Flags Of Our Fathers

[George Bellefontaine]

Clint Eastwood is spinning his magic again, this time with the backdrop being WW2. Now if you want to see 132 minutes of battle scenes, then this film is not for you. Oh, there's plenty of battle scenes and some are extremely graphic. But what the film is really about is people--mostly young men in battle for the first time and after a flag raising on Iwo Jima made to be heroes, when they really don't want to be heroes. It's true, and it is one helluva moving experience in how it is all presented. The most tragic of the 3 survivors who raised the flag is Native American Ira Hayes. But the tragedy is there for all who were involved both in the war theater and at home. This is a classic for sure, a bit in the mould of Saving Private Ryan but so very very different. And they say Eastwood's Letters From Iwo Jima is even better. Wow. I can't wait to see that one, too. Meanwhile, Flags Of Our Fathers will be proudly sit alongside other Eastwood works in my collection. I will watch it often.
PQ is different in use of color tones. Similar to Saving Private Ryan. And the audio is quite superb.

:5:

[Blindamood]

Just ordered this one from amazon. Should be here in a few days. Will post comments when I get a chance to view it.

[chasw98]

Meanwhile, Flags Of Our Fathers will be proudly sit alongside other Eastwood works in my collection. I will watch it often.
PQ is different in use of color tones. Similar to Saving Private Ryan. And the audio is quite superb.

:5:

George:
After reading your reviews for the past year quietly on the sidelines, I thought of you and my father when I got this last week. I somehow knew you would write about it and like it. I watched it with my 17 year old son last night and he couldn't understand the prejudice against Ira portrayed in the film. I tried to explain what it was like back then even for people who had served their country. It also gave me a chance to tell him about my father who was a Lt. Commander on a destroyer in the Pacific and was on the deck of the Missouri at the end.
The sound was quite good and it was interesting to note that the shots of the Japanese guns were all from behind the hidden gun emplacements with no soldiers shown operating them, almost like 'ghost guns'. I think it also showed the horror of war with some of the grisly medical scenes and body parts that were strewn around. All in all, a good movie and worth watching!

Chck

[George Bellefontaine]

Like you, chck, my father served in the war, albeit the first world war. I was quite young during the second war and my dad was greatly affected by it because he knew what all those young soldiers were going through. He never talked about his experiences during the first ww but it had been hard on him and he died at an early age because of it. And because my dad was a medic ( they called them male nurses in the first ww ) some of the things in Flags Of Our Fathers hit home with me. I'm glad you liked the film as much as I.

[Chris D]

Can't wait to see this one! I've heard so much good about it.

[saurabh]

I will watch it often.
PQ is different in use of color tones. Similar to Saving Private Ryan. And the audio is quite superb.

:5:

Is the surround audio good for demo disc ???, worth a copy ???, similar to SPR ???

[George Bellefontaine]

Is the surround audio good for demo disc ???, worth a copy ???, similar to SPR ???

It's pretty darn good but not quite as intense as Saving Private Ryan. I wouldn't buy Flags just for a demo disc because there is limited action where audio really counts.

[DelRay]

Being an ex Marine and knowing the Iwo Jima battle. This really put the actual flag raising into perspective. I liked this movie and will more than likely buy a copy. oooh rah.

[saurabh]

Just finished watching it and I would say that this movie is meant for much more mature audience and without going through the world politics and the war's of the world in past and present, this movie says it all and has a moral.

People wanting to watch it should not compare with other war movies as this movie is different and gives us the realities of the war and how they run.

[George Bellefontaine]

People wanting to watch it should not compare with other war movies

So true. As I mentioned in my introduction, if you are looking for wall to wall battle scenes, this is not the movie for you.