| |  | DVD : Letters from Iwo Jima (Two-Disc Special Edition) |  | | | | | | | | | |
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Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Warner Brothers
EAN: 0085391112921
Label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: May 22, 2007
Running Time: 140 minutes
Sales Rank: 2838
Studio: Warner Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: January 12, 2007
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Editorial Review:
Description:
Nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima tells the untold story of the Japanese soldiers who defended their homeland against invading American forces during World War II. With little defense other than sheer will and the volcanic rock of Iwo Jima itself, the unprecedented tactics of General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai) and his men transform what was predicted to be a swift defeat into nearly 40 days of heroic and resourceful combat. Their sacrifices, struggles, courage and compassion live on in the taut, gripping film Rolling Stone calls 'unique and unforgettable.' It is the powerful companion piece to Flags of Our Fathers.
Amazon.com:
Critically hailed as an instant classic, Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima is a masterwork of uncommon humanity and a harrowing, unforgettable indictment of the horrors of war. In an unprecedented demonstration of worldly citizenship, Eastwood (from a spare, tightly focused screenplay by first-time screenwriter Iris Yamashita) has crafted a truly Japanese film, with Japanese dialogue (with subtitles) and filmed in a contemplative Japanese style, serving as both complement and counterpoint to Eastwood's previously released companion film Flags of Our Fathers. Where the earlier film employed a complex non-linear structure and epic-scale production values to dramatize one of the bloodiest battles of World War II and its traumatic impact on American soldiers, Letters reveals the battle of Iwo Jima from the tunnel- and cave-dwelling perspective of the Japanese, hopelessly outnumbered, deprived of reinforcements, and doomed to die in inevitable defeat. While maintaining many of the traditions of the conventional war drama, Eastwood extends his sympathetic touch to humanize 'the enemy,' revealing the internal and external conflicts of soldiers and officers alike, forced by circumstance to sacrifice themselves or defend their honor against insurmountable odds. From the weary reluctance of a young recruit named Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) to the dignified yet desperately anguished strategy of Japanese commander Tadamichi Kuribayashi (played by Oscar-nominated The Last Samurai costar Ken Watanabe), whose letters home inspired the film's title and present-day framing device, Letters from Iwo Jima (which conveys the bleakness of battle through a near-total absence of color) steadfastly avoids the glorification of war while paying honorable tribute to ill-fated men who can only dream of the comforts of home. --Jeff Shannon
On the DVDs
Like the film itself, the two-disc special edition of Letters from Iwo Jima is predominantly Japanese in content, and that's as it should be. Disc 1 presents the film in aflawless widescreen transfer, with a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround soundtrack that perfectly captures the film's wide dynamic range. The optional subtitles can be turned off for those wishing to immerse themselves in a completely Japanese viewing experience. Disc 2 opens with 'Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of Letters from Iwo Jima,' a 20-minute behind-the-scenes documentary that concisely covers all aspects of production, from director Clint Eastwood's initial decision to create a companion piece to Flags of Our Fathers, to interview comments from principal cast and crew, the latter including Flags screenwriters Paul Haggis and Letters screenwriter Iris Yamashita, costume designer Deborah Hopper, editor Joel Cox, cinematographer Tom Stern, production designer James Murakami (taking over for the ailing Henry Bumstead), and coproducer Rob Lorenz. 'The Faces of Combat' is an 18-minute featurette about selecting the Japanese (and Japanese-American) cast of Letters, and how they were chosen through the international collaboration of Eastwood's long-time casting director Phyllis Huffman (who turned over some of her duties to her son while struggling with terminal illness) and Japanese casting associate Yumi Takada, who filled important roles with Japanese celebrities (like pop star Kazunari Ninomiya, who plays 'Saigo') and unknown actors alike.
'Images from the Frontlines' is a 3.5-minute montage of images from the film and behind-the-scenes, set to the sparse piano theme of Eastwood's original score. The remaining bonus features chronicle the world premiere of Letters in Tokyo on November 15, 2006. The premiere itself is covered in a 16-minute featurette taped at the famous Budokan arena, where we see the red-carpet procession, a full-capacity audience despite cold November weather, and introductory comments from the film's primary cast and crew, many of them quite moving with regard to the satisfaction of working on a film that helps Japanese viewers come to terms with a painful chapter of their history. The following day's press conference (at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo hotel) is a 24-minute Q&A session covering much of the same territory, with additional testimony from principal cast & crew. Throughout this two-day event, it's clear that Eastwood (referring to himself as 'a Japanese director who doesn't speak the Japanese language') was warmly embraced by the Japanese, and that Letters from Iwo Jima had served its intended purpose, reminding us of the horrors of war while uniting both Japanese and Americans in somber reflection, 61 years after the battle of Iwo Jima. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews Average Rating: 
Rating: - A different point of view
The most striking thing to me about Clint Eastwood's companion piece to Flags of our Fathers is how quiet it is.Despite the fact that this is a war movie with plenty of graphic violence and intense combat sequences, there is nevertheless an erie calm to the proceedings.Maybe the silence is the calm before the storm....the anticipation and dread that envelopes the Japanese soliders as they wait for the inevitable attack by America.
The stillness also adds a meditative quality to ... Read More
Rating:  - Not Eastwood's master work
The flip side of "Flag of Our Fathers," this Japanese language film is a little too long for its own good. The tale told from Japan's perspective grows a little tedious, but you do see things from an alternate point of view. The praise is somewhat unwarranted, because, ultimately, there is nothing especially revealing or surprising here, just an expected take on what it must have been like to be a Japanese soldier on Iwo Jima. Worth watching in tandem with the other film, at your leisure.
Rating:  - The Other Side Of The Fence
To most Eastwoods 'Flags of our Fathers' wasn't that great in telling the story of those soldiers who raised the flag on Iwo Jima. I personally loved that film and was delighted to see that Eastwood had done what rarely is, and told the other side to that story from the perspective of the Japanese army. Iwo Jima takes a very similar approach to telling the story of the main soldiers by zooming back and forth from past to present, explaining how the soldiers got to where they where and what they've ... Read More
Rating: - LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
AWESOME DVD. GREAT SHAPE FAST DELIVERY AWESOME MOVIE. CLINT EASTWOOD IS JUST A GREAT DIRECTOR AND ACTOR AND I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS MOVIE TO ANYONE.
Rating: - Top of the line entertainment
Letters from Iwo Jima is an exceptional film. It covers a 40 day period prior to the invasion of US troops on Iwa Jima and the events that occur immediately after. Filmed in sepia tones that are highlighted for fiery explosions, the limited color range made the action more terrible and the drama more heightened.
Two officers lead the Japanese men on Iwo Jima, General Kuribayashi and Baron Nishi. The General is played to perfection by Ken Watanabe and the Baron is played with great zeal ... Read More
Letters from Iwo Jima (Two-Disc Special Edition) | | | |
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