Sands of Iwo Jima | |
---|---|
Directed by | Allan Dwan |
Produced by | Herbert Yates |
Written by | |
Starring | |
Narrated by | Arthur Franz |
Music by | Victor Young |
Cinematography | Reggie Lanning |
Edited by | Richard L. Van Enger |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
Release date | |
Running time | |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $3.9 million (US/ Canada rentals)[1][2] |
Sands of Iwo Jima is a 1949 war film starring John Wayne that follows a group of United States Marines from training to the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. The film also features John Agar, Adele Mara and Forrest Tucker, was written by Harry Brown and James Edward Grant, and directed by Allan Dwan. The picture was a Republic Pictures production.
Sands of Iwo Jima was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (John Wayne), Best Film Editing, Best Sound Recording (Daniel J. Bloomberg) and Best Writing, Motion Picture Story.[3]
- 2Cast
Plot[edit]
Note: the story is told from the viewpoint of Corporal Robert Dunne (Arthur Franz).
Tough-as-nails career Marine Sergeant John Stryker (John Wayne) is greatly disliked by the men of his squad, particularly the combat replacements, for the rigorous training he puts them through. He is especially despised by PFC Peter 'Pete' Conway (John Agar), the arrogant, college-educated son of an officer, Colonel Sam Conway under whom Stryker served and admired, and PFC Al Thomas (Forrest Tucker), who blames him for his demotion.
When Stryker leads his squad in the invasion of Tarawa, the men begin to appreciate his methods. Within the first couple of minutes of the battle, the platoon leader, Lt. Baker (Gil Herman), is killed only seconds after he lands on the beach, PFC 'Farmer' Soames (James Holden) is wounded in the leg, and PFC Choynski (Hal Baylor) receives a head wound. The marines are aggressively pinned down by a pillbox.
Able Company commander Captain Joyce (John McGuire) takes charge and he begins to send out marines to silence the pillbox. As a result of three unsuccessful attempts to reach the pillbox, two demolition marines and a flamethrower operator are killed and PFC Shipley (Richard Webb) is left mortally wounded in the line of fire. Sgt. Stryker takes action and demolishes the pillbox. Shipley would eventually die of his wounds in front of his best friend Regazzi (Wally Cassell).
Later on, Thomas becomes distracted from his mission, and 'goofs off' when he goes to get ammunition for two comrades, stopping to savor a cup of coffee. As a result, though he brings back coffee for his squadmates, he returns too late — the two Marines, now out of ammunition, in the interim are shown being overrun; Hellenopolis (Peter Coe) is killed, Bass (James Brown) badly wounded.
On their first night, the squad is ordered to dig in and hold their positions under the cover of darkness. Bass lies wounded from a distance and begs for help. Conway considers Stryker brutal and unfeeling when he decides to apparently abandon Bass to the enemy.
After the battle, when Stryker discovers the truth, he forces Thomas into a fistfight. This is seen by a passing officer (Don Haggerty) but Thomas, to Stryker's surprise, deflects the officer's intention of pressing charges against Stryker for violation of military rules in striking a subordinate by claiming that he was merely being taught judo by his superior. Subsequently, ravaged by his conscience over the fate of his fellow Marines, Thomas breaks down and abjectly apologizes for his dereliction of duty.
The squad receives three new recruits: Stein (Leonard Gumley), Fowler (William Self), and McHugh(Martin Milner). Stryker reveals a softer side of his character while on leave in Honolulu. He picks up a bargirl (Julie Bishop) and returns with her to her apartment. He becomes suspicious when he hears somebody in the next room, but upon investigation, finds only a hungry baby boy that his intended paramour is supporting the best way she can. Stryker gives the woman, whose child's father was 'gone,' some money and departs. The woman had earlier noted that there were 'worse ways to make a living than fighting a war,' in reference to her current lot in life.
Later, during a training exercise, McHugh drops a live hand grenade. Everybody drops to the ground, except Conway, who is distracted reading a letter from his wife. Stryker knocks him down, saving his life, and then proceeds to bawl him out in front of the platoon.
