Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

7.8R141 minDirector: Clint Eastwood

2006 American film by Clint Eastwood

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 with a few English sequences, despite being co-produced by American companies DreamWorks Pictures, Malpaso Productions and Amblin Entertainment.

The film was released in Japan on December 9, 2006, and received a limited release in the United States on December 20, 2006 by Warner Bros. Pictures, 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 United States 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 $68.7 million (slightly better at the box office than its companion), it was much more successful compared to its budget (which was $19 million).

Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

FAQ

What is Letters from Iwo Jima about?
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) — The island of Iwo Jima stands between the American military force and the home islands of Japan. Therefore the Imperial Japanese Army is desperate to prevent it from falling into American hands and providing a launching point for an invasion of Japan. General Tadamichi Kuribayash
Is Letters from Iwo Jima based on a true story?
See the production background and source material details on the official Wikipedia article.
Is Letters from Iwo Jima scary?
Content rating: R. See the reviews tab for parental guidance and tone notes.