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Directed by Clint Eastwood, Letters of Iwo Jima tells the story of the war from the Japanese point of view. This is the complementary movie to Flags of our Fathers, also directed by Clint Eastwood and starred Ryan Philippe. Flags presents the war from the American soldiers' side.

Letters stars Ken Watanabe (also known to fans as Katsumoto from The Last Samurai and the Chairman from Memoirs of a Geisha) and Ninomiya Kazunari (from the popular group Arashi).

The movie was picked the Best Movie of 2006 award by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.

from their point of view then directed by an american? this is going to be interesting. but if this is based on a true story then i think this will be one-sided. who's the hero and who's the enemy? i wanna watch this.

Letters from Iwo Jima has just gotten a Golden Globe nomination for best foreign film (because it is in Japanese) and is going up against Mel Gibson's Apocalypto. Also, Clint Eastwood has directing nominations for Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of our Fathers.

Time Magazine's Richard Schickel names Letters of Iwo Jima as the best among the Top Ten Movies of 2006. He writes:

This is perhaps the most daring creative act of the movie year, if not of this still-young century: An American director (Clint Eastwood) makes a film almost entirely in a foreign language (Japanese) and, more amazingly, offers a compassionate, even heart-breaking account of that nation's desperate defense of its last World War II stronghold. The Japanese had no "exit strategy" on Iwo. Their out-manned, ill-supplied soldiers were simply supposed to fight to the last man. Their commander (Ken Watanabe) knows this is insane, but he's a smart, dutiful soldier who will do his best to obey his orders. The most reluctant and inept of his troops (Kazunari Ninomiya) just wants to survive. The contrast of their two fates forms the core of this sad, gripping and intense film, which like all great war movies is really an anti-war movie.

hello newbie here. yeah. i am waiting for that movie to be available here in the phils. hehe meron na ba kayong copy ng movie na to?? pa copy naman ako onga no, dapat may thread din dito about trades or copy ng mga jmovies/dramas ng mga members... magandang way din yun to make friends with the members here..

leolonesome:

hello newbie here. yeah. i am waiting for that movie to be available here in the phils. hehe meron na ba kayong copy ng movie na to?? pa copy naman ako onga no, dapat may thread din dito about trades or copy ng mga jmovies/dramas ng mga members... magandang way din yun to make friends with the members here..

Hello Leo-san! Welcome to Japinoy. ^_^

Naku, pinalabas na yan dito, pero sa Greenbelt lang ata. Di ko rin napanood e, sayang. Pero meron na kaming nakita sa suking dibidi-dibidi sa Quiapo

As for the swapping thread, meron na dito: http://www.japinoy.com/forums/thread/3299.aspx

We hope you will have fun in Japinoy! ^_^

The Japanese DVD release of Letters from Iwojima is slated on 20 April 2007. Price is JPY3,980 (tax included). Special Edition includes bonus disc with making-of footage, theatrical introduction footage, and more.

DVD Details

Number of discs: 2
Running Time: 140mins.
NTSC Format
Region Code: 2 (Japan, Europe, Middle East, South Africa)
Encoding: MPEG-2
Subtitles: None

 

leolonesome:

hello newbie here. yeah. i am waiting for that movie to be available here in the phils.

Hello Leo-san!

Glad to inform you that Letters from Iwo Jima on DVD (and VCD) is NOW available in the Philippines, particularly in Astrovision. (Wow, may libre plugging ang Astrovision!) For DVDs, they have the 3-disc box set of Flags of our Father and Letters from Iwo Jima for almost P800 (sorry forgot the exact price,) for the sole package of Letter from Iwo Jima, it's P425. Let's just hope that they release the 2-disc set (Special Edition) and/or Letters from Iwo Jima / Flags of Our Fathers (Five-Disc Commemorative Edition). But for a Nino, I think you will be satisfied with the 2-disc Special Edition set because there's the "The Faces of War: The Cast of Letters from Iwo Jima": Cast members introduce the characters they portray in the film, that is if they will release the Special Edition here. 

Nalilito pa rin ako sa Flags of our Fathers at Letters from Iwo Jima. Ano ba pinagkaiba nila? May koneksyon ba sila?

Wigent:

Nalilito pa rin ako sa Flags of our Fathers at Letters from Iwo Jima. Ano ba pinagkaiba nila? May koneksyon ba sila?