Stryker's squad subsequently fights in the battle for Iwo Jima. Stryker shouts 'Saddle Up!' as they prepare to take the beach. The squad suffers heavily within the first couple of hours, losing Soames, McHugh, Harris (George Tyne), and Frank Flynn (Richard Jaeckel). Stryker's squad is selected to be a part of the 40 man patrol that will charge up Mount Suribachi. During the charge, Eddie Flynn (William Murphy), Stein, and Fowler are killed. While the remaining men were resting during a lull in the fighting, Stryker is killed by a Japanese soldier emerging from a spider hole. Bass quickly locates the spider hole and kills the Japanese shooter. The remaining squad members (Conway, Thomas, Dunne, Regazzi, and Bass) find and read a letter on his corpse, a missive addressed to his son and expressing things Stryker wanted to say to him, but had never actually managed to. Moments later, the squad witnesses the iconic flag raising. Conway, reminiscent of Stryker, walks away shouting 'Saddle Up!'
Cast[edit]
General Graves B. Erskine (right), Col. David M. Shoup (center) and John Wayne (left) on the set. Erskine and Shoup were provided as technical advisors for the film by the U.S. Marine Corps. Shoup also appeared as himself in a cameo role.
- John Wayne as Sgt. John M. Stryker
- John Agar as PFC Peter T. 'Pete' Conway
- Adele Mara as Allison Bromley
- Forrest Tucker as PFC Al J. Thomas
- Wally Cassell as PFC Benny A. Regazzi
- James Brown as PFC Charlie Bass
- Richard Webb as PFC 'Handsome' Dan Shipley
- Arthur Franz as Corporal Robert C. Dunne/Narrator
- Julie Bishop as Mary (the bargirl)
- James Holden as PFC 'Farmer' Soames
- Peter Coe as PFC George Hellenopolis
- Richard Jaeckel as PFC Frank Flynn
- William Murphy as PFC Eddie Flynn
- Martin Milner as Pvt Mike McHugh
- George Tyne as PFC Hart S. Harris
- Hal Baylor as Pvt J.E. 'Ski' Choynski (credited as Hal Fieberling)
- Leonard Gumley as Pvt Sid Stein
- William Self as Pvt L.D. Fowler Jr.
- John McGuire as Captain Joyce
- Gil Herman as Lt. Baker (uncredited)
Actual Marines[edit]
Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, and John Bradley, (until 2016, Bradley was incorrectly identified as being a flag-raiser) the three survivors of the five Marines and one Navy corpsman who were credited with raising the second flag on Mount Suribachi during the actual battle, appear briefly in the film just prior to the re-enactment. Hayes was also the subject of a film biography, The Outsider, and Bradley the subject of a book by his son James, Flags of Our Fathers.
Also appearing as themselves are 1st Lt. Harold Schrier, who led the flag-raising patrol up Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima and helped raise the first flag, Col. David M. Shoup, later Commandant of the Marine Corps and recipient of the Medal of Honor at Tarawa, and Lt. Col. Henry P. 'Jim' Crowe, commander of the 2nd Battalion 8th Marines at Tarawa, where he earned the U.S. Navy Cross.[4][5]
Actual battle footage is interspersed throughout the film.
Acknowledgements[edit]
Several of the actors were re-united in the 1970 western Chisum (1970): John Wayne, John Agar, Forrest Tucker, and Richard Jaeckel.
The 1982 Academy Award nominated comedy short filmThe Great Cognito makes an implied reference to Sands of Iwo Jima. The only character to be seen onscreen is an entertainment impersonator, who changes into the people and events he talks about in his comic patter, using Will Vinton's technique of stop-motion claymation. In the end, while talking of Iwo Jima, Cognito breaks down in tears and leaves the stage, blubbering about how '..John Wayne gets shot.'
In the television show King of the Hill (1997–2010), this is the favorite film of Cotton Hill, father of main character Hank Hill. Hank recalls that, during his childhood, his father would travel around Texas searching for showings of this film.
The episode 'Call of Silence' (2004) in NCIS's season 2 references the film and a documentary as shared background to Marine history and legacy. The episode shows the NCIS character Timothy McGee watching the documentary To the Shores of Iwo Jima; the character Anthony DiNozzo approaches and, in furtherance of the character's schtick as an avowed and knowledgeable movie buff, begins talking about the theatrical film Sands of Iwo Jima, some scenes of which were taken from the documentary.
