Flags of Our Fathers
February 1945. Even as victory in Europe was finally within reach, the war in the Pacific raged on. One of the most crucial and bloodiest battles of the war was the struggle for the island of Iwo Jima, which culminated with what would become one of the most iconic images in history: five Marines and a Navy corpsman raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi.
A single shot can end the war.
The inspiring photo capturing that moment became a symbol of victory to a nation that had grown weary of war and made instant heroes of the six American soldiers at the base of the flag, some of whom would die soon after, never knowing that they had been immortalized. But the surviving flag raisers had no interest in being held up as symbols and did not consider themselves heroes; they wanted only to stay on the front with their brothers in arms who were fighting and dying without fanfare or glory.
Based on the bestselling book by James Bradley with Ron Powers.
Member Reviews
Moins bon que Letters from Iwo Jima - Tigidou
Les images sont définitivement superbes, c'est un must pour tout amateur de la 2e guerre mondiale. Il y a de fréquentes coupures pour montrer la vie des soldats une fois rentrés à la maison. On voit la guerre sous des facettes rarement présentées. Le résultat demeure moyen mais j'arrive pas à expliquer pourquoi.War Heros - Real And Hyped - CharleyJames
It took just one photograph to immortalize Iwo Jima for history and rally America. Flags of Our Fathers is a riveting account of one of World War II’s bloodiest battles and a disturbing exploration of real vs. hyped heroism.
The story focuses on three of the flag-planters who survived the action and the government's use of them for propaganda.
There is no shortage of war carnage: Eastwood provide awesome panoramas of the invaders' vast flotilla, superbly capturing the adrenaline excitement of the landing followed by the chaotic terror of combat. Waves wash over bodies on the beach; shell-shocked medics wander among the dead and wounded.
The flag planted by the first small group of Americans who reached the summit was, in fact, taken down. A second group of different men replaced it with another – the one in the photo. No faces were identifiable, leading to confusion convenient for the government. Whisked to the States for a final war bonds drive, their hero welcome degenerates into publicity stunts. In one of the best scenes – a huge Chicago rally – they have to plant the flag atop a papier-mâché model of Mt Suribachi for the crowd.
The film shows Eastwood’s depth. He'd never be accused of making an anti-war film but it reminds us that it is always old men who send young men to die in war, and manipulate them or their memory later.
The washed-out colour here is almost as monochromatic as AP photographer Joe Rosenthal's legendary photo. Eastwood's epic is going for historical, not contemporary, impact.
The message that heroes aren't necessarily who or what they appear is clear enough. Eastwood should have trusted his storytelling and not pounded the point so hard into our skulls with his final narration. Still, I'm impressed by the depth of a spaghetti-western cowboy turned serious director. Eastwood rendered the ferocity of Iwo Jima more movingly and less mythically than any filmmaker before him.Our fathers were flawed human beings - Weeser
While the war scenes are riveting, this movie is essentially about people and their need for heroes and villians. A character in the movie says it best, that in order to understand a war, those in it need to see it in black and white - the good guys and the bad guys. The raising of the flag at Iwo Jima is explained in human terms; what it meant, what really happened and what the promotion of the "story" did to those directly involved with it. It's riveting story-telling and one of Clint Eastwood's best. Forget the maudlin and overwrought Million Dollar Baby. To see the master at work, rent Flags of Our Fathers.
Member Reviews
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Moins bon que Letters from Iwo Jima - Tigidou
Les images sont définitivement superbes, c'est un must pour tout amateur de la 2e guerre mondiale. Il y a de fréquentes coupures pour montrer la vie des soldats une fois rentrés à la maison. On voit la guerre sous des facettes rarement présentées. Le résultat ...War Heros - Real And Hyped - CharleyJames
It took just one photograph to immortalize Iwo Jima for history and rally America. Flags of Our Fathers is a riveting account of one of World War II’s bloodiest battles and a disturbing exploration of real vs. hyped heroism.
The story focuses on three ...Our fathers were flawed human beings - Weeser
While the war scenes are riveting, this movie is essentially about people and their need for heroes and villians. A character in the movie says it best, that in order to understand a war, those in it need to see it in black and white - the good guys and the ...