Clint Easwood's new WW2 epic. Flags Of Our Fathers.

[UN Spacy]

The life stories of the six men who raised the flag at The Battle of Iwo Jima, a turning point in WWII.

Studio/Distributor

DreamWorks Pictures (Paramount)

Director

Clint Eastwood

Screenwriter(s)

Paul Haggis

Cast

Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, Paul Walker, Neal McDonough, Jamie Bell, Joseph Cross

[Ladic]

there are 2 versions right? and how fat apart are each comming out?

[UN Spacy]

there are 2 versions right? and how fat apart are each comming out?

Letters from Iwo Jima will open in Japan on December 9th.

[Warmaker]

A Marine Corps movie?

As a Marine, I hope it's decent. The last "Marine" movie, Windtalkers, was a total joke. The upcoming "Marine" movie via the WWE will go down the same road.

Iwo Jima still holds alot of significance to Marines today.

How the men of this flag raising fared in a very "non-Hollywood" way a good number of them, unfortunately.

FYI: Adam Beach was the main Navajo Code Talker in Windtalkers.

[Wes]

don't tell me this is another remake...

[Phyrox]

I understand that the movie isn't really about Iwo Jima so much as about the men in the famous flag raising photo. Based on the book of the same name.

My biggest complaint after seeing the trailer is the toned-down color saturation. I thought it was a cool gimmick on Band of Brothers, but it doesn't need to become convention. The audience will still know it's the past if the film doesn't look like a 60 year old photo.

[mechaninac]

I understand that the movie isn't really about Iwo Jima so much as about the men in the famous flag raising photo. Based on the book of the same name.

My biggest complaint after seeing the trailer is the toned-down color saturation. I thought it was a cool gimmick on Band of Brothers, but it doesn't need to become convention. The audience will still know it's the past if the film doesn't look like a 60 year old photo.

Unfortunately de-saturated colors indeed seems to have become the convention for depicting WWII. You can thank, or blame, Steven Spielberg and his Saving Private Ryan for that, BoB's look, and Enemy at the Gates ' for that matter, was inspired by SPR; and it does tend to imbue the pieces with a vintage "news reel" quality to them.

BTAIM, since I'm a sucker for war flicks, I'm sure to check it out.

Edited September 29, 2006 by mechaninac

[bsu legato]

Clint Eastwood and WW2 in the same film? I'd camp out for this one, if such a form of movie zealotry wasn't so completely obsolete. Clint would have to try very hard to disappoint me with this one.

[Ladic]

yeah, actually clint eastwood has been on a hot streak for the past few years.

[Nightbat]

Clint is the man

The last bastion of manliness

There are no bad Clint movies

Conclusion: this movie will rock!

[KingNor]

this did look pretty intresting, it'll be a good change to see a ww2 era movie that ISN'T about how "we wern't fighting for america, we were fighting for each other"

[yellowlightman]

Clint is the man

The last bastion of manliness

There are no bad Clint movies

Conclusion: this movie will rock!

Bridges of Madison County?

So what's the relation between this film and the Japanese one? The same story from different perspectives or what?

[EXO]

Bridges of Madison County?

So what's the relation between this film and the Japanese one? The same story from different perspectives or what?

yup

[Nightbat]

Bridges of Madison County?

Blame Meryl Streep

[DeathHammer]

Please Delete Thanks

Edited February 9, 2010 by DeathHammer

[Uxi]

This could be very good or very bad, but I doubt it will end up in between... This other POV Jap movie could be interesting, especially in a "Whole Bloody Afair" type thing.

[JsARCLIGHT]

I'd like to be interested in this movie but I'm not. I'm just so burned out on WW2. One can't swing one's dead cat without hitting some WW2 property today, be it games, movies, etc. I should be saying "Yaay! A Clint Eastwood war movie!"... instead I'm saying "Great... another WW2 movie... wooptie crap." Yeah it's great and all that the movie is about the heroes of WW2, like all the WW2 movies, it's just that it's getting old for me. It's not Clint's fault that this genre is getting so much wear lately... I just have a hard time going to watch yet another WW2 movie showing me yet again how brave the "greatest generation" was and how much they sacrificed. I'd rather go see something with the same thematic goals but a different setting... Spanish American War? Korea? War of 1812?

- JsARCLIGHT runs off and watches Heartbreak Ridge again -

[Roy Focker]

WW2 Movies will always be made. You can't make a movie about other famous wars without the risk offending someone. Nazis are the one group that you can keep showing as the villian.

[JsARCLIGHT]

I thought this movie coverd Iwo Jima... no Germans on Iwo Jima.

