Clint Eastwood film about Iwo Jima: Flags of Our Fathers

[spooney]

The initial part of the landing was easy as the Japanese plan was to allow the Americans to get bunched up onto the beach before they started firing.

 

[Trebor]

Here's a review of the book I wrote a few years ago. I'll probably review the movie after I see it as well. I think my review gives a good idea of what the book is like.

http://www.epinions.com/book-review-3332-EA04BFD-3950623E-prod5


Btw, on a gun related note: There was a good article in American Rifleman a few months ago on a special gun they built for the movie. One of the Marines in the battle used a customized .30 cal "Stinger" machine gun. This was a gun originally used as the rear gun in the dive bomber that he had scrounged up and then had modified to fire with a bipod and a shoulder stock made from a Garand stock.

I'd always assumed that aircraft rear guns were just standard Browing .30 cals, but that actually wasn't the case with dive bombers. The gun was a completely different design, with a shorter receiver, and a much higher rate of fire. It was also lighter then the standard M1919 MG.

The producers of the movie went to the trouble of having a replica of this one-off "Stinger" built up. Unfortunately, the scenes with the gun were cut from the finished film. The AR article is pretty interesting and is worth a look if you come across a copy.

 

[Harley Quinn]

Some do, some don't, PAshooter...

IIRC, we lost 2000 marines on day one in the initial landing. Compare that to the total lost thus far in Iraq.

One day.

We have no appreciation today of the sacrifices this country made back then.
__________________

Simply stated I am not so sure that is true, but it does seem that way, the way the press spins all of the various things that are happening. :banghead:

Terrorists are doing it all over the world if not one group another one is at it.
Sri Lanka just got a heavy killed over the weekend by terrorists.

I'll read that review of the book, and follow up later. thanks.

HQ

 

[Grump]

The Japanese fought for their country, people and emperor.
They were honorable according to their culture and understanding of honor... at least as much as our side.

Key here is "according to their culture and understanding of honor..." [ellipsis in original].

Same is true, from a pure subjective standpoint, for the self-styled "mujihadin" or whatever they called themselves on those four airliners on 9/11.

Face it folks, some cultures are twisted, so yes, we can say that some are *better* than others. The refusal of "the other guy" to see the truth does not invalidate the truth.

Note this has nothing to do with who is without sin. Our culture, at least, recognizes the atrocities of its own troops as evil, and at least makes frequent attempts to identified the crimes, find the perpetrators, and punish them. Arguments over whether "we" ID all crimes, try hard enough to find the evildoers, or punish them severely enough, are mere quibbles which should not obscure the ultimate point, and the ultimate distinctions.

I may not see the movie, not even for the gunnie stuff, if futher firsthand reports indicate that it obscures the US actions in doing A Good Thing by over-emphasizing how some ham-handed government goons handled The Good Thing in a Bad Way.

My Mom's favorite Uncle landed in North Africa and then walked through most of Europe. Would not talk about it until the day he died, bless his soul.

 

[Joe Demko]

This:

Face it folks, some cultures are twisted, so yes, we can say that some are *better* than others. The refusal of "the other guy" to see the truth does not invalidate the truth.

is an example of this:

from a pure subjective standpoint,

There is no need to refute you when you undermine your own points.

 

[Feanaro]

When the Germans go in to Russia and rape and murder, and then the Russians repay the favour, again you could call it atrocious, or you could call it 'war'. In most cases what the allies did to the axis was simply giving back what the axis gave to them.

And since the Axis did it first, that maked it a'okay. If someone rapes your wife, you should be justified in returning to favor on their wife.

Evil is evil. The Axis started it and they did more of it. That makes them more evil than us, it does not make our banner stainless.

 

[spooney]

I never thought that I would live to see the day when Americans would legitimately argue that the Nazi's and the Japanese were not the bad guys when it comes to World War 2. Do the words Nanking or Auschwitz not ring a bell to anyone anymore?

 

[ryoushi]

I never thought that I would live to see the day when Americans would legitimately argue that the Nazi's and the Japanese were not the bad guys when it comes to World War 2. Do the words Nanking or Auschwitz not ring a bell to anyone anymore?

What you are seeing is the end product of free and easy public "education".

 

[Joe Demko]

What you are seeing is the end product of free and easy public "education".

Start a new thread to grind that particular axe and I'll discuss it with you there instead of derailing this thread.

 

[Joe Demko]

I never thought that I would live to see the day when Americans would legitimately argue that the Nazi's and the Japanese were not the bad guys when it comes to World War 2. Do the words Nanking or Auschwitz not ring a bell to anyone anymore?

Nobody is defending the warcrimes committed by the Japanese or the Germans. What you are not grasping is that their evil does not automatically make all our deeds and motives pure.

 

[Lucky]

Yea Spooney, one quits and 3 more show up

About the landing, then, I think it would be strange if they had a big 'Saving Private Ryan' landing scene as was mentioned earlier in the thread, for the reasons you said.

