Flags of Our Fathers
DVD
The Players
Ryan Philippe as John “Doc” Bradley
Jesse Bradford as Rene Gagnon
Adam Beach as Ira Hayes
Paul Walker as Henry “Hank” Hansen
Directed by Clint Eastwood
The Story
John “Doc” Bradley is a very old man and he’s dying. While he’s in the hospital, his son finds an old box with photos and memorabilia, including a photo of four Marines and one Navy corpsman raising the American flag—the keys to his father’s untold stories of Iwo Jima. The movie flashes back to 1945. John Bradley, Rene Gagnon, and Ira Hayes are being showcased all across America as the Heroes of Iwo Jima on a war bond drive. All three of them feel badly about the credit that they’re getting. What really happened? What did they see on Iwo Jima?
Film Review
Flags of Our Fathers is the first installment of Clint Eastwood’s Iwo Jima saga, and it’s a good movie. In my mind Letters From Iwo Jima is better, but that certainly shouldn’t rob Flags of Our Fathers of the credit it deserves. This movie shows the American perspective of the battle on Iwo Jima, and more specifically, what happened to the flag raisers in the famous photograph.
What I like about the movie is its sheer honesty. There are many scenes containing strong, graphic, brutal war violence; there are scenes of rejoicing; and there are scenes of guilty sorrow. There is even a scene where Ira Hayes says, in tears, “Some of the things I saw… they weren’t things to be proud of.”
The movie has excellent special effects and good cinematography. I especially enjoyed the panoramic shots of the island, as well as the panoramic shots of the American fleet. There are also good sets accurately depicting different American buildings and cities the flag raisers were in while on tour.
In my opinion, the combat scenes are the best parts because those are the scenes that take extreme special effects, great make up and use of prosthetics, and good costuming. The costumes for the Marine and Navy uniforms were very accurate, and the cleanly state of the uniforms was appropriate in relation to the setting of the scene, unlike the old World War II movies where everyone is clean-cut and happy to be in combat.
Technical Review
Flags of Our Fathers is Rated R for graphic war violence and language. The movie is available to own on DVD in regular form or as a 2-disc special edition. The special edition DVD is the one with the special features; I own the regular because the price was lower. The special edition DVD’s cover has the title logo and the cover picture of the flag raisers over a background that looks like old leather. Flags of Our Fathers is a good movie. I recommend seeing it before seeing Letters From Iwo Jima.
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