I received the Clint Eastwood movie Flag of our Fathers yesterday and started watching it last night. Some superb acting and recreation. However, the movie was hardly a cinematic success. Why do you think people didn't flock to this one like they did with Saving Private Ryan?
DJ

IMHO, the non linear story line contributed as did the nature of the focus of the story, being more about the after effects of being in the photo of the flag raising than about the conquest of the island. with only Bradley surviving mostly intact, and that only by putting everything completely behind him as soon as he could.

Al-- I have to tell you that I am fairly familiar with the tactical and strategic aspects surrounding the invasion of Iwo Jima, but if, as a non-military history buff person sitting in theater, frankly the movie would confuse me. It does not (so far) start by telling us why we are going to Iwo, who is going and what are they trying to accomplish. I am glad I renterd it from Netflick rather than buy it. Trust other will chime in.
thanks
DJ

Personally I loved the movie, and will probably pick it up on DVD this week. The way it jumps from time to time didn't bother me in the slightest. I'm not sure if the movie "wasn't a success" except when compared to others. Compared to SPR, no, it wasn't a success. Compared to some of the other dreck that was put out this year it was pretty successful, at least it stayed much longer in theaters. Compared to Letters from Iwo Jima it might not have been as PC so it didn't get all the critical acclaim that movie got. Let me explain that. I think Letters is just the kind of movie that "Hollywood" loves. That doesn't mean it's a better movie than Flags, just that it's a movie critics like.

Rodger-- did you see the Letters from Iwo yet? I am curious as to how the two compare.
DJ

Nope, not yet. With my new schedule it's hard to get away to see flicks. If it lasts very long in theaters I will.

I think that both of those movies were limited release. I am not even sure that it was on any screens here in my area.

No Tom Hanks, no Vin Diesel, no Matt Damon...

Shaun

Shaun-- You are right there are no "big name" guys in it. But, the viewer (I speak for myself here) is left with a confused mix of story lines.....three Marines exploited for their contribution to a war bond show (do you think people even know what a war bond drive did for the effort?) An American Indian, a group of Marines in a tough battle but no build up as to why they are there and what the island means to the B-29 guys out of the Marianas. You move from one series of events to another with the transition smoothness of Pulp Fiction. I am going to finish watching ti tonight and no doubt it is a well made flick, but as a crowd draw--not so far.
DJ

Both my girlfriend and I liked it. The scene changes didn't really confuse me much. In all honestly it wasn't really a movie about war. But more of a movie about the after effects that war has on people. I still that that "Letters" was a much better movie. There were several parts that were very moving in Letters.

A) No Big Stars, Ryan Phillippe being the closest

B) War movies seem to do best of late when there is no war on. When "Ryan" came out, what were the big war issues for the USA? When Black Hawk Down came out, it was only four months after 9/11. I think that the general public is kind of sick of war right now.

C) "Flags" and "Letters" are both very well done. Some seem to find "Letters" a bit too pro-Japanese, but I find it more pro-humanity, and figure those who view it otherwise have other agendas.

D) "Flags" was a pretty big best-selling book, so I thought it would do better in the box office.

I plan to own both at some point. Some very good battle scenes in both. I especially liked the bombardment scene in "Flags" and the bombing of the island in "Letters". Stories are decent in both as well.
Rob

In southeastern Wisconsin, it wasn't that easy to find. It would hit a theater, be there maybe a week, then hit another theater. After a month, it hit the budget theaters for two weeks, then gone.

I hope it wasn't used as a warm-up for "Letters from Iwo Jima."

-Charie

I just watched it for the first time this afternoon and left feeling very moved. That being said, I read the book a couple of months ago and without the book to fill in some gaps, I don't think it would've moved me quite as much.

I have to wonder that when word got out it wasn't a "war" movie and was rather more about the bond drive/exploitation of the surviving flagraisers, maybe the public lost interest?

In any case, I thought it was very well done and I'm glad that Clint left out the details fo what happened to Iggy.

- Frank

Well, that's good. Just too gruesome, though it goes to why Bradley probably wanated to put everything behind him and never saw himself as any kind of hero.

I finished watching the film last night. I think the last thirty minutes are the best. Once again, as others have stated, this is not so much a war movie as a view on three individuals who can be described as tragic heroes. If you are not brought to misty eyes by the conclusion then you missed something. Interesting film.