I also don't believe it has anything to do with "offending anyone" but more to do with "everyone else is making a WW2 thing, so I will too". One war is no more "politically correct" than another, it's just that WW2 has attained this near mythic level of respect and reverance with tons of people. When people think of a "good war" they instantly think of WW2... I more or less put a lot of that on the deluge of positive movies made about WW2. WW2 has "good spin" and yes there will always be WW2 movies made... I'm just saying it got old with me with Saving Private Ryan and all it's copycats. It just seems with every coming year another WW2 movie comes out that does not really add anything to the overall mythos of WW2 that has not been covered ten times already... everything reeks of "me too" or "Saving Private Sequel".

[Akilae]

I think the main reason is that we actually, unambiguously won in WWII, and on the "righteous" side too. Granted there's a whole slew of Vietnam films, but I think given the current atmosphere it might not be what the audience wants to see.

There's the American Revolution, but somehow that doesn't seem to capture the public's imagination... The Brits torched DC in the War of 1812. We barely hung on in the Korean War. Not sure about the Spanish American War... it does seem righteous enough, what with fighting for Cuban independence and all that...

I think WWI might be interesting to film, less action, more concentration on character development, much like All Quiet on the Western Front... except we already have All Quiet on the Western Front Maybe something set in the opening months of the war, a la Guns of August... except there would be no Americans involved.

[reddsun1]

I dunno, I think it is pretty cool that we can honour and appreciate that generation while they're still here; that generation is in its twilight so to speak--there are fewer and fewer of them left amongst us who actually lived those times. And of course, living in the free-market economy that we do, of course it's no surpise that the movie/game industries have found a way to turn a buck off of that. I don't know about laurels like "the greatest generation," or all that--after all, their racist a$$es weren't perfect. Sadly, the Korean "conflict" is largely ignored, and I suppose Hollywood exorcised its conscience of Vietnam in the 80's; it's still too soon for pop-culture to turn its attention on the Gulf War I guess, since that's still largely an "open" issue politically/socially.

Edited October 3, 2006 by reddsun1

[JsARCLIGHT]

I got my new Cinefex today and it has a section on Flags of Our Fathers in it. From what I see, I see Saving Private Ryan 2. Lots of CG, lots of muted colors and lots of angsty patented Eastwood "quick cut" editing. The article even points out how Eastwood shot many scenes fast with the intention of digitally replacing mid and background elements in post. Of the shots they show a few are impressive, but "par for the course" for a modern day WW2 movie.

[Uxi]

I don't really think the war in the Pacific has been as overdone as the Nazi's (excepting maybe Pearl and Midway, both of which were aviation and/or naval in focus). The only one that comes to mind other than the craptastic Thin Red Line is the John Wayne movies. Speaking of which, I should be most amused to hear an in story reference to Sgt Striker.

As a US Marine and combat vet (OIF I), I have always held the Devil Dogs of Iwo Jima in the highest respects (along with the Frozen Chosin, Khe Sahn, etc), so will be most interested in this. Old school Clint I would have much more faith in than the new sappy Clint (Bridges of Madison County and the chic boxer one amongst a few others). The carnage and pure tenacious fighting at Iwo Jima make it stand out from any other...

Edited October 3, 2006 by Uxi

[JsARCLIGHT]

While it was a departure, I actually liked the movie The Thin Red Line. It was poetic. Sure they did not have pattented Spielburgian slow mo or guns-a-poppin every ten minutes and I can see how people going in would expect an out and out war movie only to be treated to an art house piece, but if you knew the subject matter then the movie was outstanding... there is something about The Thin Red Line that speaks to me.

[Seven]

While it was a departure, I actually liked the movie The Thin Red Line. It was poetic. Sure they did not have pattented Spielburgian slow mo or guns-a-poppin every ten minutes and I can see how people going in would expect an out and out war movie only to be treated to an art house piece, but if you knew the subject matter then the movie was outstanding... there is something about The Thin Red Line that speaks to me.

Every Terence Malick film comes out as pure visual poetry. The dialogue as well comes out as ethereal prose. I can understand why many people malign Thin Red Line and The New World because they expect it to conform to the usual war movie or such without knowing how Malick approaches things. It would be similar to expecting Mamoru Oshii to make something simplistic like Grappler Baki without his usual tendencies to throw in philosphical and political meanderings.

I remember the actors in The New World commenting that Malick would film countless reels of the nature around them and how they half expected their footage to be all cut out and replaced with essentially a nature movie.

