Film Review: Letters from Iwo Jima Essay

Iwo Jima is an island in the Bonin chain, situated about 575 miles from Japan. It’s prominent feature is Mount Suribachi, a volcanic mountain on the southern tip of the island. Iwo Jima did not have a civilian population but was well protected by roughly 23,000 Japanese soldiers in caves, foxholes, and pillboxes (pillboxes were concrete boxes with small holes for shooting enemies). Before the land invasion, Iwo Jima endured a heavy bombardment by ships and planes, which, however, did very little to destroy the Japanese resistance.

In June of 1944, Lieutenant General Kuribayashi arrived on Iwo Jima to find discover a rivalry between the Army and the Navy. By late July, Kuribayashi had evacuated all civilians from the island and sent back officers he considered uncooperative. The civilians and the incorporating officers were no use to him and would only drain the water and food supplies. After these acts were completed, he began his act in building the fortress. Kuribayashi split Iwo Jima into five sectors. He would control the mountain area himself and would be leaving the volcano and its 200 men as an independent command under Colonel Atsuli. Kuribayashi's departure had been normal practice for the Japanese Imperial Army, but he predicted that American air and naval bombardments would destroy any defenses on the beaches.

The taking of the island of Iwo Jima was one of the most difficult and costly campaigns for the U.S. during World War II. After the battle was over, the decision to take the island was heavily scrutinized by the public, military officials, and members of the press. Many people felt that the island’s advantages were not worth the blood that was shed taking it. There are a select few historians who believe that this campaign was not intended to be a strategic advantage against Japan but that it was a competition between the different branches of the armed forces. Historian Robert Burrell feels that this island was used as a testing ground for the various branches of the armed forces and as a test for new war tactics. Although the taking of the

he Battle of Iwo Jima was one of the bloodiest and fiercest battles of the Second World War in which the US Armed Forces captured the Iwo Jima Island from the Japanese. More than 6800 American servicemen lost their lives in the battle and thus the battle has come to known as the deadliest battle in Marine Corps history. Iwo Jima was an island strategically positioned and highly fortified as its three airfields were used to stage attacks on the US at the Pacific War. It was therefore Americas target to capture the island and use it to stage attacks on Japans mainland and use the airfields as emergency landing strips for the US Navy planes damaged during war. According to The Washington Post a small group gathered on Thursday February 18th

Since 1968, there have been at least 25 films made that portray the events of the Vietnam War. Historians have to ask themselves when watching these films, "Did the fictional character represent historical figures accurately? Is this how a soldier would react in this situation?" The point of view of the director of the film can change with simple alterations in camera angles. For example, a view from the ground of a battle seen can show how the innocent people had the war in their own backyards. The view from a helicopter can show Viet Cong firing rounds at American troops and the troops can't tell the difference between the innocent and the enemy. The audience feels empathy and sympathy for the person from whose point of view the

Upon arriving to the mainland of Japan, many of the American occupation were stunned at the utter devastation that the Japanese had endured. It was a testament to both the bravery and spirit of their armies, as well as the foolishness of their leaders, that they were able to endure the war as long as they had. Having put most of their economic resources to the war movement, much of the civilian population was left in near famine. With the armies throughout the Pacific being repatriated on a daily basis (although many wouldn't return for year) the conditions became even worse. Despair and hunger set into the populace that was described as the "kyodatsu condition." With their colonies in Asia no longer in direct control, much of their food supply imports were cut off. Japan had relied heavily upon the importation of rice, sugar, and salt, but access was now severely restricted. To make matters worse, the United States decided to take a hands-off approach to rebuild the economy, a natural decision to punish a nation that caused so much devastation to others. Malnutrition was a leading cause of preventable death in many major cities, and the rapid rise of

I read the section about the battles that took place during WWII. It brought to my minds that in real life. There are more important things during a war than finding a private Ryan. War is a huge event and the little things like finding a person to keep the family name going is too small to include in war history. This is what separates the movies from the real life. Another difference is they don't show the actual planning it takes to start an attack or the inelegance that is needed to set up the perfect defense barrier to prevent the advancement of the enemy soldiers. A real battle can last days, weeks, months, or years, compared to movie war that lasts not even a day and has one guy or one platoon take on the entire other side. The casualties of real war is tremendous, rather than movies where you see almost the same characters in the whole movie accomplishing some of the most intense tasks with only one or two dying. Also, in movie war you don't see the other side's horror. You think all the opponents are bad horrible people that deserve to die, when they are just soldiers doing their job and the only reason we are fighting them is because of a bad leader or government. So in the movies every enemy deserves to die and should be shown no mercy, but the actual thing about that is that the enemy is just like any other soldier. And furthermore when the good guys lose a battle in a