The Southern rock band Drive-By Truckers have a song title 'The Sands of Iwo Jima' on their 2004 album The Dirty South. It is sung from the perspective of a young boy who has been exposed to World War 2 through old John Wayne movies. He asks his great-uncle, a World War II veteran, if The Sands of Iwo Jima represents the war properly; the old man smiles, shakes his head and responds, 'I never saw John Wayne on the sands of Iwo Jima.' This may be a reference to the fact that Wayne, despite his many roles as a member of the armed forces, never actually served in the military.
Idiom[edit]
The first recorded use of the phrase 'lock and load' is in this film: twice as a metaphor for 'get ready to fight' and once as a humorous invitation to drink alcohol (get loaded). As a period term, it similarly appears in the 1998 film Saving Private Ryan. Although the original use and implied meaning may be disputed, it typically described preparations for charging the M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle[6] by first locking the bolt back by pulling the charging handle rearward and then loading an 8-round en bloc clip into the now open magazine.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^'The Top Box Office Hits of 1950', Variety, January 3, 1951
- ^'All-Time Top Grossers', Variety, 8 January 1964 p 69
- ^'The 22nd Academy Awards (1950) Nominees and Winners'. oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
- ^T. M. P. (1949-12-31). 'Movie Review - Sands of Iwo Jima - At the Mayfair'. The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
- ^Suid, Lawrence H. (2002). Guts & Glory: The Making of the American Military Image in Film. University Press of Kentucky. p. 121. ISBN0813122252. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
- ^http://www.sproe.com/l/lock-and-load.html
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sands of Iwo Jima. |
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Sands of Iwo Jima |
- Sands of Iwo Jima on IMDb
- Sands of Iwo Jima at the TCM Movie Database
- Sands of Iwo Jima at AllMovie
- Sands of Iwo Jima at the American Film Institute Catalog
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sands_of_Iwo_Jima&oldid=898141847'
Letters From Iwo Jima Full Movie 123movies
Once when I was doing some research on Japanese war medals I came across this unexpected fact: in 2009 Clint Eastwood was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun (3rd Class), bestowed by Japan’s Emperor Akihito. My immediate reaction was, Huh? What was that all about?
Turns out Eastwood was being honored for his highly regarded film, Letters From Iwo Jima (2006), which he directed - and co-produced with Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz. It seems that way back in 1875 Japan’s Meiji government created the Rising Sun medal to recognize exemplary deeds, whether military or civilian.
But the 1945 Iwo Jima battle was a devastating defeat for Japan. So why would a Japanese emperor honor Eastwood for creating a film which proved the point?
Some background.
Iwo Jima is an island in the western Pacific located 760 miles southeast of Tokyo. It’s tiny - measuring only about 8 square miles. Iwo’s distinguishing natural features are its black volcanic sand and Mt. Suribachi, a small mountain which played a pivotal role in the Japanese defense plan. The horrific battle for which the island will forever be known was fought from Feb 19 to Mar 26, 1945. During those 35 days of sheer hell 6800 Americans in the attacking force and most of the 21,000 Japanese defenders lost their lives.
America was determined to capture Iwo Jima. Japanese warplanes based there had been attacking American bombers on their round trip to the Japanese home islands, along with their bases in the Marianas. These attacks had to be dealt with. Also important, Iwo would provide an emergency air field for American bombers in distress. This was no incidental matter, as Iwo’s air field saved the lives of 24,000 American airmen according to one estimate.
Letters From Iwo Jima is based on actual letters from Japanese forces on Iwo to their families back home. Flashbacks to revealing incidents in their past play an equally important role. Excerpts from island commander Tadamichi Kuribayashi down to the lowliest soldier are incorporated in the script. These excerpts and flashbacks present the Japanese soldier in a completely different light from the typical Hollywood stereotype.
A great example is Kuribayashi’s letters, which reveal a dedicated husband and father - a gentle human being utterly unlike the ruthless warrior you’d expect to command a desperate battle. One letter is written en route to his new command on Iwo. Kuribayashi apologizes to his wife for not having had time to attend to the kitchen floor, and tells her the problem really should be addressed. This in the face of almost certain death in the impending battle, something Kuribayashi acknowledges when he tells his wife he is determined to give his life for his country.
