I do movie reviews for another message board that I'm a member of and thought I'd transfer a couple over here. If you've seen any that I've posted, let me know your thoughts. if you haven't, take the time to check them out.


Flags Of Our Fathers
Rated R
Running time - 132 minutes

Directed by Clint Eastwood
Produced by Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, and Robert Lorenz
Written by William Broyles Jr. and Paul Haggis (screenplay)
James Bradley and Ron Powers (book)


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Cast -

Ryan Phillippe .... John "Doc" Bradley
Jesse Bradford .... Rene Gagnon
Adam Beach .... Ira Hayes
John Benjamin Hickey .... Keyes Beech
John Slattery .... Bud Gerber
Barry Pepper .... Mike Strank
Jamie Bell .... Ralph "Iggy" Ignatowski
Paul Walker .... Hank Hansen
Robert Patrick .... Colonel Chandler Johnson
Neal McDonough .... Captain Severance
Melanie Lynskey .... Pauline Harnois
Thomas McCarthy .... James Bradley
Chris Bauer .... Commandant Vandergrift
Judith Ivey .... Belle Block
Myra Turley .... Madeline Evelley
Joseph Cross .... Franklin Sousley
Benjamin Walker .... Harlon Block
Alessandro Mastrobuono .... Lindberg
Scott Reeves .... Lundsford
Stark Sands .... Gust
George Grizzard .... John Bradley
Harve Presnell .... Dave Severance
George Hearn .... Walter Gust
Len Cariou .... Mr. Beech
Christopher Curry .... Ed Block
Bubba Lewis .... Belle's Young Son
Beth Grant .... Mother Gagnon
Connie Ray .... Mrs. Sousley
Ann Dowd .... Mrs. Strank
Mary Beth Peil .... Mrs. Bradley
David Patrick Kelly .... President Harry S.Truman

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In February, 1945, one of the fiercest battles of the Pacific theater of World War II occurs on the tiny island of Iwo Jima. Thousands of Marines attack the stronghold maintained by thousands of Japanese, and the slaughter on both sides is horrific. Early in the battle, an American flag is raised atop the high point, Mount Suribachi, and a photograph of the raising becomes an American cause celebre. As a powerful inspiration to war-sick Americans, the photo becomes a symbol of the Allied cause. The three surviving flag raisers, Rene Gagnon, John Bradley, and Ira Hayes, are whisked back to civilization to help raise funds for the war effort. But the accolades for heroism heaped upon the three men are at odds with their own personal realizations that thousands of real heroes lie dead on Iwo Jima, and that their own contributions to the fight are only symbolic and not deserving of the singling out they are experiencing. Each of the three must come to terms with the honors, exploitation, and grief that they face simply for being in a photograph.

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I simply loved this film. My next door neighbor was there that day on Iwo Jima and has never spoken about it. Being a WW II buff, I always thought very highly of the men who fought and died on that little rock. And after seeing this, my admiration has increased.

The movie plays in a flashback style, re-living the events that began on February 19, 1945. It's main focus, however, is the lives of the three survivors who raised the second flag on top of Mt. Suribachi during the first week of fighting. Most of you do know, but for those who don't, the famous photo was not of the first flag that was raised. That flag was ordered lowered by Secretary of the Navy, James Forrestal, who wanted the flag as a souvenir.

The three survivors, Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, and John Bradley were sent back to the States and used during rallies to help sell war bonds. And in this movie you see the torment that each man had to deal with. Gagnon, who relished the spotlight, Hayes, who obviously wished he had never been a part of the tour, and Bradley, who begrudgingly did his duty by participating, are all portrayed very well by Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, and Ryan Phillippe.

This one will really tug at your heartstrings both for the men who fought on Iwo Jima and for the three flag raisers. It also show, in a subtle way, how we, as a nation, sometimes use our heroes in a less than heroic way. For although their work in helping raise money was noble, it was obviously thrust upon them. And in the end, they all were negatively affected by it.

Gagnon tried to cash in on his fame and appeared in a couple of movies, but ended up being a janitor and died in 1978. Bradley lived a fairly normal life, married his childhood sweetheart and ran a funeral parlor. But he was always tormented by the fact that he couldn't save Ralph Ignatowski, his best friend in the Navy, who was captured and tortured by the Japanese on the island. Bradley was the one who discovered his body. Hayes is the saddest of the three stories. He tried to live his life in anonymity, but was never able to. Tourists would drive to his reservation to take a picture of "the Indian who raised the flag". He died in 1955, at the age of 32, face down near a hut, after a heavy drinking binge.

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This film is not for everyone, but gives a good history lesson, unlike some of the more flag waving films from old Hollywood. It is very graphic, so I wouldn't recommend it for young children. However, I would say kids as young as thirteen or fourteen should see this. It will let them know just what heroes really are.


8.75/10