While watching this film you may find yourself experiencing some of the same emotions as the characters in the film this allows you to be in the movie letting you be a part of an important event in our history. This is what makes the film so unique. Its full of different scenarios that keep you wondering what is going to happen next. I think that this film is a very close representation of what WWII was really like.

There is one scene where the three flag raisers entered a crowded stadium before a football game which typified how an image of war can be so different to the reality of war. The flash photography, the cheering, the roar of the crowd all went to John Bradley’s head and he had flash backs of the fighting on Iwo Jima and the genuine heroes that he had left behind. This scene contrasts what the reality of war, were all the men are dug in and fighting for there life, and the images of war. Ira Hayes says “I know it’s a good thing, raising the money and that, ‘cause we need it. But, I can’t take them calling me a hero. All I did was try not to get shot. Some of the things I saw done, things I did, they weren’t things to be proud of, you know?” Clint Eastwood shows continuously, through his characters physiology shows how one single photo can be so different what really makes up the battle of Iwo Jima. The aim was to get war bonds; the minds of the three main characters through Clint Eastwood’s directing showed a strong insight to how the reality of a war and an image of war can be so contrasting.

In 2016 alone, over twenty-two movies were created based on true events of World War II. These films depict the dramatic fighting and emotional stress that fell on soldier's shoulders. Over the years, many historic films have been created yet one movie has proven itself superior: Saving Private Ryan. Steven Spielberg, a well known film director, first produced the movie to pay tribute to the soldiers who fought in World War II. With many occasions of graphic and realistic scenes, Saving Private Ryan allows viewers to gain an appreciation for the hardships troops experienced. This film gives the audience a glimpse into the intense battles fought in World War II, while also providing a heartfelt story about brothership and loss. Differing from the other World War II movies, Saving Private Ryan exemplifies a true war-drama with the help of the plot, historical accuracy, characters and setting.

start he is a very strong man and he was quite emotional as well, but

Saving Private Ryan is a movie that generates strong responses from most people that see it. While interviewing four individuals and reading three movie reviews, I found that each of my subjects would recommend it, not one of the individuals interviewed felt the violence was senseless, and all of them left the movie with a strong emotional response of some kind. It appears that Saving Private Ryan is the kind of movie to which many can relate.

     The First of the three part series, Star Wars, is the tale of a band of

The film Gallipoli takes place during World War I's Gallipoli campaign in 1915. The two main characters in the film are Archy and Frank. Archy and Frank are from Western Australia and they both enlist to fight in Gallipoli. Archy is an extremely fast runner who meets Frank at an athletics competition. We can see from the beginning that Archy is eager to join the war. After being turned down because he was underage, he goes to Perth, anxious for someone to accept him into the light horsemen. Frank, however, is skeptical about Australians wanting to join the war. He tells Archy that it's "not our war to fight". Despite this statement, Frank eventually joins up into the Infantry.

Space Battleship Yamato (1977) and The Silent Services (1988-1996) are both films that ‘rehabilitate’ Japan’s experience of World War II as they re-tell or imagine alternative histories or fictional stories that rehabilitate past trauma (namely their humiliating defeat of WWII and a sense of loss of masculinity to the U.S.-Japan alliance and what came corollary with it). Such narratives can be interpreted as expressing what contemporary Japan desires. The narrative of each film is reflected by the context of the time of its production (cold-war vs. post-cold war) and whilst the narratives of SBY and SS share similarities they differ in their depth of political discussions, conveyed messages and explicitness due to the constraints of post-war democracy, pacifism and U.S. relation. Relevant concepts are militarism, nationalism, anti-war messages, anti-US messages, pacifism, masculinity and patriotism and many of these co-exist in each respective film – the films try to reconcile them by ending with a lasting impression that justifies the aggression for the sake of world peace.