Flags of our Fathers

2006 • 131 minutes

About this movie

From Academy Award-winning director Clint Eastwood (ﾓMillion Dollar Baby,ﾔ ﾓUnforgivenﾔ) comes the World Was II epic "Flags of Our Fathers,ﾔ produced by Eastwood, Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg (ﾓSaving Private Ryan,ﾔ ﾓSchindlerﾒs Listﾔ), and Rob Lorenz (ﾓMystic Riverﾔ). February 1945. Even as victory in Europe was finally within reach, the war in the Pacific raged on. One of the most crucial and bloodiest battles of the war was the struggle for the island of Iwo Jima, which culminated with what would become one of the most iconic images in history: five Marines and a Navy corpsman raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi. The inspiring photo capturing that moment became a symbol of victory to a nation that had grown weary of war and made instant heroes of the six American soldiers at the base of the flag, some of whom would die soon after, never knowing that they had been immortalized. But the surviving flag raisers had no interest in being held up as symbols and did not consider themselves heroes; they wanted only to stay on the front with their brothers in arms who were fighting and dying without fanfare or glory. ﾑFlags of Our Fathersﾒ is based on the bestselling book by James Bradley with Ron Powers, which chronicled the battle of Iwo Jima and the fates of the flag raisers and some of their brothers in Easy Company. Bradleyﾒs father, John ﾓDocﾔ Bradley, was one of the soldiers pictured raising the flag, although James never knew the full extent of his fatherﾒs experiences until after the elder Bradleyﾒs death in 1994. The ensemble cast of ﾓFlags of Our Fathersﾔ includes Ryan Phillippe (ﾓCrashﾔ), Jesse Bradford (ﾓHappy Endingsﾔ), Adam Beach (ﾓWindtalkersﾔ), Paul Walker (ﾓInto the Blueﾔ), Jamie Bell (ﾓBilly Elliotﾔ), Barry Pepper (ﾓSaving Private Ryanﾔ) and John Benjamin Hickey (ﾓFlightplanﾔ). Clint Eastwood directed ﾓFlags of Our Fathersﾔ from a screenplay adapted by William Broyles, Jr. (ﾓCast Awayﾔ) and Oscar winner Paul Haggis (ﾓMillion Dollar Baby,ﾔ ﾓCrashﾔ).

Ratings and reviews

That was hands down one of the best war movies I have ever seen. Definitely classic clint eastwood. The scenes were done beutifully and the acting was great. It had a great way of honoring these men while still giving justice to the men who first raise the flag. A lot of people defiantly put their time in while making this.

Ira Hayes deserved so much more respect and honor than the Americans ever gave him. It is a shame that because of the color of his skin, he wasn't even recognized as one of the men who stood their ground and fought through hell to take the island of Iwo Jima. Glad to see his story told by a very competent director. Just too bad it didn't happen sooner

Eastwood walks a fine line between conventional thought and hidden agenda. The film attests to the media manipulation of war to suit the military, does so masterfully, and the addition of Spielberg's special effects is overwhelming.