Another example, this time by way of a flashback, comes from way down in the ranks. An Iwo soldier by the name of Shimizu recounts an experience involving his superior officer back home.They were patrolling a residential neighborhood together when they encounter a dog belonging to a mother and her two small children. The animal is barking behind a small fence adjacent to the family’s residence. Sensing an opportunity to test Shimizu’s obedience the officer orders him to shoot the dog. It seems barking might disturb army communications in the area.
Shimizu has the dog taken out back. But decency prevails once Shimizu is out of the officer’s sight. He unholsters his gun and shoots into the air, hoping his pistol’s report will fool the officer. The story ends badly for both dog and Shimizu but the takeaway is more Shimizu’s humanity than his superior’s want of it.
If you see this picture you will meet Saigo, another sympathetic, low-ranking soldier on Iwo. Saigo had been a humble baker back home in Japan. In another of the film’s many revealing flashbacks the local draft committee shows up at his door. A draft notice is thrust forward. Saigo is stunned. His pregnant wife Hanako is distraught. A woman on the committee who seems in charge is furious at their reaction. Every family has given a husband or son to the cause. Hanako should welcome the prospect of her husband dying for the emperor. “At least you will have a little one to carry on your name” the woman says angrily, looking down at Hanako’s belly. Later when Hanako is alone with her husband she cannot let go her anguish: “None of the men ever come back” she says with great emotion.
On Iwo Saigo is a nearly constant presence in the film. But victory isn’t his purpose. Let the Americans have the island, he tells a buddy. Better than breaking your back digging trenches in the sand and digging caves out of volcanic rock. Saigo’s only goal is to come home alive - a solemn promise to his unborn child.
Saigo is one of the key characters in this picture. Another is Saigo’s unit commander, Captain Tanida. Tanida is contemptuous of Saigo, who he sees as unpatriotic and unfit. Saigo's lack of interest in the war is transparent, and he can’t shoot worth a damn. Early on we see Tanida beating Saigo for that unpatriotic comment about letting the Americans have Iwo without a fight. The beating stops only when Kuribayashi happens by and admonishes Tanida for beating soldiers when there are few enough as it is. By much later in the film when the Japanese force on Iwo is all but annihilated top commander Kuribayashi has formed a bond with foot soldier Saigo. Several chance encounters explain this otherwise implausible development, which ends up saving Saigo’s life when Kuribayashi keeps him out of the final banzai charge. If it had been up to Tanida, Saigo would have led the charge - with death certain.
These key characters play off each other right to the final scene. By film’s end each has become an archetype of his respective character. Saigo is the innocent civilian drafted into a war he doesn’t understand or believe in. Tanida is the consummate warrior, and Kuribayashi stands somewhere in the middle. More on them below.
From the Japanese government’s perspective Clint Eastwood’s medal was well deserved. His film dramatized letters that few would ever know about, and turned them into proof that not every Japanese soldier was a Hollywood-style monster. That, the government concluded, was a solid contribution to Japanese-American relations.
But was that the entire substance of Letters From Iwo Jima? Eastwood’s film did show that there were Japanese soldiers on Iwo who did not fit the Hollywood stereotype. But the story is a little more complex than that. There is another flashback involving Kuribayashi, years earlier in California. We see him in full dress uniform as guest of honor at a military dinner party. After friendly conversation and smiles all around the host’s wife shatters the bonhomie with a tricky question: what would Kuribayashi do if the United States and Japan ever went to war against each other? Would he follow his own convictions - or those of his country? 'Are they not the same'? was Kuribayashi’s immediate reply. So there’s another side to the loving husband and compassionate commander.
Kuribayashi's unexpected answer had been hard wired into Japanese warriors for over 800 years. It came straight from the samurai code of honor known in modern times as “bushido”, or way of the warrior. Loyalty, bravery, self-sacrifice (literally), and obedience to one’s lord and master were its core.
For two millennia leading up to the 1940s Japan’s ultimate lord and master was the emperor, a divinity descended from the Sun goddess Amaterasu according to Japanese belief. Kuribayashi’s reply to his American friends at that dinner party reflected absolute loyalty and obedience to Emperor Hirohito, in whose name Japan fought the Pacific War.
