Flags of our Fathers / Letters from Iwo Jima

[mike c]

I bought this one today, but won't be able to watch it til I finish the discs in the can ... (band of brothers)

I bought it because I'm on a WWII movie marathon.

after Pearl Harbor, I started the Band of Brothers ... also bought The Great Raid today ...

can someone comment on the Action sequences / Sound quality?

[majorloser]

Both "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo Jima" are excellent films! The picture and sound are reference quality. My only wish was for DTS versions. These films may just be the final push to move me toward one of the HD formats. They're that good!

If you are on a WW2 movie marathon, take a look at "Saints and Soldiers". It's an independent film that won many awards:
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0373283/

[mike c]

thanks for the recommendation ... hopefully it's available in hongkong (it's not here), my brother's going to the local HMV there. otherwise, I'd have to amazon it.

[Buckeye_Nut]

I bought this one today, but won't be able to watch it til I finish the discs in the can ... (band of brothers)

I bought it because I'm on a WWII movie marathon.

after Pearl Harbor, I started the Band of Brothers ... also bought The Great Raid today ...

can someone comment on the Action sequences / Sound quality?

I own 'Flags', and it was a good movie. In fact, I really liked it and give it 4 stars. As for action sequences? it certainly had it's share, but the movie wasn't really about that kind of stuff. The battle scenes were more or less told in flashback scenes that play a secondary role in the movie.


As for the sympathetic pro-Japanese perspective of Iwo Jima?? (letters) I couldn't give a flying-**** about watching that version.

[GlocksRock]

The sound quality on Flags of our Fathers is reference material.

[j_garcia]

I found Letters to be the better of the two movies, though they are essentially one story and should ideally be watched together. I wouldn't give Flags of Our Fathers 4 stars, but I did enjoy it a lot. As good as the story is, I just didn't really get into any of the characters.

[superstar]

Saints and Soldiers is a good indy flick, I also liked Tae Guk Ky (I'm not sure if that's the correct spelling), a south korean movie about the Korea War, nice plot and good action scenes.

[Buckeye_Nut]

Saints and Soldiers is a good indy flick

Yep... agreed. It's amazing what can be accomplished on a shoestring budget. I liked that one too.

My only complaint........ it was either presented in 'fools-screen', or it had 2.0 audio. (I cant remember which)

Hey, I guess you can only ask so much from an indy:)

I definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it. (which is probably most everyone).....LOL

I'm happy to see that I'm not the only person in this forum who has seen that movie.

[superstar]

Also if you don't mind foreign war movies, check out Das Boot and Stalingrad, both german movies about WWII.

Saints and Soldiers was done in budget? wow, it actually feels a part of Band of Brothers mini series...

[darien87]

As for the sympathetic pro-Japanese perspective of Iwo Jima?? (letters) I couldn't give a flying-**** about watching that version.
Why does this narrow-minded, Neanderthal opinion not surprise me?:rolleyes:

I found Flags to be a decent flick, but a little too drawn out and boring. I would also give the nod to Letters as the better of the 2 flicks.

As for rating picture/sound quality; I would say Letters is outstanding. But then again, I'm talking about the Blu-ray version. :D

[Buckeye_Nut]

Saints and Soldiers was done in budget? wow, it actually feels a part of Band of Brothers mini series...

LOL.... actually........The band of brothers was created from a meager..... $125 million....... budget.

The "Battle of the Bulge" episode alone dwarfed the entire Saints $780,000 budget:eek:.


Granted....the BOB series runs for about 10 hours, but $125 million is still big $$$$:)

[mike c]

well, I finished watching:
The Great Raid ...
not bad at all. and I didn't even know it was about the rescue in the Philippines.

Flags of Our Fathers ...
makes you realize how stupid war is ... the war scenes are a bit short (too cut up, instead of a long war scene) but it's still great subwoofer material.

Letters from Iwo Jima ...
i don't think I believe the japs are stupid enough to use the grenades on themselves instead of throwing it at the "enemy". duh. what's the difference with killing yourself and getting killed trying to kill more of the enemy.

