Flags of Our Fathers / Letters from Iwo Jima

Man, Iwo Jima was heavy. Absolutely gut-wrenching.
A few of those points Jose Miller17 brought up should've been included, but honestly, just keep in mind this movie wasn't made for the European market—it’s for folks over here in the States... and Americans have a pretty different way of looking at themselves and their own wars.

Yeah, why even bother filming 'Letters' when Malick already covered all that ground in 'The Thin Red Line'? For Malick, you only needed three Japanese men to tell the whole story—the one looking on in disgust as an American stuffs half-smoked cigarettes up his nose, the one meditating right in the middle of an American jury, and the one waving a katana like a madman...

That’s enough for anyone smart enough to get it—both sides are just people with their own struggles, highs, and lows. Different, sure, but still human.

Maybe some other time, Clint, maybe some other time...

I'm definitely going to check it out; just downloaded the soundtrack today.
The Thin Red Line is an incredible movie, and those tracks are honestly top-tier.

Emily Ramos said:Personally, I’m stoked they finally made a war movie (haven't seen Flags of Our Fathers or Letters from Iwo Jima yet) where the fighting isn't the only thing holding the whole thing up—and don't get me wrong, I respect the classics, I'm not saying they suck.
Of course, I'm talking about the "good" ones everyone loves, like Apocalypse Now, Platoon, or even Saving Private Ryan, which I know some people here can't stand!
What I loved about Flags of Our Fathers is how they show the soldiers as just regular guys caught up in the mess, whether they wanted to be or not, just doing their jobs.
Then you've got the politicians back home playing them like a fiddle, using them until there's nothing left and then basically saying "bye bye, forget about them."
But hey, it came out at an interesting time, much like Jarhead, with 75% of Americans wanting the war over and Bush being even less popular than Nixon; honestly, it kind of bothers me when they use WWII as a way to critique today—that was a different era, a war that absolutely HAD to be fought, if for no other reason than that. Thank God for Americans.

The point is, it had to be fought, but those two bombs at the end were unnecessary, especially hitting civilian cities.

redscout15 said:Does anyone happen to have the subtitles for "Letters from Iwo Jima" lying around?
English or American?

You can find the English ones at www.divx-titlovi.com...

Scott Bennett6 said:You can find the English ones at www.divx-titlovi.com...

Nah, that’s actually the title for Sands of Iwo Jima (1949). 😲

English subtitles for Letters from Iwo Jima just popped up on subtitles.com.
I tried my hand at translating them, but honestly, most of it is complete gibberish. At least during those first five minutes; after that, I just didn't have the patience left in me.

Right after watching, I had to go check if Nishi actually won a gold medal in equestrian at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, or if they just made it up for the sake of the story. Turns out, he really did! 🙏

I honestly think "Letters from Iwo Jima" is way better than "Flags of Our Fathers"
it just feels more emotional, and I definitely connected with it on a deeper level than the other one...

I watched Letters from Iwo Jima the other day. I have to admit, I expected much more from Spielberg, who is my personal favorite, but it felt like it was just about those three guys. I'll be sitting down to watch Flags of Our Fathers sometime this week...

I just watched Flags of Our Fathers and the film is truly excellent. Unlike Saving Private Ryan, you aren't even rooting for them to defeat the Japanese; instead, you're left thinking, "Who actually needs a war? What the hell is this!!"

Finally got around to watching both movies. Even though Flags of Our Fathers plays up the heroism and glory a bit too much, I still think it's way better than Letters from Iwo Jima. That one feels overly sentimental and loses its grip on the plot... the whole thing just revolves around whether the colonels will actually listen to the general because of some outdated Japanese pride. To me, they're just okay movies. Not really worth watching more than once, and maybe even Letters isn't worth that much...

This movie hits all the right notes, covering both the big-picture history and how it actually affects the individual.
Really solid stuff.

I’ve got my hands on Letters from Iwo Jima, but the runtime is only about an hour and thirty-three minutes. Is it possible I’ve somehow ended up with a censored version or something similar?

Watched Letters from Iwo Jima yesterday, and honestly, the movie is fantastic.
I wasn't really feeling Flags of Our Fathers, though.

Angela Scott43 said:I’ve got my hands on Letters from Iwo Jima, but the runtime is only about an hour and thirty-three minutes. Is it possible I’ve somehow ended up with a censored version or something similar?

It's likely just a bad copy that's missing about 40 minutes of footage.

Both movies are solid. There's not much action in Flags of Our Fathers, but the Letters from Iwo Jima side tells such a heavy story about the Japanese... personally, I dig both of them.🙏

James Fox33 said:Both movies are solid. There's not much action in Flags of Our Fathers, but the Letters from Iwo Jima side tells such a heavy story about the Japanese... personally, I dig both of them.🙏

🤔

cosmicraven2 said:It's likely just a bad copy that's missing about 40 minutes of footage.

I actually just sat down and watched the real version, which runs about 2 hours and 20 minutes, and it was fantastic! I think I’ll dive into this shorter 1:33h version very soon just so I can figure out exactly what they left out, though I must say, even on this shorter cut, the sound and the picture quality are an absolute 10/10!

Personally, I’ve always been more drawn to Letters from Iwo Jima.
While Flags of Our Fathers has a solid premise—that core idea is definitely there—it just feels like it lacks a certain drive, and the way it handles the characters felt a bit cold to me, if I'm being honest.
With Letters, I felt much more connected to the characters—even though they're stuck in such a hopeless situation—and that's saying something, since I always have that recurring struggle with Asian films where I can't tell the characters apart!
Now, Clint Eastwood—who I think is a Republican, if I recall correctly—takes this cynical stance toward American patriotism and all that sappy sentimentality in both movies. It's a trap that I feel Spielberg didn't quite manage to escape in Saving Private Ryan. In Letters, there are very few Americans among the cast, and when they do show up, they're mostly portrayed in a negative light. I can't think of many similar examples in American war movies right now, even though there are plenty out there that take the opposite approach.