A movie for the ages! Some movies are not to be judged by the gross take of the opening weekend and this is one.Long after the last member of "The Greatest Generation" is long gone and the "Baby Boomer Generation" is only a memory to their grandchildren people will be watching this movie. Based upon the book by James Bradley of the same title the movie tell the story of the six men who raised "Old Glory" on Iwo Jima and the picture that became a monument in Washington DC. The author of the book is the son one of those men. The movie is told in flashbacks between the US Bond tour the three survivors took during the war to raise money for the war and the battle of Iwo Jima. This movie ranks with "Saving Private Ryan" in it's realistic depiction of a World War II battle. Suffice it to say it is a good thing CNN was not there because if people knew the true nature of the carnage and "fog of war" there would have been a call to try negations with the Japanese. As you can tell I loved the movie and It will be in my DVD collection when it is released. This is a movie to pass from generation to generation to show that freedom is not free and to bring to life the sacrifice of those who have gone before.
For many years I have had a poster of John Wayne's "Sands of Iwo Jima" to the right of my big screen TV.A great movie but this is better.... yes I had to say it. "Flags of our Fathers" is directed by Clint Eastwood and this movie should get the Acadamy Award for Best Picture and Best Director if there is any justice in this world. My only criticism is the music. I would have liked a better score but apparently Eastwood did the score himself. Some people may be put off by the jumping forward and back in time but I think it adds to the movies dramatics effect. This is not a movie for only one viewing.... it should be viewed again and again. Thanks Clint.
For more information on the movie click on the title above for the IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base) page on the movie. For more information on the war read William Manchester's "Goodbye Darkness" an autobiographic account of his service in the US Marines in the Pacific during World War II.
