Letters from Iwo Jima DVD 2006 硫黄島からの手紙 / Directed by Clint Eastwood / Starring: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryō Kase / Produced by Steven Spielberg

UPC 4711137252380

REGION 3 NTSC DVD  

MADE IN HONG KONG

AUDIO: Japanese

Subtitles: English, Chinese, Chinese, Thai, Bahasa Indonesia

Runtime: 140 minutes

English Summary:

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, although it was produced by American companies DreamWorks Pictures, Malpaso Productions, and Amblin Entertainment. After Flags of Our Fathers flopped at the box office, Paramount Pictures sold the U.S. distribution rights to Warner Bros. Pictures.

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 and his platoon are digging beach trenches on the island. Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi arrives to take command of the garrison and immediately begins an inspection of the island defenses. He saves Saigo and his friend Kashiwara from a beating by Captain Tanida for 'unpatriotic speeches', and orders the men to begin tunneling underground defenses into Mount Suribachi. 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 believes the US will take the beaches quickly, and that the mountain defenses will have a better chance for holding out.

Poor nutrition and unsanitary conditions take their toll; many die of dysentery, including Kashiwara. The troops begin using the caves. Kashiwara's replacement, Superior Private Shimizu, arrives for duty. Saigo suspects that Shimizu is a spy from the Kempeitai sent to report on disloyal soldiers.

Cast