March 26 - Letters From Iwo Jima

Today’s movie is a combat film with a scene that happens on March 26. Watch this movie tonight and enjoy.

LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA                

During WW II Japanese private Saigo and his squad are digging trenches on the beach at Iwo Jima. Gen. Kuribayashi arrives to take command.  He evacuates the civilians and fortifies the mountains, abandoning the beach defense concept. Disease takes its toll on the defenders. Then the US Marines land. In the attack on Mount Surabachi, Siago’s unit is ordered to commit suicide, after they are cut off, but he and another soldier flee to the Japanese lines. Kuribayashi saves him from execution for cowardice. In heavy fighting the Japansese officers are killed and Saigo plans to surrender. He is surprised when a fellow soldier, Shimizu, who Saigo believed was placed in the unit to watch for dissent, revels that he had been demoted from the Kemppeitai, the dreaded secret police when he refused to kill a dog in cold blood. He was then sent to Iwo Jima. He wants to surrender also. Shimizu does surrender, but is shot by the Marines. Saigo meets again with Gen. Kuribayashi who leads a last attack on March 26, 1945. The general is wounded and later kills himself. Saigo is captured. [2:03:08 to 2:06:35]

            An interesting film for American audiences, as the story is told entirely from the point of view of the Japanese. Good combat scenes. A companion film to Flags of Our Fathers, which covers some of the same events from the American side.

Iwo Jima: Legacy of Valor by Bill D. Ross (Vanguard Press, New York, 1985) at page 335 gives this as the date of the attack

Producer - Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz and Steven Spielberg

Director - Clint Eastwood

Screenplay - Iris Yamashita

Awards - The film won the Best Sound Editing Oscar. It was also nominated for the Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay Oscars. 

Running Time - 2 hours 22 minutes

Released - December 9, 2006

Starring - 

Ken Watanabe as Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi

Kazunari Ninomiya as Private First Class Saigo

Tsuyoshi Ihara as Lt. Colonel Takeichi Nishi

Ryo Kase as Superior Private Shimizu

Shido Nakamura as Navy Lieutenant Ito

Yuki Matsuzaki as Army Private First Class Nozaki

Takashi Yamaguchi as Army Private First Class Kashiwara

Eijiro Ozaki as Army Lieutenant Okubo

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2015