 

[lysander]

Yea Spooney, one quits and 3 more show up

I'm still here...I'm just not interested in derailing the thread beyond what I thought its original purpose was....discussing the realism or lack thereof of Eastwood's upcoming war pic.

Regarding the landing scene...the rights to Flag of our Father's were originally owned by Spielberg...and I understand he was consulted with on the landing scenes. Similarities to SPR should be expected.

 

[jdomin]

picture of higgins boat used in the movie

i have several photos of the higgins boat used in the movie. I can send it to anyone who will post it to this thread.
[email protected] :banghead:

 

[CobraF100]

Colorado Springs....Flags of Our Fathers

I'll be seeing this movie tonight.

To all Military in the Colorado Springs area tonight they are having a Military Special Opening night to see Flags of Our Fathers.
7:00pm
Cinemark Tinseltown USA
address:
1545 E. Cheyenne Mountain Blvd
(Must have Military ID,was what I was told)

I'm not good with giving reviews but I'll let you know what I think about it.

 

[CobraF100]

QUOTE]I'm not good with giving reviews but I'll let you know what I think about it.[/QUOTE]

Sorry,but I will NOT state a Opinion on the Movie.

I think if I made a "Opinion" on this movie it would be wrong of me.I wasn't there with these Men and because of that I have No Right to a Opinion on now it was shown.

The Theater was totally filled with Military Service Members,there was NOT a word spoken Durring nor at the end of the movie It was "Respectfully Quiet".

There was an Gentlemen there that was part of the Landing/First Wave.I dont know who it was that was interviewing him afterwards but he had tears in his eye's,what I heard was "Thats how it was".I interrupted them just to say Thank You.

Also when you see this movie dont just up and leave stay and watch the Pictures with there names,you'll know when it is really over.


Our service members do not owe our Country anything....Our Country owe's them EVERTHING

I'd like to say Thank You to all thoses that have served our Country.

View attachment Save0031-2.bmp

View attachment Save0030-2.bmp

 

[PAshooter]

Simply stated I am not so sure that is true, but it does seem that way, the way the press spins all of the various things that are happening.

You may be correct... but the losses over the course of the battle were staggering.

I heard an interesting bit on Fox News this evening on the way home about the comparisons being drawn between recent increases of the violence in Iraq and the Tet Offensive in Viet Nam. Tet was a massive military setback to the NVA and Viet Cong (in terms of personnel losses), but might have been a politlcal victory in the long run in terms of the reactions to the images shown here at home as a result of the fighting. Again, calling on my feeble memory, the "bad guys" lost over 20,000 troops during the two weeks after Tet, and American losses during the same period were in the 4,000 range. Again, a number that dwarfs the total losses thus far in Iraq.

Any combat loss of a U.S. soldier is tragic, both "then" and now, but what we see every night on the evening news seriously lacks perspective IMHO.

 

[xd9fan]

While I am probably not the guy who should say much being one of the those who served in the Marine Corps. I'll be interested if Clint Eastwood's true colors show. Basicly he is very liberal.

I dont think this is right....last I heard he was libertarian....

 

[psyopspec]

There was an Gentlemen there that was part of the Landing/First Wave.I dont know who it was that was interviewing him afterwards but he had tears in his eye's,what I heard was "Thats how it was".I interrupted them just to say Thank You.

Also when you see this movie dont just up and leave stay and watch the Pictures with there names,you'll know when it is really over.


Our service members do not owe our Country anything....Our Country owe's them EVERTHING

I'd like to say Thank You to all thoses that have served our Country.

I'm not convinced that it's right or wrong.

But after that, I know I need to see this movie.

 

[Harley Quinn]

What I have heard and read I'll be seeing this movie, probably more then one time.

xd9fan, mentions...

“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.” — Patrick Henry

Libertarians.....champions of Individual Liberty,private property, the free market, and constitutionally limited government. www.fee.org www.mises.org
www.ij.org

I am wondering:

What would happen if all the people in the government were to think like this?

Regards,

HQ

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Kind of off-topic and I dislike belabouring points, but since the question of historical accuracy in the movie has been raised, we might as well try to get the contemporary history right.

The Native American gal who was killed in the same convoy ambush in which Jessica Lynch was captured was named Lori (I had it spelled Laurie, sorry) Piestewa. I was correct that she was from Tuba City, AZ ... but she was not a Navajo, she was a Hopi who lived on the Navajo reservation.

Lori Piestewa, born and raised a Hopi on the Navajo reservation in Arizona, became the first American woman to die in the war, and the first Native American woman ever to die in combat on foreign soil.

Contrary to media reports, Lori did not go out in a blaze of glory, taking scores of Iraqis with her. She was the driver for the company's senior NCO, and she died of injuries incurred when the Humvee was hit by an RPG and crashed. Jessica Lynch was riding in the same Humvee and confirmed that Lori never fired a shot. Since the Hopi are by nature pacifists, her family were more upset thinking that she might have been shooting at people than they were when they finally learned the truth.

I don't know what Native American woman from the "Gila" reservation might have died in Iraq, harve, but it wasn't Lori Piestewa.