Plot
The life stories of the six men who raised the flag at The Battle of Iwo Jima, a turning point in WWII.
Release Year: 2006
Rating: 7.1/10 (57,212 voted)
Critic's Score: 79/100
Director:
Clint Eastwood
Stars: Ryan Phillippe, Barry Pepper, Joseph Cross
Storyline In 1945, the Marines attack twelve thousand Japaneses protecting the twenty square kilometers of the sacred Iwo Jima island in a very violent battle. When they reach the Mount Suribachi and six soldiers raise their flag on the top, the picture becomes a symbol in a post Great Depression America. The government brings the three survivors to America to raise funds for war, bringing hope to desolate people, and making the three men heroes of the war. However, the traumatized trio has difficulty dealing with the image built by their superiors, sharing the heroism with their mates.
Writers: William Broyles Jr., Paul Haggis
Cast: Ryan Phillippe
-
John "Doc" Bradley
Jesse Bradford
-
Rene Gagnon
Adam Beach
-
Ira Hayes
John Benjamin Hickey
-
Keyes Beech
John Slattery
-
Bud Gerber
Barry Pepper
-
Mike Strank
Jamie Bell
-
Ralph "Iggy" Ignatowski
Paul Walker
-
Hank Hansen
Robert Patrick
-
Colonel Chandler Johnson
Neal McDonough
-
Captain Severance
Melanie Lynskey
-
Pauline Harnois
Thomas McCarthy
-
James Bradley
(as Tom McCarthy)
Chris Bauer
-
Commandant Vandegrift
Judith Ivey
-
Belle Block
Myra Turley
-
Madeline Evelley
Taglines:
All it takes to win is the right picture.
Filming Locations: Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA
Box Office Details
Budget: $53,000,000
(estimated)
Opening Weekend: $10,245,190
(USA)
(22 October 2006)
(1876 Screens)
Gross: $65,900,249
(Worldwide)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia: Jared Leto turned down a key role in order to commit his time to his band, 30 Seconds to Mars.
Goofs:
Anachronisms:
When Ira, Rene, and Doc are getting off the train there is a band playing for them, one of the alto saxophone players is using a leather ligature on his mouthpiece, a post WWII invention. During WWII they would have used metal ligatures.
Quotes:
[first lines]
Soldiers:
Corpsman! Corpsman! Corpsman! Corpsman! For God sakes, corpsman! Corpsman! Corpsman!
User Review
War vs Hollywood
Rating: 9/10
In two and a half hours Clint Eastwood paints a thought provoking piece
on heroism and war-propaganda. The film tells three stories: first it
is the WW II battle of Iwo Jima where thousands of soldiers (Japanese
and American) died 'conquering' that island. In the style of Saving
Private Ryan (Spielberg is a producer of Flags) the viewer gets a
astounding look at war with a lot of blood, guts and CGI. Second is the
story of a son of one of the flag raisers on that island, who
interviews other survivors of that battle to understand his dad a
little better. This is very moving stuff, but stands a little pale in
comparison to the final storyline. This is where veteran-director
Eastwood really shines. Like his meditation on violence Unforgiven,
Flags takes a closer look at heroism where soldiers by chance get into
the spotlight of the war-propaganda-machine. Some may say that Eastwood
made an anti-war film or even an anti-America film, but they're wrong.
Flags is very critical on the way war is sold to the public. There's
nothing honorable about killing or to be killed on the battlefield. The
only thing that matters is that you protect you're friends in your
platoon and that they protect you. Flags is one of the best war movies
I ever saw, maybe even better than Ryan, because it's never sentimental
and always honest in its portrayal of the soldiers and war in general.
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