Flags of Our Fathers (Widescreen Edition)
starring: Ryan Phillippe, Barry Pepper, Joseph Cross, Jesse Bradford, Christopher Curry
directed by: Clint Eastwood
directed by: Clint Eastwood
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Product Description:
THE LIFE STORIES OF SIX MEN WHO RAISED THE FLAG AT THE BATTLE OF IWO JIMA, A TURNING POINT IN WWII.
Amazon.com:
Thematically ambitious and emotionally complex, Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers is an intimate epic with much to say about war and the nature of heroism in America. Based on the non-fiction bestseller by James Bradley (with Ron Powers), and adapted by Million Dollar Baby screenwriter Paul Haggis (Jarhead screenwriter William Broyles Jr. wrote an earlier draft that was abandoned when Eastwood signed on to direct), this isn't so much a conventional war movie as it is a thought-provoking meditation on our collective need for heroes, even at the expense of those we deem heroic. In telling the story of the six men (five Marines, one Navy medic) who raised the American flag of victory on the battle-ravaged Japanese island of Iwo Jima on February 23rd, 1945, Eastwood takes us deep into the horror of war (in painstakingly authentic Iwo Jima battle scenes) while emphasizing how three of the surviving flag-raisers (played by Adam Beach, Ryan Phillippe, and Jesse Bradford) became reluctant celebrities - and resentful pawns in a wartime publicity campaign - after their flag-raising was immortalized by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal in the most famous photograph in military history.
As the surviving flag-raisers reluctantly play their public roles as "the heroes of Iwo Jima" during an exhausting (but clearly necessary) wartime bond rally tour, Flags of Our Fathers evolves into a pointed study of battlefield valor and misplaced idolatry, incorporating subtle comment on the bogus nature of celebrity, the trauma of battle, and the true meaning of heroism in wartime. Wisely avoiding any direct parallels to contemporary history, Eastwood allows us to draw our own conclusions about the Iwo Jima flag-raisers and how their postwar histories (both noble and tragic) simultaneously illustrate the hazards of exploited celebrity and society's genuine need for admirable role models during times of national crisis. Flags of Our Fathers defies the expectations of those seeking a more straightforward war-action drama, but it's richly satisfying, impeccably crafted film that manages to be genuinely patriotic (in celebrating the camaraderie of soldiers in battle) while dramatizing the ultimate futility of war. Eastwood's follow-up film, Letters from Iwo Jima, examines the Iwo Jima conflict from the Japanese perspective. --Jeff Shannon
Beyond Flags of Our Fathers
Stills from Flags of Our Fathers (click for larger image)
THE LIFE STORIES OF SIX MEN WHO RAISED THE FLAG AT THE BATTLE OF IWO JIMA, A TURNING POINT IN WWII.
Amazon.com:
Thematically ambitious and emotionally complex, Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers is an intimate epic with much to say about war and the nature of heroism in America. Based on the non-fiction bestseller by James Bradley (with Ron Powers), and adapted by Million Dollar Baby screenwriter Paul Haggis (Jarhead screenwriter William Broyles Jr. wrote an earlier draft that was abandoned when Eastwood signed on to direct), this isn't so much a conventional war movie as it is a thought-provoking meditation on our collective need for heroes, even at the expense of those we deem heroic. In telling the story of the six men (five Marines, one Navy medic) who raised the American flag of victory on the battle-ravaged Japanese island of Iwo Jima on February 23rd, 1945, Eastwood takes us deep into the horror of war (in painstakingly authentic Iwo Jima battle scenes) while emphasizing how three of the surviving flag-raisers (played by Adam Beach, Ryan Phillippe, and Jesse Bradford) became reluctant celebrities - and resentful pawns in a wartime publicity campaign - after their flag-raising was immortalized by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal in the most famous photograph in military history.