[j_garcia]

They were following orders. The scene was to illustrate that they were loyal and that some would follow orders even if it meant suicide, even if they didn't want to. It also pointed to the fact that there were some who shared your point of view - Saigo ran and Shimizu (the Kempeitai) told him to get back and die with the rest of them. Saigo's comment was something to the effect of "We can die here, or we can continue to fight..." and Shimizu realized that he was right.

[Buckeye_Nut]

Ya know.... considering the many 1,000s of americans (and allies) who died in the Bataan death march and at the many Japanese death camps scattered throughout the Phillipines and elsewhere.

........... where huge numbers of POWs were worked to death and brutally murdered by the hands of the Japanese, I find it interesting that a US citizen would choose to make a movie that glorifies Japan, and falsely paint them as honorable combatants during WW2. The reality is...... Japanese treatment of POWs was no better than Hitler treatment of the Jewish race.

Oh well, their actions in the Pacific brought about the Atomic bomb and the complete destruction of their empire, so I guess I guess they paid the ultimate price for their actions.

What's next, is Clint going to make a movie to honor and glorify the Nazi's?

[Buckeye_Nut]

well, I finished watching:
The Great Raid ...
not bad at all. and I didn't even know it was about the rescue in the Philippines.


I enjoyed the Great Raid too:)

[Buckeye_Nut]

Why does this narrow-minded, Neanderthal opinion not surprise me?:rolleyes:


Based on your response, I'm guessing you're on pins and needles hoping for Clint to create a Pro-Hitler motion picture to honor and glorify Nazi war efforts on the big screen:confused:

If he can do it for WWII Japan, why not Hitler too?

[j_garcia]

Ya know.... considering the many 1,000s of americans (and allies) who died in the Bataan death march and at the many Japanese death camps scattered throughout the Phillipines and elsewhere.

........... where huge numbers of POWs were worked to death and brutally murdered by the hands of the Japanese, I find it interesting that a US citizen would choose to make a movie that glorifies Japan, and falsely paint them as honorable combatants during WW2. The reality is...... Japanese treatment of POWs was no better than Hitler treatment of the Jewish race.

Oh well, their actions in the Pacific brought about the Atomic bomb and the complete destruction of their empire, so I guess I guess they paid the ultimate price for their actions.

What's next, is Clint going to make a movie to honor and glorify the Nazi's?

I'm sure that the treatment of POWs isn't exactly too different in most war situations, regardless of which side or which war; perhaps not to the extent that the Nazis did, but who knows?

It is merely a story, it is not a factual account of what happened. In fact, this movie was not "glorifying" Japan, you would know that if you watched it... It is showing that they were simply there fighting for their country, no different than the US soldiers, and that their soldiers faced the same struggles with combat than ours did; as I am sure is true in all wars. They missed their families and their families missed them, and they basically were told and knew they would not be coming home from this particular deployment.

[Buckeye_Nut]

I'm sure that the treatment of POWs isn't exactly too different in most war situations, regardless of which side or which war;

So you think the Americans ran POW MURDER-CAMPS during WW2 or any war since?

OMG.. it only figures you live on the left coast.

It's no wonder the liberals hates america.

I'm speechless.....

[Jack Hammer]

Bear in mind that until modern times, actually fairly recently, torturing, murdering, enslaving, and being cruel to POW's was a pretty universal and accepted practice going back several thousand years. This is one of the reasons for the Geneva Convention and it's application for treatment of prisoners of war. Before you get too far down on other countries abuse of prisoners, look into the American civil war and how some of our prisoners (our own peoples) were treated. It wasn't all roses. We, America, have improved over the past century, some countries are still catching up.

Jack

[highfihoney]

I'm not going to join a "side" on the prisoner deal but ANYBODY who thinks they can compare the way we treat POW'S to the way most other countries treat POW's needs to go see a head shrink and fast.

It's like comparing an prison in the USA to a prison in Mexico,both are prison's but bet your a$$ if ya gotta be in one you'll be happy to pick the good ole USA prison.