I think if Thin Red Line was cut from the same cloth as every other WWII movie, it would have come and gone and been forgotten ala Windtalkers.

Edited October 3, 2006 by Seven

[Seven]

Now what I am really shocked about is that Hollywood made a film of the Japanese viewpoint and just incredibly found a way to NOT cast Zhang Ziyi. ZOMG!!!

[Warmaker]

The thing for me are these:

* Of ALL war movies that I've seen or heard about that came out from the 1980's onwards, very, very, very few made the Pacific Theater of WWII the subject. WWII Europe by far takes the share, even going back to the 40's-50's. From the 80's onwards, there are more movies (of highly debious quality) that even use Desert Storm as the backdrop of a "story" than the Pacific Theater of WWII.

* The US Marine Corps doesn't get much movies anymore. The 40's-60's brought in a bunch of USMC flicks, but very little onwards. There were a few Marine Vietnam flicks from the 80's (of dubious quality, naturally). Windtalkers for me was a HUGE disappointment.

I'd like a chance to see a good USMC movie. If it's a good one, especially a WWII Marine movie with Iwo Jima, I know alot of Marines who'd dive in to see it.

Iwo Jima holds alot of significance to the Marine Corps today.

- About 1/4 of the Medals of Honor awarded to Marines in WWII was from their actions at Iwo Jima.

- Regarding the Marines (plus 1 US Navy Corpsman) of the Flag Raising at Iwo Jima, you can look here for some small spoilers of the movie if your military history is bad.

- If you look at any books on the Pacific Theater, WWII, or Marine Corps history, you will see a picture of the Flag Raising on Iwo Jima.

Edited October 3, 2006 by Warmaker

[Seven]

Weren't Spielberg and Hanks rumored to be working on a Band of Brothers type miniseries about the Pacific theatre in WW2? I remember hearing about this around the time the Band of Brothers DVD set came out, so that was 2 or 3 years back.

[Warmaker]

I remember hearing the same also, but well... there's no news of it in a long, long time.

[bandit29]

Hooray another WW2 movie. It'll probably be good but do we really need more. Between the movies and the games I'm kinda tired of WW2

Maybe in a effort to milk every last drop of WW2, Hollywood will start making WW2 comedies starring Martin Lawrence or Lesile Neilson...

or they could make a WW2 FPS movie to combine the world of videogames and movies..sounds like a perfect project for Uwe Boll

[bsu legato]

I'm disappointed that members here consider The Thin Red Line anything more than pretentious drivel. It's one of the few movies that I have ever seen that actually offended me in some way. In this case, its the poor excuse for an art film masquerading as a war film. This so-called "poetry" that people refer two usually boils down to two elements in Malick's version:

- Images of nature juxtaposed against brutality of war.

- monotone voiceover of the most two-dimensionally wannabe-profound nonsense. "Who am I? Why are we here? Did I leave the stove on?"

Lather, rinse and repeat for the film's agonizingly overlong run time. But what really, really bugs me about this nonsense is that it ignores the real story of Guadalcanal in favor of this pseudointellectual bullshit. Read the book, or any other veteran's memoirs for that matter, and you'll find 10x more drama than Malick managed to not leave on the cutting room floor (infamously, over 3 hours of footage were cut, including scenes featuring numerous A-list actors who otherwise do not appear in the finished film). Malick may indeed be an artiste, but he is most definitely not a storyteller.

[JsARCLIGHT]

And that is the point. You went in expecting something different than what you where shown. The Thin Red Line is not about the war, it's not even really about Guadalcanal. The reason I liked it so much was because it felt very eerily familiar to me in some ways. A lot of the sentiment and musing in the movie I myself had at one point in life. And yes, The Thin Red Line is not Saving Private Ryan... it was never supposed to be. Watching the movie with that expectation in mind will definately cause you to dislike it.

It's a different kind of movie for a different kind of person. It's strange but the biggest reasons people put up for disliking it are the biggest reasons why I like it.

[bsu legato]

The thing is...I wasn't expecting Private Ryan. Almost 10 years later, I can't really remember what I was expecting, but I know it wasn't the heaping helping of existential nonsense that I got dumped on me, like a giant steaming turd. At the time, I didn't think it was asking too much to get a movie with a cohesive narrative, and maybe a character or two.

[JsARCLIGHT]

But there where characters and there was a cohesive narrative, it was just not smacking you in the face.

[bsu legato]

Sorry, Js I can't agree with you there. There's no characters in Malick's version of The Thin Red Line. There are only ciphers for his metaphysical wankery. They exist onscreen only to pontificate.