Flags of Our Fathers (film)
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| Flags of Our Fathers | |
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| Directed by | Clint Eastwood |
| Produced by | Clint Eastwood Steven Spielberg Robert Lorenz |
| Written by | Book: James Bradley Screenplay: William Broyles, Jr. Paul Haggis |
| Starring | Ryan Phillippe Adam Beach Jesse Bradford Neal McDonough Barry Pepper Robert Patrick Paul Walker Jamie Bell John Benjamin Hickey John Slattery |
| Music by | Clint Eastwood |
| Editing by | Joel Cox |
| Distributed by | USA: DreamWorks Paramount non-USA: Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | October 20, 2006 (USA) |
| Running time | 132 min |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $55,000,000 ([4]) |
| Gross revenue | $65,900,249 |
| Followed by | Letters from Iwo Jima |
| Official website | |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Flags of Our Fathers is a 2006 American war film directed by Clint Eastwood and written by William Broyles, Jr. and Paul Haggis. It is based on the book of the same name (see Flags of Our Fathers) written by James Bradley and Ron Powers about the Battle of Iwo Jima and the six men who were involved in Raising the flag on Iwo Jima. Eastwood also directed a complementary film on the battle from the Japanese viewpoint entitled Letters from Iwo Jima. It 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.
Flags of Our Fathers is a film about the Battle of Iwo Jima and tells the story of how the three surviving flag-raisers were used as propaganda tools by the United States government to lift the morale of the American people and raise money for the war effort. It also shows the effects of war on the veterans and how they suffered from memories of the war for the rest of their lives.
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[edit] Plot
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (December 2007) Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
One of the most famous photographs in history, Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, was taken by Joe Rosenthal at the Battle of Iwo Jima, during the Second World War. The image shows five Marines and one Navy corpsmen raising an American flag on Mount Suribachi, and has become an enduring symbol of American heroism.
Writer James Bradley (Thomas McCarthy) knew that his father, John "Doc" Bradley, had served in World War II and been one of the men who raised the American flag in the iconic photo from Iwo Jima, and had long heard rumors that "Doc" had been some sort of war hero. But his father never wanted to talk about his war experiences, never owned a copy of the photograph, and refused to answer questions about the war. Only after John Bradley's death did James learn that his father had received the Navy Cross for valor. This discovery led James Bradley to seek out veterans who'd fought at Iwo Jima and ask them about what happened, and to do some research on the other five men who appear in the photo.
The flag raisers represented a cross section of America, including:
- Marine Sergeant Mike Strank (Barry Pepper) from Western Pennsylvania,
- Marine Corporal Harlon Block (Benjamin Walker) from South Texas,
- Marine Private First Class Ira Hayes (Adam Beach) an Arizona Native American,
- Marine Private First Class Franklin Sousley (Joseph Cross) from Kentucky,
- Marine Private First Class Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford) of New Hampshire and
- Navy Pharmacist's Mate Second Class John "Doc" Bradley (Ryan Phillippe) from Wisconsin.
James Bradley found that much of what the public "knew" about the photo and the battle was erroneous. Most Americans thought the flag was raised at the end of the battle, after the U.S. Marines had defeated the Japanese. The flag was really hoisted on the fifth day of a 35-day battle.
Iwo Jima was strategically important: it provided an airbase for Japanese aircraft to intercept long-range B-29 bombers and provided a haven for Japanese naval units in dire need of any support available. It was also the site of a radio station which provided Japan with advance warning of the approach of American bombers from the south. The capture of Iwo Jima would eliminate these problems and provide a staging area for the eventual invasion of the Japanese mainland. The distance of B-29 raids would be nearly halved, and a base would be available for P-51 Mustang fighters to escort and protect the devastating bomber raids. Hence, the Marines were sent to capture the island.
The Battle of Iwo Jima was the first battle of World War II that took place on Japanese soil. Iwo Jima itself was part of the nation of Japan, so the Japanese soldiers stationed on the island believed they were fighting to defend their homeland from foreign invaders. The Japanese had no hope of victory, and they knew it. All they wanted was to inflict massive casualties on the invading Marines—and they had an ideal setup for doing just that. The Japanese forces had built a large network of tunnels throughout the island, which meant they could shoot at the Marines from safe, well-fortified positions. They could also make quick, bloody attacks on isolated Marines and then retreat to the safety of their tunnels. The American Marines on Iwo Jima were fighting an enemy they could rarely see. The only way to defeat the Japanese was to locate the entrances to their tunnels and bunkers, then slowly work close enough to toss in a grenade or stick in the muzzle of a flamethrower. This was slow, gruesome work, and the Marines lost more than 6,000 men before their task was complete.
