From the director of the ever promising films Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby, the two-time Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood in his newest entry among his collection, Flags of our Fathers.His greatness continues with the incredibly powerful “Flags of Our Fathers,” his most visually and ambitious film since his directorial debut with 1971's “Play Misty for Me.” Fascinating, enlightening and deeply moving, Eastwood's spectacular big screen adaptation of the best-selling book by James Bradley with Ron Powers is not only the year's best movie, but it's also one of the finest war movies ever made.
Flags of Our Fathers is Clint Eastwood's homage to the honored dead of World War II as well as a meditation upon how an icon is formed. Based on the book by James Bradley and Ron Powers, the movie centers around the Battle of Iwo Jima, one of the key late war conflicts in the Pacific. It focuses on three men that took part in raising a flag that inspired a nation when it needed it most. Five marines and a navy corpsman raised the second American flag at the top of the island's mountain, after the first smaller one was taken down. A war photojournalist happened to catch the raising of the flag in one quick photograph, which started a huge chain of events. The Raising Of The Flag Over Iwo Jima by Joe Rosenthal is arguably the most famous photograph of all time, certainly the most celebrated piece of photojournalism. Back in the states, the photo was instantly recognized for its propaganda and campaign potential.
Within a week of the photograph being taken, three out of the six flag raisers had been killed in action. John Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford), and Ira Hayes (Adam Beach)are immediately sent back to the states to raise money for the war effort and instantly becomes an iconic heroes in the country. But the surviving flag raisers had no interest in being held up as symbols and did not consider themselves heroes; they wanted only to stay on the front with their brothers in arms who were fighting and dying without fanfare or glory. With the realization that they are home safe while their brothers are still fighting and being killed over on Iwo Jima, they are struggling with some serious guilt and flashbacks. They must attempt to come together and help each other bear the burden the photograph put on their shoulders.
At its best, Flags of Our Fathers is an eye opening and thought provoking film. It's a story of war, love, and the struggle these three men go through in their lives with the weight of America on their shoulders. In fact, most soldiers did not consider themselves to be heroes, but if you asked them, they could identify someone else - a friend, a comrade, a leader - who was. This aspect of the movie differentiates it from any other World War II film to have come before it and the film itself is brilliant.
Flags of Our Fathers will go down in history as being one of the greatest war movies created in our time. It easily compares to films like "Saving Private Ryan" and "Braveheart." Flags of Our Fathers is a must see. Clint Eastwood put his heart and soul into the film and you can really tell. The audio and video are very nice especially. The extras are good and very heartfelt. I can easily recommend this to anyone and is by far one of the greatest films in recent history. Don't hesitate to take this chance to grab a copy of this war drama movie masterpiece of Clint Eastwood. Just log-on in our DVD auction website at DVD.TV for more details. Enjoy!
