Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

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.

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Iris Yamashita (screenplay), Iris Yamashita (story),

Stars:

Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara

Won 1 Oscar. Another 25 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ken Watanabe	...	General Kuribayashi
Kazunari Ninomiya	...	Saigo
Tsuyoshi Ihara	...	Baron Nishi
Ryo Kase	...	Shimizu
Shidô Nakamura	...	Lieutenant Ito (as Shidou Nakamura)
Hiroshi Watanabe	...	Lieutenant Fujita
Takumi Bando	...	Captain Tanida
Yuki Matsuzaki	...	Nozaki
Takashi Yamaguchi	...	Kashiwara
Eijiro Ozaki	...	Lieutenant Okubo
Nae	...	Hanako
Nobumasa Sakagami	...	Admiral Ohsugi
Luke Eberl	...	Sam (as Lucas Elliot)
Sonny Saito	...	Medic Endo (as Sonny Seiichi Saito)
Steve Santa Sekiyoshi	...	Kanda

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

island | japan | general | iwo jima | invasion | 

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Taglines:

From the director of "Flags of our Fathers" comes the story of the battle for Iwo Jima told through the eyes of the Japanese soldiers.

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for graphic war violence

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros [de] Warner Bros [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

2 February 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Red Sun, Black Sand

Filming Locations:

Iwo Jima, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$19,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$122,548 (USA) (22 December 2006)

Gross:

$13,753,931 (USA) (20 April 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks SKG, Warner Bros, Malpaso Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ken Watanabe read actual letters sent by Imperial Japanese Army Gen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi to his family from Iwo Jima while preparing for his role.

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Goofs

In the scene where General Kuribayashi recognizes Saigo in the tunnels, his clearly visible tunic collar insignia are that of a Chujo (Lieutenant- General), consisting on two silver five-pointed stars over a yellow strip. Instead Kuribayashy was promoted to full generalship (Japanese rank Taisho) in March 1945 before being sent to Iwo Jima, and he should wear a yellow collar strip with three silver stars.

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Quotes

General Tadamichi Kuribayashi: Everything happens in threes.

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Connections

Follows Flags of Our Fathers (2006)

User Reviews

Great movie!

Don't listen to the people who call this movie inaccurate or revisionist history.

The movie is accurate. There were people on both sides of the war who at times showed kindness.

Labeling all the Japanese soldiers as people who tortured POWS would be like saying all American soldiers in Vietnam killed and rape innocent Vietnamese. Or all American soldiers in Cuba tortured POWS from the wars in the Middle East. You can't group people together like that.

This movie shows better than any other film that there's really no good guys or bad guys when it comes to war. War is just pointless.

The movie is not supposed to be a documentary so the people who bash it for little details should go rent a documentary if thats what they want to see.

Also, Clint Eastwood deserves major credit for telling both sides of the war. Too many war movies always show the enemy as "heartless monsters" when it reality its never like that.

This is without a doubt the best movie of the year. Make sure you go see it.