Amazon.com Thematically ambitious and emotionally complex, Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers is an intimate epic with much to say about war and the nature of heroism in America. Based on the non-fiction bestseller by James Bradley (with Ron Powers), and adapted by Million Dollar Baby screenwriter Paul Haggis (Jarhead screenwriter William Broyles Jr. wrote an earlier draft that was abandoned when Eastwood signed on to direct), this isn't so much a conventional war movie as it is a thought-provoking meditation on our collective need for heroes, even at the expense of those we deem heroic. In telling the story of the six men (five Marines, one Navy medic) who raised the American flag of victory on the battle-ravaged Japanese island of Iwo Jima on February 23rd, 1945, Eastwood takes us deep into the horror of war (in painstakingly authentic Iwo Jima battle scenes) while emphasizing how three of the surviving flag-raisers (played by Adam Beach, Ryan Phillippe, and Jesse Bradford) became reluctant celebrities – and resentful pawns in a wartime publicity campaign – after their flag-raising was immortalized by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal in the most famous photograph in military history.
As the surviving flag-raisers reluctantly play their public roles as "the heroes of Iwo Jima" during an exhausting (but clearly necessary) wartime bond rally tour, Flags of Our Fathers evolves into a pointed study of battlefield valor and misplaced idolatry, incorporating subtle comment on the bogus nature of celebrity, the trauma of battle, and the true meaning of heroism in wartime. Wisely avoiding any direct parallels to contemporary history, Eastwood allows us to draw our own conclusions about the Iwo Jima flag-raisers and how their postwar histories (both noble and tragic) simultaneously illustrate the hazards of exploited celebrity and society's genuine need for admirable role models during times of national crisis. Flags of Our Fathers defies the expectations of those seeking a more straightforward war-action drama, but it's richly satisfying, impeccably crafted film that manages to be genuinely patriotic (in celebrating the camaraderie of soldiers in battle) while dramatizing the ultimate futility of war. Eastwood's follow-up film, Letters from Iwo Jima, examines the Iwo Jima conflict from the Japanese perspective. --Jeff Shannon
Beyond Flags of Our Fathers
 Other World War II DVDs |  Essential DVDs by Director Clint Eastwood |  Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley |
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History on Film
As a history major, I chose to write my senior thesis on the film Flags of Our Fathers. After conducting weeks of research, I found the film to be extremely consistent with the historical sources. However, the way Clint Eastwood has presented the events of Iwo Jima and the The Mighty Seventh Bond Tour go much further than simply visualizing source material. Eastwood presents an interesting perspective on World War II that breaks away from Brokaw's Greatest Genereation and almost completely avoids "Spielbergization." Instead, he has created a masterpiece that argues for a new paradigm of World War II. Through the eyes of the three surviving flag raisers in Joe Rosenthal's famous photo atop Mount Suribachi, Eastwood throws the viewer into the psychological torrent of Iwo Jima and its after-effects. While much of World War II has been propagandized as the Good War, Eastwood shows us that, like any war, they are horrific, traumatic, excessively violent, and life-consuming.
something more than just a war film
Having watched the film and then read through some of the reviews I was rather surprised at the amount of controversy this film has stirred up. Perhaps it is the current political climate that has stirred up such emotion who knows.
The film recounts the marines who raised the flag and their return to the United States in order to raise funds and public support for the war effort. The raising of the flag became symbolic of the war effort and thus, the men who raised the flag were seen as the perfect propaganda tool in boosting moral at home.
The film begins with the preparation for the assault on the island and gives some insight into the psychology of the men on board the warships who were sailing to the island to take part in the landing. One interesting scene is when a marine accidentally falls overboard and is abandoned at sea as the ships already in formation cannot stop to rescue him.
The assault up the beaches is very much in the Private Ryan vein with graphic scenes of the horrific casualties suffered by US troops even down to the capture of a Japanese bunker using a flame thrower (Remember the Private Ryan scene) The film then begins to flash forward to the men's return home meeting the president and touring the country before flashing back to battle scenes further up the island. The film then moves on to the raising of the flag and the controversy revolving around both the raising of the "first flag and second flag" and also that the contrary to what many back home thought at the time the fighting had far from ended but had barely began.
