Letters from Iwo Jima

Letters from Iwo Jima (硫黄島からの手紙, Iōjima Kara no Tegami) is a 2006 Japanese-language American war film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood, starring Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya. The film portrays the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and is a companion piece to Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers, which depicts the same battle from the American viewpoint; the two films were shot back to back. Letters from Iwo Jima is almost entirely in Japanese, despite being co-produced by American companies DreamWorks Pictures, Malpaso Productions and Amblin Entertainment.

Letters from Iwo Jima
Theatrical release poster
Directed byClint Eastwood
Screenplay byIris Yamashita
Story by
  • Iris Yamashita
  • Paul Haggis
Based onPicture Letters from Commander in Chief
by Tadamichi Kuribayashi (author)
Tsuyuko Yoshida (editor)
Produced by
Starring
  • Ken Watanabe
  • Kazunari Ninomiya
  • Tsuyoshi Ihara
  • Ryō Kase
  • Shidō Nakamura
CinematographyTom Stern
Edited by
  • Joel Cox
  • Gary D. Roach
Music by
  • Kyle Eastwood
  • Michael Stevens
Production
companies
  • DreamWorks Pictures
  • Malpaso Productions
  • Amblin Entertainment
Distributed by
  • Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
  • December 9, 2006 (2006-12-09) (Japan)
  • December 20, 2006 (2006-12-20) (United States)
Running time
140 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageJapanese
Budget$19 million[2]
Box office$68.7 million[2]
Clint Eastwood, Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya and Tsuyoshi Ihara after a screening at the Berlinale 2007

The film was released in Japan on December 9, 2006 and received a limited release in the United States on December 20, 2006 in order to be eligible for consideration for the 79th Academy Awards, for which it received four nominations, including Best Picture and winning Best Sound Editing. It was subsequently released in more areas of the U.S. on January 12, 2007, and was released in most states on January 19. An English-dubbed version of the film premiered on April 7, 2008. Upon release, the film received critical acclaim and although it only grossed slightly better at the box office than its companion, it was much more successful compared to its budget.

Plot

In 2005, Japanese archaeologists explore tunnels on Iwo Jima, where they find something in the dirt.

The scene changes to Iwo Jima in 1944. Private First Class Saigo, a conscripted baker who misses his wife and daughter, is digging beach trenches with his platoon when Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi arrives to take command of the garrison. He saves Saigo from a beating by Captain Tanida for being "unpatriotic", and orders the garrison to tunnel underground defenses throughout the island.

Kuribayashi and Lieutenant Colonel Baron Takeichi Nishi, a famous Olympic gold medalist show jumper, clash with some of the other officers, who do not agree with Kuribayashi's defense in depth strategy. Kuribayashi learns that Japan can not send reinforcements, therefore he believes that the tunnels and mountain defenses stand a better chance for holding out. Poor nutrition and unsanitary conditions take their toll, and many die of dysentery. Superior Private Shimizu arrives as a replacement, who Saigo suspects is a spy from the Kempeitai sent to report on disloyal soldiers.

Soon, American aircraft and warships bombard the island. A few days later, the U.S. Marines land and suffer heavy casualties, but they overcome the beach defenses and attack Mount Suribachi. While delivering a request from Captain Tanida for more machine guns, Saigo overhears Kuribayashi radioing orders to retreat. However, Tanida ignores the order and instead has his unit commit mass suicide. Saigo flees with Shimizu, convincing him to stay alive and fight on.

The Mount Suribachi survivors make a run for friendly lines, but Marines ambush and wipe them out, except Saigo and Shimizu. The two reach safety, but are accused by Lieutenant Ito of cowardice. They are about to be executed when Kuribayashi arrives and confirms his order to retreat. Against Kuribayahi's orders, Ito leads an attack on US positions and many soldiers are killed. Colonel Nishi reprimands Ito for his insubordination; in response, Ito leaves carrying several land mines and intends to throw himself under a US tank. Shimizu reveals to Saigo that he was dishonorably discharged from the Kempeitai because he disobeyed an order to kill a family's dog. Nishi is eventually blinded by shrapnel, and orders his men to withdraw before committing suicide.

Saigo and Shimizu attempt to surrender, but they are spotted by their superior and only Shimizu escapes, who is then found by a Marine patrol. Shimizu and another Japanese prisoner are then shot dead by their guard. Saigo and the remaining soldiers flee to Kuribayashi's position. Saigo befriends Kuribayashi, and a counter-attack is planned due to depleted supplies. Kuribayashi orders Saigo to stay behind and destroy any vital documents, saving Saigo for a third time.