As the surviving flag-raisers reluctantly play their public roles as "the heroes of Iwo Jima" during an exhausting (but clearly necessary) wartime bond rally tour, Flags of Our Fathers evolves into a pointed study of battlefield valor and misplaced idolatry, incorporating subtle comment on the bogus nature of celebrity, the trauma of battle, and the true meaning of heroism in wartime. Wisely avoiding any direct parallels to contemporary history, Eastwood allows us to draw our own conclusions about the Iwo Jima flag-raisers and how their postwar histories (both noble and tragic) simultaneously illustrate the hazards of exploited celebrity and society's genuine need for admirable role models during times of national crisis. Flags of Our Fathers defies the expectations of those seeking a more straightforward war-action drama, but it's richly satisfying, impeccably crafted film that manages to be genuinely patriotic (in celebrating the camaraderie of soldiers in battle) while dramatizing the ultimate futility of war. Eastwood's follow-up film, Letters from Iwo Jima, examines the Iwo Jima conflict from the Japanese perspective. --Jeff Shannon
Beyond Flags of Our Fathers
 Other World War II DVDs |  Essential DVDs by Director Clint Eastwood |  Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley |
Stills from Flags of Our Fathers (click for larger image)
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- A war is only heroic before it starts
To take the battle of Iwo Jima and show how that war, that turning point, maybe not, that dramatic apocalypse, for sure, of the Second World War, American side, is a pure illustration of what an apocalypse is: a revelation. Clint Eastwood with his Steven Spielberg accomplice demonstrate that revelation and its secret content. The kids who are sent to a war, any war, all wars, are no heroes whatsoever and in any way but they are the flesh and dough of the cannons of the enemy, or rather the other ... Read More
Rating: 
- Flags of our Fathers honors all our WWII fathers who served.
With much anticipation, I played the DVD of this recent Clint Eastwood epic. Much to my surprise, the DVD version IS better than the theatrical print I viewed in the state-of-the-art theater. A really excellent digital transfer. It is of such superior quality, I became lost in the story, which is unusual for me. As a Vietnam vet, I empathized with all three main characters, who separately, are very weak souls, but the three together speak volumes about heroism, sacrifice and service. Don't miss out! ... Read More
Rating: - Another Great WWII Movie
If you love WWII movies this is a must buy specially on Blu-ray.The sound and picture quality are great on this movie just like they are for Letter from Iwo Jima.
A must but for any Blu-ray fan!!!
Rating: 
- Sgt. Striker Would HATE This Movie
What a stinker!I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that I did not enjoy "Flags of our Fathers" because I really disliked the nasty, brutish and too long "Letters from Iwo Jima" and it was supposed to be the better film. But hey--I just couldn't imagine that Eastwood could make TWO boring films about Iwo Jima.
Boy, was I wrong!
I need to explain that I'm a military history buff and so my credibility with some people is going to be marginal.After all, anybody who actually ... Read More
Rating: - An important subject, but lousy movie
1.Yes, I'm comparing this movie to the book, but it's a natural thing to do... because this movie is based on the book.
2.With the above obvious fact being duly noted, this movie just doesn't do justice to the book. Perhaps it's impossible for a movie to match a book; if that's the case--> then just don't even try to make a movie.
3.Bottomline:just please read the book.
- A war is only heroic before it startsTo take the battle of Iwo Jima and show how that war, that turning point, maybe not, that dramatic apocalypse, for sure, of the Second World War, American side, is a pure illustration of what an apocalypse is: a revelation. Clint Eastwood with his Steven Spielberg accomplice demonstrate that revelation and its secret content. The kids who are sent to a war, any war, all wars, are no heroes whatsoever and in any way but they are the flesh and dough of the cannons of the enemy, or rather the other ... Read More
- Flags of our Fathers honors all our WWII fathers who served.With much anticipation, I played the DVD of this recent Clint Eastwood epic. Much to my surprise, the DVD version IS better than the theatrical print I viewed in the state-of-the-art theater. A really excellent digital transfer. It is of such superior quality, I became lost in the story, which is unusual for me. As a Vietnam vet, I empathized with all three main characters, who separately, are very weak souls, but the three together speak volumes about heroism, sacrifice and service. Don't miss out! ... Read More
- Another Great WWII MovieIf you love WWII movies this is a must buy specially on Blu-ray.The sound and picture quality are great on this movie just like they are for Letter from Iwo Jima.
A must but for any Blu-ray fan!!!
- Sgt. Striker Would HATE This MovieWhat a stinker!I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that I did not enjoy "Flags of our Fathers" because I really disliked the nasty, brutish and too long "Letters from Iwo Jima" and it was supposed to be the better film. But hey--I just couldn't imagine that Eastwood could make TWO boring films about Iwo Jima.
Boy, was I wrong!
I need to explain that I'm a military history buff and so my credibility with some people is going to be marginal.After all, anybody who actually ... Read More
- An important subject, but lousy movie1.Yes, I'm comparing this movie to the book, but it's a natural thing to do... because this movie is based on the book.
2.With the above obvious fact being duly noted, this movie just doesn't do justice to the book. Perhaps it's impossible for a movie to match a book; if that's the case--> then just don't even try to make a movie.
3.Bottomline:just please read the book.