[darien87]

Based on your response, I'm guessing you're on pins and needles hoping for Clint to create a Pro-Hitler motion picture to honor and glorify Nazi war efforts on the big screen:confused:

If he can do it for WWII Japan, why not Hitler too?Yep. Can't wait for that one. Hold on a minute, I've gotta go trim up my Hitler mustache. :rolleyes:

You're an idiot dude. So no American EVER committed a war crime, and EVERYBODY we ever fought against was obviously evil? As John said, Letters wasn't made to "glorify" the Japanese, it was made to show that on either side of a war, people are pretty much the same. What the truth is, depends on your point of view. As many people have said, history is written by the winners.

Get your head out of your *** and try putting yourself in someone else's shoes once in a while.

I'm surprised you're so "Anti- Clint". I mean he's made all those great Westerns and Dirty Harry movies, where he blows away tons of people and "glorifies" the fun of gun use. I'll bet it's just killing you that someone that seems to be so pro-gun could actually have an open mind. :rolleyes:

[Buckeye_Nut]

Yep. Can't wait for that one. Hold on a minute, I've gotta go trim up my Hitler mustache. :rolleyes:

You're an idiot dude. So no American EVER committed a war crime, and EVERYBODY we ever fought against was obviously evil?

It takes a very special person to equate moral equivalence of the American war effort in WW2 to that of Hitler and Japan. Im sure you can get away with that faulty line of thinking with your SanFran friends, but you wont here. A person must really hate and despise his own country to equate the Nazi and Japanese human rights record to the morality of the USA.

PS.... as always, lefties are incapable of entering into a discussion without name calling.
That's so typical, that it is to be expected.

[darien87]

It takes a very special person to equate moral equivalence of the American war effort in WW2 to that of Hitler and Japan. Im sure you can get away with that faulty line of thinking with your SanFran friends, but you wont here. A person must really hate and despise his own country to equate the Nazi and Japanese human rights record to the morality of the USA.

PS.... as always, lefties are incapable of entering into a discussion without name calling.
That's so typical, that it is to be expected.You know me soooo well dude. I HATE my own country all right. I hate it so much that I served in the Army, defending your right to be stupid. It takes a very special person to be as close-minded as you are. Things aren't always black and white. Just entertain the idea that maybe you aren't right all the time and that maybe someone else can have a different point of view and be right also. I find it hilarious that there are people like you walking around that are happier than a pig in slop to wallow around in their own ignorance.

Excuse me, I have to get back to burning American flags. :rolleyes:

[j_garcia]

Everyone has an opinion, that doesn't mean that YOUR opinion has to be that of everyone else. Where we live doesn't mean a damn thing... that is the kind of thing wars are fought over.

[Tarub]

Based on your response, I'm guessing you're on pins and needles hoping for Clint to create a Pro-Hitler motion picture to honor and glorify Nazi war efforts on the big screen:confused:

If he can do it for WWII Japan, why not Hitler too?


I think Clint...... not Clint DeBoer, I know he is from Florida but Clint Eastwood actor/director is planning to make a very highly fictionous sports movie. Its about the Buckeyes finally beats Florida Gators in NCAA Basketball championship and college football.;)

[billnchristy]

Buckeye,

You do realize the mfr. of your TV built the Zeros that blew the ever loving hell out of Peal Harbor right?

:p

[Buckeye_Nut]

Yea, yea, yea darien....... I've heard it all before.


Not only are conservatives closed minded because we disagree with LIBs on the issues, but we're also racists because we disagree with libs on their Pro-illegal alien open borders amnesty position. We're all homophobes because we disagree with libs on gay marriage, and we lack compassion for denying socialist health care to every man woman and child who sneaks inside our borders. We're also crazy bible thumping loonies because we disagree with the pro-abortion on demand democrats on the issue of abortion. Not to mention, we favor rich people because we attempt to created as positive as possible..... an economic environment to entice entrepreneurs to risk their own capital to create and build things so that our economy might thrive, and it's citizens find gainful employment.

The left never adds any real substance to any discussion. Instead, they pull a "Rosie" by attacking and name calling towards anyone who might dare to disagree with their precious liberal position. Do they offer substance to support their position??? Of course not!!
That's because liberal positions are based in emotion...............not reason.