That night, Kuribayashi leads a final banzai charge. Most of his men are killed, and Kuribayashi is critically wounded, but his loyal aide Fujita drags him away. Meanwhile, Ito has long abandoned his suicidal mission and is captured by Marines. The next morning, Kuribayashi orders Fujita to behead him with his Guntō, but Fujita is shot dead by a Marine sniper. Saigo arrives, having buried a bag of letters before leaving headquarters. Kuribayashi asks Saigo to bury him where he will not be found, then draws his pistol—an M1911 gifted to him in the US before the war—and commits suicide. Saigo dutifully buries him.

Later, a Marine platoon finds Fujita's body. Saigo reappears and attacks them, infuriated to see a lieutenant has taken Kuribayashi's pistol. Saigo is subdued and taken to the beach to recover alongside wounded Marines. Awakening on a stretcher, he glimpses the setting sun and smiles.

Returning to 2005, the archeologists complete their digging and reveal the bag of letters that Saigo had buried. As the letters spill out from the opened bag, the voices of the Japanese soldiers who wrote them are heard.

Cast
ActorRole
Ken WatanabeGeneral Tadamichi Kuribayashi
Kazunari NinomiyaPrivate First Class Saigo
Tsuyoshi IharaLieutenant Colonel Baron Takeichi Nishi
Ryō KaseSuperior Private Shimizu
Shidō NakamuraLieutenant Ito
Hiroshi WatanabeLieutenant Fujita
Takumi BandoCaptain Tanida
Yuki MatsuzakiPrivate First Class Nozaki
Takashi YamaguchiPrivate First Class Kashiwara
Eijiro OzakiLieutenant Okubo
Alan SatoSergeant Ondo
Nae YuukiHanako, Saigo's wife (in a flashback)
Nobumasa SakagamiAdmiral Ohsugi
Masashi NagadoiAdmiral Ichimaru
Akiko Shimalead woman (in a flashback)
Luke EberlSam, wounded American Marine (credited as Lucas Elliot)
Jeremy GlazerAmerican Marine Lieutenant
Ikuma AndoOzawa
Mark MosesAmerican officer (in a flashback)
Roxanne HartOfficer's wife
Nori BunasawaJapanese Journalist

Production

Although the film is set in Japan, it was filmed primarily in Barstow and Bakersfield in California. All Japanese cast except for Ken Watanabe were selected through auditions. Filming in California wrapped on April 8, and the cast and crew then headed back to the studio in Los Angeles for more scenes.

Ken Watanabe filmed a portion of his scenes on location on Iwo Jima.[3][4] Locations on Iwo Jima which were used for filming included beaches, towns, and Mount Suribachi.[5] Because the crew were only allowed to film minor scenes on Iwo Jima, most of the battle scenes were filmed in Reykjavik, Iceland. Filming in Los Angeles lasted for approximately two months, and other locations across the US including Virginia, Chicago, and Houston.[6]

The filmmakers had to be given special permission from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to film on Iwo Jima, because more than 10,000 missing Japanese soldiers still rest under its soil.[7][8][9] The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) operates a naval air base on Iwo Jima, which is used by the United States Navy for operations such as nighttime carrier landing practice. Civilian access to the island is restricted to those attending memorial services for fallen American Marines and Japanese soldiers.

The battleship USS Texas (BB-35), which was used in closeup shots of the fleet (for both movies) also participated in the actual attack on Iwo Jima for five days. The only character to appear in both Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima is Charles W. Lindberg, played by Alessandro Mastrobuono.

Sources

The film is based on the non-fiction books "Gyokusai sōshikikan" no etegami ("Picture letters from the Commander in Chief")[10] by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (portrayed on screen by Ken Watanabe) and So Sad To Fall In Battle: An Account of War[11] by Kumiko Kakehashi about the Battle of Iwo Jima. While some characters such as Saigo are fictional, the overall battle as well as several of the commanders are based upon actual people and events.

