from previous mistakes. Kuribayashi, who had studied in America, and had studied previous Japanese island defeats against the Americans, actually had to fight his own fellow commanders to implement his defensive tactic of building caves and fortresses inland. Brief mention is made in this movie of how he was urged to not give up the beach entirely - and so the Japanese did put in some pillboxes overlooking the beach landing sites. The only result was that three months of hard work building the beach defenses would all be blown away in the first few hours of the preliminary American naval bombardment.
Above all else, the portrayal of Saigo, and of the failed Kempetai (Japanese secret police) soldier Shimizu show how brutal the Japanese military system was at the time to its own people. Both suffer harshly from the military system - Saigo's bakery is regularly looted by the Kempetai and then finally ruined by the war, and his pregnant wife is left in tears when he is drafted into the war ("none of the men ever return", she cries). Saigo's clumsy efforts at soldiering and general cynicism about the course of the war lead to beatings and near-death episodes at the hands of his officers. In a flashback during the movie, Shimizu's failure to brutalize a Japanese family by killing their pet dog at his commander's order is met with a beating from his superior (Japanese commanders were authorized to physically beat their soldiers and underlings) and ejection from the Kempetai.
Most moving of all, the mass suicide with grenades, after Mount Suribachi had been taken by the Americans, is portrayed as a direct disobeyal of an order from General Kuribayashi to retreat, regroup, and fight again. The group suicide is demanded by one of the most fanatically bushido-driven of the officers. What a stupid man and stupid concept! To kill yourself when you can still fight.
The one false note in the whole movie was the scene where the character of Lieutenant Colonel Baron Takeichi Nishi talks to a captured American soldier. That this ever happened is highly dubious (I mean, this American soldier was carrying a flamethrower when he was shot - such soldiers were universally targeted for instant death whenever possible). It seems to only have been thrown in for two reasons - to balance out an earlier scene where a captured American soldier was beaten and bayoneted to death, and as an opportunity for the Nishi character to engage in some exposition about himself. OK, Baron Nishi was a very colorful historical character, winner of the Gold Medal in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics in Equestrian show jumping and friend to many Hollywood stars. But this whole scene just rang false, and people in the theater audience snickered when the Nishi character started speaking Engrish.
All in all, this is a truly original work, exploring themes of the Japanese side of WWII that have never been explored before, either by Americans or the Japanese themselves.
Japanese works regarding WWII have invariably portrayed the Japanese characters, whether civilian ("Grave of the Fireflies") or military (the recent movie "Otoko-tachi no Yamato" and the book "Requiem for Battleship Yamato", both about the last suicidal mission of the battleship) as tragic but heroic victims of overwhelming American might, and about the biggest Deep Thought that one ever gets out of these Japanese works has been some sort of a vague admission that "all war is bad"; there is never any exploration of the possibility that something in Japanese society itself at that time might have been terribly, stupidly evil.
Yes, it was the brutal military rulers of Japan who stupidly threw the Japanese people into a war that they could not hope to win, and then stupidly demanded mass suicide when their decisions failed. Bushido was the underlying principle that led to all of that. And "Letters from Iwo Jima" is the first movie ever to bring out these concepts, while showing at the same time its greatest respect for the Japanese soldiers forced to endure under the harsh rule of that military elite.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A moving war film from the perspective of the Japanese., May 23, 2007
The greatest compliment I can give to Clint Eastwood for his work on this film is that if the late, great film director Akira Kurosawa was alive today and wanted to make a film about Iwo Jima this is what it would look like. I was frequently reminded of Kurosawa's style, as the superbly choreographed action sequences are laced with a multitude of characters that are universal in human nature. The cinematography is shot in a washed-out style making it look like it was originally shot in color then deliberately faded almost to the point of being black and white. This effect makes the movie look and feel as if it had been shot while the events were unfolding. The visual effects have a similar color tone which makes them look all the more realistic as they are blended flawlessly into the film. It should be noted that about ninety-nine percent of the movie is in Japanese with subtitles, making it a virtual foreign film. It isn't until the Americans occupy the island near the end that we hear any English at all. "Letters from Iwo Jima" is Clint Eastwood's best directorial effort since his Western masterpiece, "Unforgiven". I suppose you could say "Letters from Iwo Jima" is Clint Eastwood's Eastern masterpiece. Highly recommended.