Yup, connected sila. Let's put it this way. There is a war in Iwo Jima. Flags of our Fathers focused more on the Americans in the films. Yes there are scenes there that you'll definitely find the outcome in Letters from Iwo Jima. Letters from Iwo Jima is more focused on the Japanese.

Sa FLAGS kasi, nakafocus yung perception ng American soldiers sa war hanggang sa flag raising in Iwo Jima, mostly after that sa US na yung scene and what happened to those soldiers involved. LETTERS started sa film kung saan naghahanda yung mga Japanese soldiers sa pagsalakay ng mga Americans. Yung flag raising scene sa FLAGS ay half way lang ng film sa LETTERS. Mas marami pang nangyari. If you would ask me (without biased views ha,) may maganda yung pagkakagawa sa LETTERS. Mas my depth at my feelings. Pero it's interesting watching FLAGS then LETTERS. Sa umpisa ng FLAGS you just watch the war and how it affects the soldiers. Pero hindi masyado napakita yun sa film. Pero LETTERS is a savior. After watching FLAGS and you're on the scenes of LETTERS, saka mo lang maiintindihan yung sense ng scenes sa FLAGS. While I was watching it, I was like "So that's what happened" or "Yun yung sa ano diba" Watching LETTERS is like being in the present and having flashbacks on your mind. Thats the effect of FLAGS while watching LETTERS. Also LETTERS shows a lot of Japanese culture particularly what's behind harakiri. Pero you should be ready because LETTERS is more bloody than FLAGS.

On the safe side, mas maiintindihan mo ang FLAGS kung mapapanuod mo yung LETTERS. Pero LETTERS would be more interesting kung may background ka sa FLAGS pero it can stand on its own naman. All in all, it's a one film that's been divided into two different perception of characters (that's been made into two films).

Hope that helps.

Available na 'to on DVD. Demo...one disc lang! You could also opt for the bundled 3-disc edition which includes Flags. The one disc edition includes a making-of and the trailers for both the movie.

 For Maximum effect...panuurin ng sabay! Get two TV and DVD player sets and watch them simultaneously! Just kidding
 

Sorry for the late "thanks" gloomywanderer-san. I appreciate the explanation.

I heard that those people residing in Iwo Jima wanted the island to me renamed to Iwo To. Is that right?

Basically, the characters are the same, right? Jima and To means island in Japanese. Therefore, our Panay island can be called Panay-Jima or Panay-To. It depends.

But I think the petition was not approved, right? 

Matagal ko n rin napanood toh!! hehe.. Nagrent ako ng video... i was planning to see it at the cinemas pero parang hnd ko sha napansin sa sine... pinalabas b tlga sha sa mga sinehan??  haaayy

Gusto ko si Nino here... but honestly, i found this bland for a historical film that created a lot of fuss.. dahil siguro Clint Eastwood?? I found it very typical.. like most war films out there... i would have wanted for more human interaction... parang kulang pa eh! hahaha.

I haven't seen Flags of Our Fathers pero nappredict ko n ung takbo ng storyline nun... so maybe i'll have to miss it.. hehe. 

@Wigent-san: Bkt nmn po gusto nila palitan?? If ever, hnd tlga un papayagan kc napaka famous ng Iwo Jima na name. tourist attraction din un! hahaha 

moeru:

i would have wanted for more human interaction... parang kulang pa eh! hahaha.

Feeling ko dahil sa nature ng mga Hapon kaya wala masyadong human interaction. Yung tahimik na lang, di na magsasalita. Whatever happens is mostly internal. Kaya dapat magagaling na artista ang nasa ganitong role, like si Nino. Somehow, watching him, I felt I knew what his character was feeling. Laging ganun lang, di masyadong masalita ^_^

Si nino nga lng ung na-feel ko n character dito. Others, parang fleeting lng ung effect nila. Mejo sanay n rin ako sa mga Japanese films... and usually tlga, less talk, more internal drama. And I was really looking for characters to analyze.. kc mahirap i-analyze ang mga characters na hnd nagsasalita! pero ung character nga lng ni Nino ung na-feel ko. Mejo okay na rin ung kay Ken Watanabe.. pero mashadong drama ung s knya... umpisa p lng, i knew what his reactions would be. Shempre, General and all. S sobrang daming war films ko ng napanood... no doubt na they react all the same around the world!