Letters from Iwo Jima

Letters from Iwo Jima is one of two films directed by Clint Eastwood in 2006 depicting World War II Battle of Iwo Jima. Flags of Our Fathers presents the battle, and the famous "raising of the American flag" incident, from the side of U.S. soldiers. Leters from Iwo Jima looks at similar events from the Japanese perspective. The film is almost entirely in Japanese.

Fast Facts:

1. Director: Clint Eastwood
2. Starring: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara
3. Released: January 12, 2007
4. Run Time: 142 min.
5. Budget: $19 million
6. Working Title: Red Sun, Black Sand

Background

Iwo Jima is based on two non-fiction books - Picture Letters from Commander in Chief and So Sad To Fall In Battle: An Account of War - though some fictionalized details were added into the screenplay to make it work as narrative. The author of the first book, General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, is a character in the film played by Ken Watanabe. In preparation for the role, Watanabe read a number of Kuribayashi's personal correspondence written during the war.

The film was shot largely in Barstow and Bakersfield, California, though there was some limited shooting done on Iwo Jima itself. Eastwood shot Flags and Letters back-to-back.

Awards

The film won an Oscar for Best Sound Editing and was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. It was chosen by the Chicago Film Critics as the Best Picture of 2006.

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