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Letters from Iwo Jima review thread

2543 Views 32 Replies 12 Participants Last post by PooperScooper, Jan 14, 2007

RobertWood

Discussion Starter · Jan 12, 2007

Opens today (but only in limited release - not in this podunk damnit).

Here's the tomatometer.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/letters_from_iwo_jima/

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1 - 20 of 33 Posts

RobertWood

Discussion Starter · #2 · Jan 12, 2007

Why on earth even put Clint on the Today Show to talk about this movie now.

It's the same old story. The elitist snobs who release these movies think America is New York and Los Angeles and everything in between is the set for Deliverance.

Well I got news for you snobs. F you and the horse you rode in on.

IAM4UK

· #3 · Jan 12, 2007

Interesting release strategy. Seems an Eastwood movie could go wide on day one, even if it's in Japanese with English subtitles.

Roger Lococco

· #4 · Jan 12, 2007

hate to say it,but it's in limited release because they know no one will want to see it,no point in releasing it widely and losing a lot of money.The average American moviegoer has ZERO interest in a film that shows a sympathetic portrayal of Japanese WW2 soldiers,spoken in Japanese.

modiGTI

· #5 · Jan 12, 2007

Looks good, but I don't think it'll play around my area. I'll be waiting to rent it.

eweiss

· #6 · Jan 12, 2007

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roger Lococco /forum/post/0

hate to say it,but it's in limited release because they know no one will want to see it,no point in releasing it widely and losing a lot of money.The average American moviegoer has ZERO interest in a film that shows a sympathetic portrayal of Japanese WW2 soldiers,spoken in Japanese.

I'll wait to watch it here:

http://www.angryalien.com/

RobertWood

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jan 12, 2007

Quote:
Originally Posted by eweiss /forum/post/0

http://www.angryalien.com/

Dang, now that there is pretty cool.

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IAM4UK

· #8 · Jan 12, 2007

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roger Lococco /forum/post/0

The average American moviegoer has ZERO interest in a film that shows a sympathetic portrayal of Japanese WW2 soldiers,spoken in Japanese.

I got a minor in Japanese language, spent a little time over there on a student exchange, and am in the US Armed Services. I'd be very interested in Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima." I am certain it is possible to connect empathetically with the Japanese soldiers in WWII, even while holding fast my view that they were enemies that that we needed to defeat during that war. Japan is a valued ally of this country today, and has been for many years now.

I did read the review of this film on RogerEbert.com (by a different reviewer; how's Ebert doing these days?). Four Stars, but be advised that the reviewer could not resist a cheap-shot political statement, which detracted from the movie review itself. I'm glad we will avoid that here.

jcc

· #9 · Jan 12, 2007

Good! I'm a little pissed that this film was made in the first place. Would the jews allow for such a film about the Nazis? So why would Clint or the jewish studio heads allow such a film to made about a bunch of sick BastARds? Everyone who's had to face them, from the Chinese to the Koreans, and the POWs that they tortured thought that they were total animals.

Why is it that only things about the Nazis are bad and therefore taboo and things about the Japs in WWII not though of with equal abhorrence? No one would dare glorify the Nazis as fantastic war heros would they? Who would dare to humanize the Nazis?

BTW: I make the distinction between Germans and the Nazis just like I make the distinction between Japanese People and Japs. One is clearly the negative...so no offense to the Germans and Japanese people here...

RobertWood

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jan 13, 2007

Well be that as it may, I still want some of you city slickers who get to see this to tell us rubes if it's any good.

RobertWood

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jan 13, 2007

Quote:
Originally Posted by IAM4UK /forum/post/0

I am certain it is possible to connect empathetically with the Japanese soldiers in WWII, even while holding fast my view that they were enemies

My father may he rest in peace, who fought in the infantry for three and a half years in the jungles of the South Pacific, would have wanted to see this movie.

Nuff said.

PainterPaul

· #12 · Jan 13, 2007

I don't want to see it either, but the movie is NOT a sympathetic portrayal of Japanese WW2 soldiers. It's the opposite, actually.

