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Letters from Iwo Jima (2007)

Starring Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, and Ken Watanabe.  Cinematography by Tom Stern. Edited by Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach.  Produced by Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, and Steven Spielberg.  Written by Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis.  Directed by Clint Eastwood.

In June of 1944, as the Second World War was nearing its brutal end, Imperial Army General Tadamichi Kuribayashi was sent to the small Japanese island of Iwo Jima to prepare its garrison for the imminent US attack.  Instead of fortifying its beaches, which would be the conventional defense in such a situation, Kuribayashi orders his troops to burrow into the island’s hills, making the Japanese nearly impossible to locate.  The Americans finally arrive in February of 1945, expecting to roll over the resistance in short  order.

What they find, however, is a battle that rages on for weeks instead of days.  Ironically, the Japanese belief of honor in death plays the part of saboteur to the slowly diminishing defending force and ultimately undermines General Kuribayashi’s brilliant strategy.

Filmmaker Clint Eastwood has noted that in the war movies he grew up with there were good guys and there were bad guys, but that the reality of war was never that simple.  This became painfully obvious while investigating the events of World War II’s Pacific Theater for his project Flags of Our Fathers.  One of the research books he had translated into English was Picture Letters from the Commander in Chief by Tadamichi Kuribayashi.

The book was a collection of letters written by General Kuribayashi to his family, many of which from the time he spent studying here in the States. Eastwood quickly developed a fascination with Japanese Kuribayashi and his unprecedented defense of the island of Iwo Jima. This intrigue led to his decision to develop a sister-project to Flags of Our Fathers, both of which would be produced by filmmaking icon Steven Spielberg.  Together, these two films would showcase the individuals who made up WWII and the effects it had on them.

Letters from Iwo Jima was assembled largely from translated Japanese text, written in English by Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis, and then translated back into Japanese for production.  Eastwood began shooting Letters from Iwo Jima shortly after completing principle photography Flags of Our Fathers.  The crew sought out and was granted permission to shoot a handful of scenes on the actual island of Iwo Jima, but out of respect for the history, much of the action was staged on the beaches of Iceland.

Letters from Iwo Jima was released only a few weeks after Flags of Our Fathers and was eligible for all the same criticism and nominations as its predecessor. But despite its smaller budget and quieter box office performance, Letters from Iwo Jima completely outshone its companion piece in the eyes of the critics. In addition to winning a number of significant awards, the film capped dozens of “top ten” lists.

Together, Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima succeed in creating a memorable and unique perspective on the men who fought and died in the Second World War.

Budget: $15,000,000

Total US Gross: $13,756,082

Genre: War

Runtime: 141 Minutes

US Release Date: 1/12/07

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Awards:
Academy Awards: 
Won for best achievement in sound editing.
Nominated for best original screenplay, director, and picture.

Golden Globes: 
Won for best foreign language film. 
Nominated for best director.

Tagline: From The Director of “Flags Of Our Fathers” Comes The Completion Of The Iwo Jima Saga

Quote: “I don't know anything about the enemy.  I thought all Americans were cowards. I was taught they were savages.”

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