This, together with "Flags", tries to capture the war experience of two civilizations that rarely overlapped. Except in the basic humanity of most of the indiviual soldiers in the midst of the madness. Well done.
1 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
READ THE FINE PRINT!..... NOT AVAILABLE IN 'ENGLISH'!, May 23, 2007
I had always liked Clint Eastwood, both as an actor, then as a director. However his latest release, "Letters From Iwo Jima", with all the hype, television commercials and advertisements, with it's, "4 Academy Award Nominations", leaves a lot to be desired!
All those television commercials don't tell you that the movie is only available in Japanese, with optional English subtitles! For a movie marketed in the United States, no matter how `historically correct' it may or may not be, should be available in `English'!
Granted, some movies are meant to tell a story. But movies, whether fiction, non-fiction, action, drama, comedy, sci-fi, what-ever, are also to `entertain'. Sure, those movies that `may be' historically correct may teach correct events in history, however is the best way to do that is by reading subtitles on a television?
I mean, if I wanted to know any specifics about Iwo Jima, I'm sure I can find dozens of books I can read on that subject! I don't want to read subtitles on my television!
Even trying to view this movie, the subtitles that `pop up', doesn't stay there long enough to even read them.
Not unlike "Flags of Our Fathers", (which I was also extremely disappointed with as a movie), and which was offered along with this movie in a special two-pack edition, I fell asleep trying to watch both of these movies.
Sorry Clint, I know Japanese back in World War II, didn't speak English, but if you want to hold an audience, you have to do it in a language they can understand. Okay, throw in an `accent' in there to make it more real, if you need to, but `GEE' weren't lessons learned from Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ" when that came out in a `non-English' version?
I'm sure this movie will do well in Japan, and in Japanese communities in the United States, but that is not where the biggest market is going to be! I don't want to `read' movies!
Educate me if you desire, take my money and entertain me, but do it in English!
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Way better than Flags and a good war film overall, May 23, 2007
To be honest, I was enthused to see Letters but not completely excited. I thought its companion Flags of Our Fathers was a dramatically empty war film that seemed manipulative as it was banal. Everyone was saying how great Letters From Iwo Jima was and while I knew it had to be better than Flags, I was curious as to the extent on how better it was. I sometimes find Clint Eastwood films (aside from Unforgiven) to be a little too emotionally distant and a bit too calculated. While a couple of points knock Letters down from being a classic war film, it's still better than anything since Saving Private Ryan.
Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai, Batman Begins) plays Koribayashi, a General stationed on island Iwo Jima during World War II. American forces are quickly approaching the island in hopes of taking it over and it doesn't help that the Japanese forces on the island are quite outnumbered and lack of support from the mainland makes things worse. Saigo is a young soldier who's not as battle-hardened and like many of the soldiers, he wants to get back to his wife and baby. But when 2 governments say war must go on, how do you end up stopping something you don't even want to be in in the first place?
I have to get the negative out of the way. The film has a slight sluggish pace to it. Even though we get scenes of character development as well as war scenes, the whole vibe feels a little bit more serious and maybe not as accessible. Ever watch a movie that just feels long? That's kind of what this felt like. Even though longer movies like Saving Private Ryan or Apocalypse Now were lengthy, they never once felt their length whereas this film you get the feeling the world slowed down a tad. Granted, it is a war film and it's not meant to be some popcorn fun, when you consider films about war being better paced, you kind of notice it here.
One problem I always have with Paul Haggis scripts (Million Dollar Baby, Flags and notably Crash) is just how fleshed out the characters feel. His and other scripts by other writers have what I call "plot puppets": characters that don't really live and breathe that we care for but rather just tools to say dialogue and deliver dramatic scenes without the emotional backing to support it. Letters corrects that very problem Flags suffered from and we feel a lot more for these soldiers this time. Maybe it was that film's more recognizable cast or maybe here they just feel more complex than the other film.
Even though it's about an entirely different conflict, it's hard not to compare Letters to Spielberg's Private Ryan, what with the color desaturation but you can make a case that this is probably one of the better crafted war films lately.
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• Other formats available: five-disc commemorative edition DVD with Flags of Our Fathers, HD DVD, Blu-ray
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