In a different scene Kuribayashi provides another example of bushido. A subordinate officer questions his tunnel-digging strategy in the caves as futile. Kuribayashi is livid. Maybe so. Maybe the entire defense of Iwo is futile. Maybe the entire war is futile. But if the children back home in Japan can live in safety one more day it’s worth the sacrifice of every soldier on Iwo.
However, it’s clear that if the epic Pacific struggle produced samurai-like warriors Kuribayashi is not the best example. It is Captain Tanida who best fits that role. He is the unforgiving commander who would unsheathe his sword without hesitation and decapitate a soldier under his command for the slightest offense. In their day samurai could do the same, even with civilians. Tanida is most persuasive as samurai when he commits the classic act of seppuku (ritual suicide) after it is apparent Iwo is lost to the Americans. But he kills himself 20th century style - with a gun to the head instead of a blade in the belly.
Kuribayashi and Tanida each fulfill the bushido imperative of self-sacrifice differently. For Tanida the honorable way out was to die by his own hand. For Kuribayashi it was to die by way of an act which served the emperor in an identifiable way. That was accomplished when he led the final banzai charge, which at least held out the prospect of taking some of the enemy with him.
After Japan’s defeat on Iwo Jima it would have been clear to all but the most fanatical militarists that the war could not be won. It seemed Japan’s only hope of repelling the coming American invasion of the home islands (before anyone knew about the atomic bomb) was to turn its population into a suicidal kamikaze force. If vast numbers of civilians were willing to die for their emperor they might inflict unacceptably high casualties on American forces. American public opinion might then compel an end to the Pacific War with Japan retaining its sovereignty. But that was not to be.
In San Francisco on September 8,1951, six years after its surrender on the U.S. Battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan signed a peace treaty with the United States and most of the Allied powers. There were a few holdouts, the most important of which was the former Soviet Union, now Russia. To this day Japan and Russia have not signed a treaty formally ending their state of belligerency in World War II.
Letters From Iwo Jima is a masterpiece. Acting and directing are brilliant. Casting is inspired, most particularly in the choice of Kazunari Ninomiya as Saigo. There are bloody action scenes in this film but their purpose is clearly to advance our understanding of the characters. Anyone with a general interest in World War II or who is interested in broadening his or her understanding of the Japanese soldier in that cataclysm should see this film. Highly recommended.
Turns out Eastwood was being honored for his highly regarded film, Letters From Iwo Jima (2006), which he directed - and co-produced with Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz. It seems that way back in 1875 Japan’s Meiji government created the Rising Sun medal to recognize exemplary deeds, whether military or civilian.
But the 1945 Iwo Jima battle was a devastating defeat for Japan. So why would a Japanese emperor honor Eastwood for creating a film which proved the point?
Some background.
Iwo Jima is an island in the western Pacific located 760 miles southeast of Tokyo. It’s tiny - measuring only about 8 square miles. Iwo’s distinguishing natural features are its black volcanic sand and Mt. Suribachi, a small mountain which played a pivotal role in the Japanese defense plan. The horrific battle for which the island will forever be known was fought from Feb 19 to Mar 26, 1945. During those 35 days of sheer hell 6800 Americans in the attacking force and most of the 21,000 Japanese defenders lost their lives.
America was determined to capture Iwo Jima. Japanese warplanes based there had been attacking American bombers on their round trip to the Japanese home islands, along with their bases in the Marianas. These attacks had to be dealt with. Also important, Iwo would provide an emergency air field for American bombers in distress. This was no incidental matter, as Iwo’s air field saved the lives of 24,000 American airmen according to one estimate.
Letters From Iwo Jima is based on actual letters from Japanese forces on Iwo to their families back home. Flashbacks to revealing incidents in their past play an equally important role. Excerpts from island commander Tadamichi Kuribayashi down to the lowliest soldier are incorporated in the script. These excerpts and flashbacks present the Japanese soldier in a completely different light from the typical Hollywood stereotype.
A great example is Kuribayashi’s letters, which reveal a dedicated husband and father - a gentle human being utterly unlike the ruthless warrior you’d expect to command a desperate battle. One letter is written en route to his new command on Iwo. Kuribayashi apologizes to his wife for not having had time to attend to the kitchen floor, and tells her the problem really should be addressed. This in the face of almost certain death in the impending battle, something Kuribayashi acknowledges when he tells his wife he is determined to give his life for his country.