Reception

In the United States

Letters from Iwo Jima was critically acclaimed, and well noted for its portrayal of good and evil on both sides of the battle. The critics heavily praised the writing, direction, cinematography and acting. The review tallying website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 184 out of the 202 reviews they tallied were positive for a score of 91%, and an average rating of 8.20/10, and a certification of "fresh." The site's consensus states: "A powerfully humanistic portrayal of the perils of war, this companion piece to Flags of Our Fathers is potent and thought-provoking, and it demonstrates Clint Eastwood's maturity as a director."[12] Metacritic gave the movie a score of 89 based on 37 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[13] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly, Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times, and Richard Schickel of Time were among many critics to name it the best picture of the year.[14][15][16] In addition, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone and Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune both gave it four stars, and Todd McCarthy of Variety praised the film, assigning it a rare 'A' rating.[17]

On December 6, 2006, the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures named Letters from Iwo Jima the best film of 2006.[18][19] On December 10, 2006, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association named Letters from Iwo Jima Best Picture of 2006. Furthermore, Clint Eastwood was runner-up for directing honors.[20] In addition, the American Film Institute named it one of the 10 best films of 2006. It was also named Best Film in a Foreign Language on January 15 during the Golden Globe Awards, while Clint Eastwood held a nomination for Best Director.

CNN's Tom Charity in his review described Letters from Iwo Jima as "the only American movie of the year I won't hesitate to call a masterpiece."[21] On the "Best Films of the Year 2006" broadcast (December 31, 2006) of the television show Ebert & Roeper, Richard Roeper listed the film at #3 and guest critic A. O. Scott listed it at number one, claiming that the film was "close to perfect. James Berardinelli awarded a three out of four star review, concluding that although both 'Letters' and 'Flags' were imperfect but interesting, 'Letters from Iwo Jima' was more focused, strong and straightforward than its companion piece.[22]

On January 23, 2007, the film received four Academy Award nominations. Eastwood was nominated for his directing, as well as Best Picture along with producers Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz. It was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay. The film took home one award, Best Sound Editing.

The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2006, including 157 top ten lists in North America with 25 number one spots.[23][24]

In Japan

The film was far more commercially successful in Japan than in the U.S., ranking number 1 for five weeks, and receiving a warm reception from both Japanese audiences and critics. The Japanese critics noted that Clint Eastwood presented Kuribayashi as a "caring, erudite commander of Japan's Iwo Jima garrison, along with Japanese soldiers in general, in a sensitive, respectful way."[25] Also, the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun noted that the movie is clearly "distinguishable" from previous Hollywood movies, which tended to portray Japanese characters with non-Japanese actors (e.g., Chinese-Americans, and other Asian-Americans). Consequently, incorrect Japanese grammar and non-native accents were conspicuous in those former films, jarring their realism for the Japanese audience. In contrast, most Japanese roles in Letters from Iwo Jima are played by native Japanese actors. Also, the article praised the film's new approach, as it is scripted with excellent research into Japanese society at that time. According to the article, previous Hollywood movies describing Japan were based on the stereotypical images of Japanese society, which looked "weird" to native Japanese audiences. Letters from Iwo Jima is remarkable as the movie that tries to escape from the stereotypes.[26] Owing to the lack of stereotypes, Letters from Iwo Jima was appreciated by Japanese critics and audiences.[27]

Since the film was successful in Japan, a tourist boom has been reported on the Ogasawara islands, of which Iwo Jima is part.[28]

Nicholas Barber's review in the UK's The Independent on Sunday, argued that the movie was "a traditional film wearing the uniform of a revisionist one" which proved Hollywood could be "as mawkish about other country's [sic] soldiers as it can about its own", and that the Japanese characters were "capable of being decent, caring fellows, just so long as they've spent some time in the United States".[29]

Despite favorable reviews, the film only grossed $13.7 million domestically in the United States. Foreign sales of $54.9 million helped to boost revenue over production costs of $19 million.[2]

Awards and honors
Award Category Recipient Result
Academy Awards Best Picture Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz Nominated
Best Director Clint Eastwood Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis Nominated
Best Sound Editing Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman Won
Golden Globe Awards Best Foreign Language Film Won
Best Director Clint Eastwood Nominated
Berlin Film Festival Cinema for Peace Won
Critics' Choice Awards Best Foreign Language Film Won
Best Picture Nominated
Best Director Clint Eastwood Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Best Foreign Language Film Won
Best Film Nominated
Best Director Clint Eastwood Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Iris Yamashita Nominated
Best Original Score Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens Nominated
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Best Foreign Language Film Won
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Film Won
National Board of Review Best Film Won
San Diego Film Critics Society: Best Film Won
Best Director Clint Eastwood Won
Japan Academy Film Prize Outstanding Foreign Language Film Won

Top ten lists

Other honors

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

  • 2008: AFI's 10 Top 10:
    • Nominated Epic Film[30]