Hate to sound like one of the "uneducated non military rat pukes" but too little action. I knew what to expect to a point, but there ws just an insignificant bit of "in-combat" action. This is what made Ryan and BOB big successes. I heard that Letters was more action oriented, but I haven't even heard about it being released in the DFW area. This batte was the one that still defines the toughness of the Marine Corp. It is one of very very few that they took on totally by themselves without Army support. It should be worthy of an indepth ilm that depicts the savagry and the trials and tribulations of accomplishing the subjugation of a fearsome enemy. Private Ryan did that which is why it is still considered one of the definative war movies.

I saw the movie without having read the book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it...so much so that I went out and bought the book because I know there's only so much that can be converted to a screenplay. The book goes even deeper into the stories of the individual soldiers...and that, ultimately, is what the book and the movie are about. Young men called to duty in a distant place and doing what they could for their buddies and themselves to survive...and then having to live with the label of "heroes" when all they did, in their own words, was "raise a flag on the end of a pole". Flags of Our Fathers isn't a real war movie in the usual sense...but it's a "real war" movie in a totally different and, I would say, far more accurate way than the usual movies such as SPR. I wouldn't try to compare it to BoB...because BoB is a mini-series with far more available time to do true character development and really get the audience to invest in the individuals vs. the standard feature length movie.

If you haven't read the book, I strongly recommend it. I read it through in less than a week's time, couldn't put it down.

Al hit the nail on the head with this one for me. I went to watch this film with my missus and was hoping that it would be similar to Saving Private Ryan which focused on the actual battle itself with a linear story line.

I myself liked it, but the non-linear story hurt it. I am fortunate in understanding the reasons why for the invasion and the what and when type of things for it.

However, my wife did not overall like it because entirely of the non-linear story. Since she doesn't know the background of the history of Iwo, other than the monument, she was lost. for her it took too long to get to the flag raising and the fflashbacks sometimes weren't clear to what was going on in the current scene of the movie. Overall just confusing for a non-military buff.

Sean

It wasnt a good movie

Mike-- would you expand on your response so we can appreciate the thoughts that led to your conclusion .
thanks
DJ

I thought it was a great movie alabieght it didnt focus on what I thought it would.

Someone earlier said it didnt have anybig stars, which is right, but it the ww2 subject Neal McDonough has become a big name after staring in BOB and now Flags.

Was Vin Diesel really in SPR?

Matt

Yes, Vin Diesel was in SPR. He played Caparzo, the guy nailed by the German sniper in the bell tower about halfway through the film.

However, he was NOT a known star at the time. In fact, the idea for Speilberg in SPR was to cast mostly unknowns, except for Hanks and Sizemore, and to use the other known stars (Ted Danson, Dennis Farina) in supporting roles. Matt Damon was supposed to be unknown so that we wouldn't know when the "real" Ryan was found. Unfortunately, Good Will Hunting came out the year before and so everyone knew he was.

I liked Flags of Our Fathers b/c I recognized from reading the book and from things I'd read in Time magazine, etc., that it wouldn't feature much in the way of battle scenes. I liked the story, though the last 20 minutes or so dragged. And the shots that they rolled during the credits were great. But it's a war movie sort of the way The Deer Hunter is a war movie. It's more about the effects of war than war itself.

Letters from Iwo Jima does have more action in it, as the entire movie, other than a couple of short flashbacks, takes place on Iwo. I think "action" starts about 40 minutes into the movie, and then happens on and off the rest of the way. I thought it was probably a bit better than "Flags", but both were good in their own ways.

Rob

Rob
Wow! In my humble opinion that was the worse film ever made by man. I'd sure like to know why you consider it a war film or an effects of one...
thanks
DJ

Well, let's see. It won Academy Awards for 1978 for:

Best Picture
Best Supporting Actor (Walken)
Best Director
Best Editing
Best Sound

I'm not saying the Academy is the be-all end-all, but apparently some people besides me think it was a good movie.

Also, note I didn't say The Deer Hunter was great. I simply said it was about the effects of war. And I think anyone who has seen it can pretty obviously tell that. Are you confusing The Deer Hunter with some other film. Because, wow, I watched it once and never wanted to watch it again....I pretty much wanted to hang myself after I saw it.

Rob