Another example, this time by way of a flashback, comes from way down in the ranks. An Iwo soldier by the name of Shimizu recounts an experience involving his superior officer back home.They were patrolling a residential neighborhood together when they encounter a dog belonging to a mother and her two small children. The animal is barking behind a small fence adjacent to the family’s residence. Sensing an opportunity to test Shimizu’s obedience the officer orders him to shoot the dog. It seems barking might disturb army communications in the area.
Shimizu has the dog taken out back. But decency prevails once Shimizu is out of the officer’s sight. He unholsters his gun and shoots into the air, hoping his pistol’s report will fool the officer. The story ends badly for both dog and Shimizu but the takeaway is more Shimizu’s humanity than his superior’s want of it.
If you see this picture you will meet Saigo, another sympathetic, low-ranking soldier on Iwo. Saigo had been a humble baker back home in Japan. In another of the film’s many revealing flashbacks the local draft committee shows up at his door. A draft notice is thrust forward. Saigo is stunned. His pregnant wife Hanako is distraught. A woman on the committee who seems in charge is furious at their reaction. Every family has given a husband or son to the cause. Hanako should welcome the prospect of her husband dying for the emperor. “At least you will have a little one to carry on your name” the woman says angrily, looking down at Hanako’s belly. Later when Hanako is alone with her husband she cannot let go her anguish: “None of the men ever come back” she says with great emotion.
On Iwo Saigo is a nearly constant presence in the film. But victory isn’t his purpose. Let the Americans have the island, he tells a buddy. Better than breaking your back digging trenches in the sand and digging caves out of volcanic rock. Saigo’s only goal is to come home alive - a solemn promise to his unborn child.
Saigo is one of the key characters in this picture. Another is Saigo’s unit commander, Captain Tanida. Tanida is contemptuous of Saigo, who he sees as unpatriotic and unfit. Saigo's lack of interest in the war is transparent, and he can’t shoot worth a damn. Early on we see Tanida beating Saigo for that unpatriotic comment about letting the Americans have Iwo without a fight. The beating stops only when Kuribayashi happens by and admonishes Tanida for beating soldiers when there are few enough as it is. By much later in the film when the Japanese force on Iwo is all but annihilated top commander Kuribayashi has formed a bond with foot soldier Saigo. Several chance encounters explain this otherwise implausible development, which ends up saving Saigo’s life when Kuribayashi keeps him out of the final banzai charge. If it had been up to Tanida, Saigo would have led the charge - with death certain.
These key characters play off each other right to the final scene. By film’s end each has become an archetype of his respective character. Saigo is the innocent civilian drafted into a war he doesn’t understand or believe in. Tanida is the consummate warrior, and Kuribayashi stands somewhere in the middle. More on them below.
From the Japanese government’s perspective Clint Eastwood’s medal was well deserved. His film dramatized letters that few would ever know about, and turned them into proof that not every Japanese soldier was a Hollywood-style monster. That, the government concluded, was a solid contribution to Japanese-American relations.
But was that the entire substance of Letters From Iwo Jima? Eastwood’s film did show that there were Japanese soldiers on Iwo who did not fit the Hollywood stereotype. But the story is a little more complex than that. There is another flashback involving Kuribayashi, years earlier in California. We see him in full dress uniform as guest of honor at a military dinner party. After friendly conversation and smiles all around the host’s wife shatters the bonhomie with a tricky question: what would Kuribayashi do if the United States and Japan ever went to war against each other? Would he follow his own convictions - or those of his country? 'Are they not the same'? was Kuribayashi’s immediate reply. So there’s another side to the loving husband and compassionate commander.
Kuribayashi's unexpected answer had been hard wired into Japanese warriors for over 800 years. It came straight from the samurai code of honor known in modern times as “bushido”, or way of the warrior. Loyalty, bravery, self-sacrifice (literally), and obedience to one’s lord and master were its core.
For two millennia leading up to the 1940s Japan’s ultimate lord and master was the emperor, a divinity descended from the Sun goddess Amaterasu according to Japanese belief. Kuribayashi’s reply to his American friends at that dinner party reflected absolute loyalty and obedience to Emperor Hirohito, in whose name Japan fought the Pacific War.