Early in the battle, on the fifth day, the American forces captured Mount Suribachi. A contingent of Marines erected an American flag on the summit, and a photo was taken of the flag raising. Shortly afterward, Navy Secretary James Forrestal requested that the flag be sent to Washington as a souvenir. When this flag was taken down, a new one had to be put up. Strank, Block, Sousley, Hayes, Gagnon and "Doc" were the men assigned to raise this second flag. While they did, photographer Joe Rosenthal took a snapshot. A few days later, Rosenthal's snapshot was published in newspapers all over the United States. Most Americans who saw the photo believed it commemorated a great American victory, but victory was still weeks away. The bloody battle raged on at Iwo Jima, and three of the flag raisers- Strank, Block and Sousley- were killed in action without being aware of the photo's widespread fame.
The photo gained symbolic status in America, and the War Department realized that the photo and the flag raisers could have great propaganda value. It took a little while to identify and locate the flag raisers, but once Hayes, Gagnon and Doc had been identified, they were brought back to the U.S.A. and sent on a tour to promote the war.
When the war ended, all three flagraisers chose to leave the armed forces. Hayes faced anti-Native American prejudice both during and after the war. He returned to The Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona, where he continued to drink heavily and sank into poverty. In 1955, he was found dead in a ditch, after a heavy drinking spree.
Gagnon returned to New Hampshire, where he spent the rest of his life holding a series of dead-end jobs. Having enjoyed his time as a celebrity, he was bitter at having little to show for it in the end, and angry that his fame never led to wealth or great success in life. Many businessmen had given him their cards and told him to call them after the war for a good position, but once the war actually ended they all found excuses to ignore him.
"Doc" was the only flag raiser who lived a fairly happy, normal life after the war. He returned to his hometown in Wisconsin, married his grade school sweetheart, became a prosperous undertaker, and raised a seemingly well-adjusted family. But "Doc" had horrible memories of Iwo Jima (in particular, he'd seen how the Japanese had tortured and mutilated his best friend, "Iggy", and preferred to forget all about it). He stashed away all of his wartime memorabilia (including a Navy Cross that he'd received for racing through heavy fire to tend to wounded Marines), and never showed them to anyone. Doc Bradley never regarded himself as a hero, telling anyone who asked, "The only heroes were the ones who didn't come back." He never forgave himself for not being there to save Iggy. In the end, James Bradley finishes his story and tells the audience why his father and his friends felt uncomfortable being called heroes. The movie ends with a clip of the Marines and sailors swimming at a beach on Iwo Jima.
[edit] Critical reception and box office
The film received positive reviews with the review tallying website Rotten Tomatoes reporting that 125 out of the 170 reviews they tallied were positive for a score of 74% and a certification of "fresh."[1]
The film made the top ten 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 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 seventy-six-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."[2]
Instead of a linear storyline like the book, the film is shown through a series of flashbacks. Paul Haggis, the screenwriter of the film, has stated that it could not be told as a straightforward movie because the book was "too big and too good".[citation needed] "The ambitious script...jumps back and forth in time in ways that could have been a jumble if Eastwood wasn't so adept at cutting a path to what counts. Eastwood's film [is] a fierce attack on wartime hypocrisy and profiteering, is also an indelibly moving salute to the soldiers who don’t deserve to walk alone for following their own sense of duty."[3]
The movie has been criticized for omitting black Marines and drawn the ire of a small number of veterans groups.[4] In fact, black Marines are seen in scenes where the mission is being outlined, and during the initial landings - where a wounded black Marine is being carried away. During the end credits historical photographs taken during the Battle of Iwo Jima also show black Marines. Although black Marines fought in the battle, they were restricted to auxiliary roles such as ammunition supply. They were not involved in the battle's major assaults, but took part in defensive actions.[5] Of the 110,000 U.S. troops who fought at Iwo Jima, approximately 900 were African-Americans.
Despite critical acclaim, the movie underperformed at the box office, earning just $65,898,991 worldwide on an estimated $55,000,000 production budget.
[edit] Cast
[edit] References
- ^ rottentomatoes.com, Flags of Our Fathers entry, accessed January 21, 2007.
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Where have all the black soldiers gone?, The Guardian 2006-10-16
- ^ [3]
[edit] DVD release
The DVD was released in the US by Paramount Home Entertainment 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 which 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.
[edit] External links
- Flags of Our Fathers Official Movie Site.
- Flags of Our Fathers Reviews at Metacritic.com
- Flags of Our Fathers at the Internet Movie Database
- Flags of Our Fathers Trailer
- Interview: Clint Eastwood Flags Of Our Fathers
- 3-D Stereo Photograph of Iwo Jima Flag-raising - From The Tampa Tribune and TBO.com
- eFilmCritic.com interview with James Bradley about "Flags of Our Fathers"
- eFilmCritic.com interview with Barry Pepper about "Flags of Our Fathers"
- Flags of Our Fathers at Rotten Tomatoes
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