[Buckeye_Nut]

I think Clint...... not Clint DeBoer, I know he is from Florida

I always thought he was born and raised in SanFran.

[Buckeye_Nut]

Everyone has an opinion, that doesn't mean that YOUR opinion has to be that of everyone else. Where we live doesn't mean a damn thing... that is the kind of thing wars are fought over.

What are you trying to say? Are you trying to make excuses for dariens personal attacks? If anything, I apologize to you for getting stuck in the middle between myself and dariens baseless attacks.

Darien should be apologizing to both you........ and MikeC for the big mess he created in his thread!!

[darien87]

Not only are conservatives closed minded, but we're also racists We're all homophobes and we lack compassion . We're also crazy bible thumping loonies
Hey, I finally agree with you on something. :D

And when you're going to say something with "substance", you let me know. I'll be sure to pay attention. But don't even profess to know me bud, because all your cliches and sterotypes don't come close to describing me or my beliefs.

[darien87]

Darien should be apologizing to both you........ and MikeC for the big mess he created in his thread!!I'm the one that made a mess of this thread!?!?! You're the one that started throwing around the racist comments on the first page. You also accused me of being a Nazi sypmathizer. That's a pretty crazy assumption to make about someone that you don't even know. But judging by your posts, sweeping generalizations are what you're comfortable with. Better check yourself dude.

[j_garcia]

I wasn't appologizing for anything, I was saying that everyone has one...opinions that is...and no two are alike. You might also find it interesting that not all Californians are tree hugging, death penalty fighting, hemp wearing hippies.

Clint was born in SF, and now resides in Carmel (is he still Mayor?)

[highfihoney]

Going down............down down down............down down.:cool:

[mike c]

get a room! :)

[billnchristy]

Just got done watching letters.

Good flick...great on HD.

[darien87]

Just got done watching letters.

Good flick...great on HD.Careful. You might get accused of being a commie. :rolleyes:

[ziggster]

maybe we can agree to disagree?? Isn't that the beauty of this country after all?:confused:

[KevInCinci]

Anyone know if any versions of "Flags of Our Fathers" (regular DVD) have enhanced sound, like DTS? I'm going to pick up a copy for a war-movie weekend and was looking for the best versions to show off my system for my buddies.

Cheers,

Kevin

[j_garcia]

You can find out what audio tracks are available on IMDB - DVD Details. Flags had DD 5.1 only, and probably isn't the best in the way of war movies. If you want to show off, find the DTS version of Saving Private Ryan.

[KevInCinci]

I have the DTS Pvt Ryan (which is my standard for showing off audio) and the Bitstream of Blackhawk Down in my collection. I was going to show the latter since everyone's already seen the former. We were also going to do Flags & Letters together, both of which I realize aren't typical war movies (throw in Thin Red Line and you've got a really unusual mix, eh?), but our little group has mostly military history buffs who've been to battlefields, read the books, etc., rather than are just looking for big explosions. But I figured if we're going to watch the stuff, I might as give them the best show possible.

Cheers,

Kevin

[JKL1960]

My DVD collection actually centres on war movies. I have both films mentioned in the OP. I think Letters is the better of the two and I don't think it glorifies anything. I generally don't care for the films that glorify war preferring the ones that usually focus on the impact of war on civilians. A fact that is reflected in my top five war movies. (Okay top five WWII movies for this thread.)

1. Hotaru no haka (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095327/) (Grave of the Fireflies)
2. Idi i smotri (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091251/#comment)(Come and See)
3. La Vita a bella (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118799/) (Life is Beautiful)
4. Schindler's List (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108052/)
5. Letters from Iwo Jima (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0498380/)

Only one of these films is in English so if you don't like subtitles I feel bad for you. :) These are also not platforms for demonstrating your sound system (except maybe Letters).