In a different scene Kuribayashi provides another example of bushido. A subordinate officer questions his tunnel-digging strategy in the caves as futile. Kuribayashi is livid. Maybe so. Maybe the entire defense of Iwo is futile. Maybe the entire war is futile. But if the children back home in Japan can live in safety one more day it’s worth the sacrifice of every soldier on Iwo.
However, it’s clear that if the epic Pacific struggle produced samurai-like warriors Kuribayashi is not the best example. It is Captain Tanida who best fits that role. He is the unforgiving commander who would unsheathe his sword without hesitation and decapitate a soldier under his command for the slightest offense. In their day samurai could do the same, even with civilians. Tanida is most persuasive as samurai when he commits the classic act of seppuku (ritual suicide) after it is apparent Iwo is lost to the Americans. But he kills himself 20th century style - with a gun to the head instead of a blade in the belly.
Kuribayashi and Tanida each fulfill the bushido imperative of self-sacrifice differently. For Tanida the honorable way out was to die by his own hand. For Kuribayashi it was to die by way of an act which served the emperor in an identifiable way. That was accomplished when he led the final banzai charge, which at least held out the prospect of taking some of the enemy with him.
After Japan’s defeat on Iwo Jima it would have been clear to all but the most fanatical militarists that the war could not be won. It seemed Japan’s only hope of repelling the coming American invasion of the home islands (before anyone knew about the atomic bomb) was to turn its population into a suicidal kamikaze force. If vast numbers of civilians were willing to die for their emperor they might inflict unacceptably high casualties on American forces. American public opinion might then compel an end to the Pacific War with Japan retaining its sovereignty. But that was not to be.
In San Francisco on September 8,1951, six years after its surrender on the U.S. Battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan signed a peace treaty with the United States and most of the Allied powers. There were a few holdouts, the most important of which was the former Soviet Union, now Russia. To this day Japan and Russia have not signed a treaty formally ending their state of belligerency in World War II.
Letters From Iwo Jima is a masterpiece. Acting and directing are brilliant. Casting is inspired, most particularly in the choice of Kazunari Ninomiya as Saigo. There are bloody action scenes in this film but their purpose is clearly to advance our understanding of the characters. Anyone with a general interest in World War II or who is interested in broadening his or her understanding of the Japanese soldier in that cataclysm should see this film. Highly recommended.
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In London, the Russian pregnant teenager Tatiana arrives bleeding in a hospital, and the doctors save her baby only. The Russian descendant midwife Anna Khitrova finds Tatiana’s diary written in Russian language in her belongings and decided to find her family to deliver the baby, she brings the diary home and ask her uncle Stepan to translate the document.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
During the Napoleonic Wars, a brash British captain pushes his ship and crew to their limits in pursuit of a formidable French war vessel around South America.
In the Line of Fire
Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan couldn’t save Kennedy, but he’s determined not to let a clever assassin take out this president. Free naruto english dubbed downloads.
We Were Soldiers
Sands Of Iwo Jima Full Movie
The story of the first major battle of the American phase of the Vietnam War and the soldiers on both sides that fought it.
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Please report this problemUpgrade to PremiumTrailerThe story takes place on a film set in the Second World War. It is about the life of John Stryker who gets many problem which he never could has imagined in the deadly battle of Iwo Jima.Actors: John Wayne,John Agar,Adele Mara,Forrest Tucker,Wally Cassell,James Brown,Richard Webb,Arthur Franz,Julie Bishop,James Holden,Peter Coe,..»Country: United StatesQuality: HDIMDb: 7.2Keywords:- Played by: John WaynePlayed by: John AgarPlayed by: Adele Mara
- Birthdate: 3 April 1885, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Birthdate: 30 April 1917, Portland, Maine, USABirthdate: 2 July 1905, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- One of John Wayne's best performances, and an entertainment above average on its own.In one of his best roles, Wayne's Stryker is a sergeant disliked by his recruits due to his ruthless training and rigid code of ethics. The film established the two-generational plot as a Wayne staple, here contrasted with John Agar's 'soft' soldier.Solid patriotic WWII vehicle for Wayne.A rip-snorting 1940s style war movieTailor-made for John Wayne.one of the better U.S. propaganda films of the 40s, filled with American ideals and values
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