Home media

Letters from Iwo Jima was released on DVD by Warner Home Video on May 22, 2007. It was also released on HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Furthermore, it was made available for instant viewing with Netflix's "Watch Instantly" feature where available. The film was re-released in 2010 as part of Clint Eastwood's tribute collection Clint Eastwood: 35 Films 35 Years at Warner Bros. The Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition DVD is also available in a Five-Disc Commemorative Set, which also includes the Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition of Flags of Our Fathers and a bonus fifth disc containing History Channel's "Heroes of Iwo Jima" documentary and To the Shores of Iwo Jima, a documentary produced by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

The English dubbed version DVD was released on June 1, 2010.[31] This version was first aired on cable channel AMC on April 26, 2008.[32]

References
  1. "LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (15)". British Board of Film Classification. January 2, 2007. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  2. "Letters from Iwo Jima". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 5, 2009.
  3. David Gordon Smith, Von (February 13, 2006). "'Letters From Iwo Jima' Sparks World War II Debate in Japan". Der Spiegel. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  4. David Gordon Smith, Von (January 3, 2007). "Emotional filming of "Iwo Jima"". Denver Post. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  5. "Interview: The Cast and Crew of Letters from Iwo Jima". moviehole.net. February 8, 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  6. Hiscock, John (November 17, 2006). "Why I had to tell the same story twice". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on July 7, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  7. "Eastwood hears Ishihara's Iwo Jima plea". The Japan Times. April 7, 2005. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  8. "Letters From Iwo Jima". ClintEastwood. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  9. Maruyama, Hikari (February 29, 2020). "Remains of fallen soldiers in Battle of Iwo Jima still await discovery". The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  10. Kuribayashi, T. (Yoshida, T., editor) "Gyokusai Soshireikan" no Etegami. Shogakukan, Tokyo, April 2002, 254p, ISBN 4-09-402676-2 (in Japanese)
  11. Kakehashi, K. So Sad To Fall In Battle: An Account of War (Chiruzo Kanashiki). Shinchosha, Tokyo, July 2005, 244p, ISBN 4-10-477401-4 (in Japanese) / Presidio Press, January 2007, 240p, ISBN 0-89141-903-9 (in English)
  12. "Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 23, 2009.
  13. "Letters from Iwo Jima Reviews". Metacritic.
  14. Schwarzbaum, Lisa (January 7, 2007). "The year's best films: Lisa Schwarzbaum's list". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  15. Turan, Kenneth (December 17, 2006). "Bypassing the escape clause". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  16. Corliss, Richard (December 20, 2006). "10 Best Movies – TIME". Time. Content.time.com. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  17. McCarthy, Todd (December 7, 2006). "Review: 'Letters From Iwo Jima'". Variety. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  18. "Eastwood's 'Letters' named 2006's best". CNN. Archived from the original on December 17, 2006. Retrieved December 6, 2006.
  19. "Awards for 2006". National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. Archived from the original on January 10, 2007. Retrieved December 7, 2006.
  20. "Awards for 2006". Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on December 20, 2006. Retrieved December 10, 2006.
  21. "Review: 'Letters from Iwo Jima' a masterpiece". CNN. Retrieved January 9, 2007.
  22. Berardinelli, James. "Letters from Iwo Jima". ReelViews. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  23. "Metacritic: 2006 Film Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Archived from the original on December 13, 2007. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
  24. "Best Movies of 2006". Critics' Top10. CriticsTop10. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  25. "Letters from Iwo Jima" (PDF).
  26. Asahi Shimbun, December 13, 2006: それまでのアメリカ映画では、日本を描いた作品や日本人の設定でありながらも、肝心の俳優には中国系や東南アジア系、日系アメリカ人等が起用されたり、日本語に妙な訛りや文法の間違いが目立ち、逆に英語を流暢に話すといった不自然さが目立つことが多かったが、本作品ではステレオタイプな日本の描写（文化や宗教観等）や違和感のあるシーンが少なく、「昭和史」で知られる半藤一利も、細部に間違いはあるが、日本についてよく調べている.
  27. "キネマ旬報社". Kinejun.com. September 21, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  28. 映画「硫黄島2部作」で…硫黄島ブーム Archived December 19, 2007, at the Wayback Machine 小笠原新聞社 2006年12月19日
  29. Barber, Nicholas. "Review: 'Letters from Iwo Jima." The Independent, 25 Feb. 2007. Archive link: https://web.archive.org/web/20070930155755/http://arts.independent.co.uk/film/reviews/article2298399.ece
  30. "AFI's 10 Top 10 Nominees" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  31. "Letters From Iwo Jima (Ws Sub Dub Ac3 Dol Ecoa) (2006)". Amazon. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  32. "Clint Eastwood's Iwo Jima Now in English (2008)". AMC. Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
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