RobertWood

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jan 13, 2007

Quote:
Originally Posted by PainterPaul /forum/post/0

I don't want to see it either, but the movie is NOT a sympathetic portrayal of Japanese WW2 soldiers. It's the opposite, actually.

Please elaborate. What are you basing that on?

RobertWood

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jan 13, 2007

Eastwood...

Quote:
"In hindsight, 61 years later, there's no longer the propaganda for or against," says Mr. Eastwood. "You start thinking in terms of mothers losing their sons. And you realize it's not just American mothers, but Japanese mothers as well. And that's all war really has to offer.

"Sometimes you have to try to look at the idealistic part of it as well as the realistic part of it," he continues. "We had to fight World War II. It was the Just War, as everybody likes to call it. But then you see shots of American veterans' groups who go back to Iwo Jima for ceremonies, and you see one standing with his arm around a Japanese veteran. And you think but for another set of circumstances they could have been friends."

http://www.guidelive.com/sharedconte...d.f8c2bed.html

PainterPaul

· #15 · Jan 13, 2007

Robert, based on the movie review I heard today on Medved's radio show. The movie is supposed to illustrate the utter insanity and brutality of the Japanese during this battle, and he mentioned twice that it was not a sympathetic view of the Japanese but rather an illustration of how committed to death they were. (4-stars).

I know from history that twenty-thousand Japanese died on the island, and I think about five-thousand Americans killed.

Medved's website does not have the review up yet, as it was just reviewed today. I'd be glad to post a link once it's up.

Edit: I have no desire to see this film.

RobertWood

Discussion Starter · #16 · Jan 13, 2007

Here's a blog which was sparked by Medved's positive review of the movie.

Scroll down to the post written by "Tony Medley" (says "To Evening Star" at the top of it).

He's coming from what appears to be a similiar ideological bent as Medved, but man oh man does he offer a contrasting opinion.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1757489/posts

lonwolf615

· #17 · Jan 13, 2007

Clint seems to be trying to say "we're all the same". The view here seems to be "we're all the same except for those damn nazis...and japs. If after 60 years we can't admit the humanity of those we fought in the "good war" it doesn't speak well of our current state, does it? Whats that they say about history repeating itself?

ChrisWiggles

· #18 · Jan 13, 2007

Quote:
I make the distinction between Japanese People and Japs.

Uh, the term "jap" is considered a racial slur. I don't really think it has an appropriate place in this discussion. It's like saying that you make a distinction between African Americans and "n***ers." Sorry, but that's not acceptable. Slurs like that have no place in a discussion like this.

ChrisWiggles

· #19 · Jan 13, 2007

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roger Lococco /forum/post/0

hate to say it,but it's in limited release because they know no one will want to see it,no point in releasing it widely and losing a lot of money.The average American moviegoer has ZERO interest in a film that shows a sympathetic portrayal of Japanese WW2 soldiers,spoken in Japanese.

I'm not so sure. I read that the release schedule was pushed up for the states because it had such a strong reception abroad. The critics are pretty strongly behind this film, and I actually think it will do reasonably well. I do not think the country is in a very patriotic mood generally right now which is partly why I don't think Flags did so well. I know many people who though along the lines of "oh great, another pro-American patriotic rah-rah war movie..." when they saw previous etc for Flags, which is I think partially why it didn't do so well despite generally solid reviews. I'm very interested to see how this film fares in comparison to Flags. I haven't seen Flags yet, I wanted to see both more at the same time. And while the fact that it is a foreign film, and subtitled and one can make jokes about Americans and their subborn unwillingness to read subtitles or read in general, there are many surprise foreign hits like Crouching Tiger, so I think it's possible for this film to do better than just a small-art-house type reception, especially given the critical acclaim and perhaps the general mood of the nation and perhaps the receptiveness towards this kind of film.

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Roger Lococco

· #20 · Jan 14, 2007

I'm Asian (Chinese),also a native born American,so as an American,I think I can sense how other Americans would feel about this movie-no interest because of the subject matter,or if they actually do go see it,instant revulsion and possibly anger the instant those Japanese WWII uniforms come into view.Americans will avoid this movie like the plague.

1 - 20 of 33 Posts

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