The first two are absolute must see films. Grave is the most emotionally affecting film I've ever seen. Many films make you cry yet grant some reprieve at the end. Grave leaves a scar. Come and See is so powerful. I always say it is the only movie that shows real soldiers fighting real warfare. It's about the waging of total war in Belarus. It is also interesting because you can see where some ideas from it were used in movies made since then. The audio effect in Saving Private Ryan where Tom Hank's character can't hear after being concussed. Also the church scene in The Patriot (The Patriot is an outstandingly bad film that should be watched just to see how bad a movie can be).

Some other WWII titles that I recommend. The Pianist, Die Brucke, Kelly's Heroes (seriously, great film), Das Boot (of course), Patton, Ivanovo Detstvo. There are lots.

Non WWII that deserve a look. Glory (American Civil War), All Quiet on the Western Front (WWI), Paths of Glory (WWI), Full Metal Jacket (Vietnam), MASH (Korea) and Seven Samurai. I get flak for listing Seven Samurai but few films make such a poignant statement about military conflict and its effect on both civilians and comrades in arms. It really is one of the best films ever made.

Only anecdotal but a family friend who had been a German soldier through WWII claimed that their preference was to surrender to or be captured by Brits or Canadians. He claimed that American soldiers treated prisoners okay but tended to steal personal belongings like rings and watches. Of course, this was still preferable to the eastern front where they generally weren't taking prisoners.

[Exit]

If you like WWII films here are a couple of older ones that still are good, All are before computer generated immages.

Tora, Tora, Tora - free of romantic plots and great attention paid to authenticity, both plot and equipment. Used real planes

Battle of Britain - slight romantic thread but 90 percent war movie. Used real authentic planes, Heinkel 111, ME-109, Spitfires, Hurricanes. German planes came from Spain where they used the German WWII equipment well after other nations had replaced theirs. The ME109s were refitted with british engines by Spain and the front air scoop is shaped a little different than an original ME-109.

Patton - dynamic story of Patton's WWII career. Doesn't use authentic German tanks (more modern American large tanks) and some America tanks are from more modern time periods.

Kelly's Heros - War/comedy? Uses authentic tanks such as Shermans and German Tiger I tank. It is one of the few if only place you can see a real Tiger I functioning on film.

They Were Expendable - A little propagandish but overall good. The story of American PT boats in the Phillippines. Uses real PT boats - the only movie I know of to do that.

There are more older films on WWII but these are at the top IMHO.

[Jack Hammer]

Tora, Tora, Tora is a great movie. Its essentially the same movie as Pearl Harbor without the painfully sappy love story and incredibly bad acting. I'd be one happy camper if I could just slip the attack scene from Pearl Harbor into that movie. It's attack scene is good, just the newer one is much more intense.

Jack

[KevInCinci]

Tora, Tora, Tora is a great movie. Its essentially the same movie as Pearl Harbor without the painfully sappy love story and incredibly bad acting. I'd be one happy camper if I could just slip the attack scene from Pearl Harbor into that movie. It's attack scene is good, just the newer one is much more intense.

Jack

I can't tell you how many PH vets were shocked (not in a good way) and disappointed at the movie that Michael Bay put together, especially after he worked hard to include and honor them during the process. No one expected the mess that was the love triangle.

I had the pleasure of being an extra for "Pearl Harbor" during three days' of shooting in Texas and really enjoyed the experience, despite pretty much all my scenes (and most of the ones shot at our location) getting cut. What was interesting was talking with both the film's historical consultant and their Naval liaison during our downtime. Being a historian myself, I got a lot out of that. What struck me most was that both admitted to basically being ignored during the filming. They'd make suggestions about how to improve authenticity to the various directors (sometimes they were even asked!), but their advice routinely was tossed in favor of whatever made for a "better" scene. Some of that I saw first hand. Some of us took their advice to heart on how to act, wear our uniforms, etc., in small ways that didn't seem to matter to the filmmakers, but a lot of big scenes that "would never happen that way" were filmed anyway. The irony is that maybe a historian had the last word afterall and that's why a lot of our scenes got cut :p

I was a little embarrassed that the movie turned out so bad (and that I was cut), but that doesn't mean I don't have an autographed movie poster from PH in my home theater!

Cheers,

Kevin