If a major flaw could be found in the film I felt that it failed to really examine the personal backgrounds and personalities of each character in the film. I feel Eastwood just tried to feed us far too much information and so lacked in real character development. The only real character was one officer who sunk into alcoholism but even he was not really examined.
The film may have lasted for quite a while but the central theme of the raising of the flag, the controversy surrounding it and the issue of bringing serving men into what was a propaganda effort back home. The reluctance of the men involved to participate, their desire to return to the front to be along side their comrades and the horrors of what they had seen in combat.
I feel the film would have probably been better served if it had simple examined one character in the film or concentrated on the flag raising only and not tried to move on the the conclusion of the battle as the film began to loose its thread. In another words, the film just tried to do too much.
The best recent war movie made.
I watched it several times. The action is just perfect. Its just that good. Its really good. I get annoyed alittle by the actions of people feeling sorry for themselves. I wanted more action. More action clint. I hope clint eastwood makes a movie about audie murphy and okinawa.
BEST MILITARY MOVIE IN YEARS!!!!!!!
Ok, a lot of people hated this movie for various reasons, and everyone who hates this movie obviously needs to learn their history better!! Let me explain... During world war 2, one of the bloodiest battles took place in Japan on Iwo Jima. This movie tells the TRUE story about the raisers of our nations flag on mount surabachi. They over took the beach on Iwo Jima, and fought their way to mount surabachi where they raised the U.S flag as a sign of partial victory. What i am saying is, this movie tells of what our soldiers do and have done in order to keep our great nation free. This movie is the only movie in year that has told of actual TRUE events on the frontlines- and it saddens me so see a country that cant even recodnize the soldiers WHO FIGHT SO THAT EVERY CITIZEN DOESNT HAVE TO.
PLEASE GET THIS MOVIE IN HONOR OF OUR SOLDIERS PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE- AND WHEN YOU WATCH THIS MOVIE THINK OF HOW BLESSED YOU ARE TO LIVE IN A COUNTRY WHERE SOLDIERS WILL DO ANYTHING TO PROTECT THEIR COUNTRY AND ITS CITIZENS.
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- Thank you soldiers
- Semper fi
A Gross Distortion of History that besmirches American character
If you are looking for a movie about the tremendous sacrifice made by American servicemen in WWII who fought and died to preserve our freedom, forget this piece of revisionist, left-wing hollywood trash. (Fortunately, the copy I viewed was checked out at my local library, so I did not contribute to the wealth of Clint Eastwood and Steven Spielberg by buying it.) The battle scenes are very few and interspersed throughout the movie as flashbacks of memories of the main characters, the men who raised the US flag on Mt. Surabachi, or was it the second flag raised on Mt. Surabachi...whatever. As the movie slowly plods along, it tries to make a huge controversy over the men who were viewed as national heroes in an effort to sell bonds to support the war effort. My dad was a WWII veteran of the battle at Iwo Jima, and like most verterans, he rarely spoke of his wartime experiences, and he too would shun the title of "hero." But the fact is, ALL of these American servicemen who put their lives on the line are our heros of our free country today; ALL who were in harm's way ran the risk of not returning alive. Yes, even though the men themselves shun the term, they were all heros to a proud nation. But the hollywood lefties just can't stomach that, or take any pride in the sacrifice these men made. The film is so wrong on so many accounts, such as when it says "a photograph can win or lose a war." Bull...t!! The men who fight the war win the war! Another lie Eastwood & Spielberg would have us believe is that troops in the field are only willing to die for each other, their buddies. But from what veterans have told me firsthand, they knew they were fighting for a whole lot more, and were always cognizant that they were not only fighting for their buddies, but also their families, their homes, and yes, dare I say it, the country they loved. Of course, since hollywood lefties hate America, this is a point they dare not show in their revisionist propoganda films, and that is exactly what this film is. Hence, I give it a one star rating.