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Title:
Letters from Iwo Jima.
Rating: R.
Film Companies: Warner Brothers Pictures, Dreamworks Pictures,
Malpaso/Amblin Entertainment.
Cast: Ken Watanabe (A Dread of Red Mansions, Batman Begins, Memoirs
of a Geisha, The Last Samurai), Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase (About
Love, The Passenger), Shidou Nakamura (Fearless, Death Note), Hiroshi Watanabe,
Takumi Bando, Yuki Matsuzaki, Nae Yuuki, Nobumasa Sakagami, Akiko Shima, Lucas Elliott,
Mark Moses Race to Space, Deep Impact, Gettysburg, Platoon), Roxanne Hart (Highlander,
ER).
Crew: Clint Eastwood (Director, Producer), Paul Haggis, Steven
Spielberg, Robert Lorenz (Producers), Iris Yamashita (Screenwriter), Tadamichi Kuribayashi,
Tsuyuko Yoshido (Authors), Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens (Music), Tom Stern (Cinematography),
Joel Cox, Gary Roach (Editor).
Synopsis: Iwo Jima was an extremely bloody battle on a Pacific
island between United States and Japanese forces. Over a period of forty days a
battle raged for control of the island with 7,000 American soldiers dying during
the conflict and over 20,000 Japanese soldiers. This film attempts to tell the story
from the Japanese point of view and is a companion to the film Flag of our Fathers
which is from an American viewpoint.
Review: This film is rated R for graphic war violence, and deserves
its ratings. It contains minimal profane language and no nudity. It is a realistic
and painful portrayal of war through the eyes of the Japanese on Iwo Jima. It is
courageous in its attempt to portray history from the losing side. It is insightful
because of its portrayal of Japanese ethics and morals that drove them to fight
and die in the manner that they did. It is frustrating to watch in some ways and
fails in several to be an accurate portrayal of history, but overall it is one of
the better war films available.
DVD Release: May 2007.
Bibliography:
Ken Watanabe.
Ryo Kase.
Shidou Nakamura.
Mark Moses.
Roxanne Hart.
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