Sands of Iwo Jima
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Movie Reviews of Sands of Iwo Jima
Movie Review: John Wayne at his best
Summary: 5 Stars
Awesome movie and John Wayne was at his best. The DVD does an excellent job in showing the movie. If you loved it as a VHS you'll really love it as a DVD.Movie Review: The Duke
Summary: 5 Stars
Just the thing to watch before you go down to the Toyota place and bargain for prices.Movie Review: An admirable tribute to the U.S. Marines
Summary: 4 Stars
''The Sands of Iwo Jima'' covers far more than the Marine invasion of Iwo Jima in World War II. The film follows the seemingly real Sergeant John Stryker (John Wayne) and the men he was commanded over a period of a year or so in the South Pacific. While the film's script is only loosely based on actual events, it's not hard to believe the men in the film and events that they experienced could very well have happened in real-life.
The film opens with the U.S. Marines regrouping in New Zealand after the fight for Guadalcanal had ended. Sergeant Stryker is assigned to command a platoon of Marines who are anxious to see some action. Stryker's hard-bitten, by-the-book command style (''Saddle-up! Saddle-up!'') soon rankles many of the men, especially Private Thomas (Forrest Tucker) who had fought alongside him before, and Private Conway (John Agar), whose recently killed-in-action father was a carbon-copy of the hard-nosed Stryker.
Stryker's attempt to whip the men into a fighting force has mixed results. Some are incompetent, while Conway and Thomas try to buck his authority. Stryker tries to win-over Conway by expressing his admiration for Conway's father. But Conway, who is somewhat arrogant, despised his father and now takes his hatred out to Stryker. On top of that, Stryker is battling his own personal demons which he tries to drown in alcohol when off duty.
Over the course of the film the Marines see action in Tarawa and later Iwo Jima. The film effectively captures the camaraderie amongst the men and also their fears, bravery, and successes. Although the film is not gory, it does show the death and destruction of warfare. The film also shows how some men made terrible mistakes that cost the lives of others and how Stryker tried to show leadership under extremely stressful conditions even as some of his men battled him every step of the way.
''The Sands of Iwo Jima'' is a must-have-film for any World War II buff. Director Allan Dwan did an excellent job of capturing the toughness of the Marines along with their softer moments and devotion to each other. There are some corny scenes in the film and it's not as realistic as war films made since the 1990s, but I rate the movie as a strong 4 stars and recommend it to anyone interested in learning about World War II, the U.S. Marines, or John Wayne in one of his finest roles ever.
Movie Review: Sort of high quality propoganda
Summary: 4 Stars
The battle of Iwo Jima was actually the most successful defensive action the Japanese fought in the Pacific. Their strategy had been to set up a defensive perimeter and to then inflict heavy casualties on the attacking American and Imperial forces. This way they hoped to offset the material and technical superiority of the allies by the fanatical courage of their troops. The problems faced by the Japanese was that often local commanders would lose patience and order their men to attack. These attacks were easily repelled by the superior allied fire power. Iwo Jima was a battle in which the Japanese dug in away from the beaches and stubbornly fought a defensive battle making the Americans pay for every inch of territory that they moved over. At the end of the battle the Japanese had caused the greatest number of casualties for their own losses in any of the later Pacific Battles.
It is thus no surprise that a film was made about this action. In addition the battle gave rise to one of the more effective symbols of any action in the Pacific. The raising on top of the Mount Suribachi of an American flag by seven members of the US armed forces.
The film itself is very much a film that has been made close to the Pacific war. The portrayal of the Japanese is not good and the aim of the film is to celebrate the courage of the US marines who took the island. (And of course courage they had in abundance)
The way the film is designed is to initially concentrate on the training of the recruits with the suggestion of its importance in steeling them for battle. It has always surprised me how much Americans have been addicted to methods of troop training which were designed to coordinate the movement of musketeers in the time of Frederick the Great. The characters are pretty much stereotypes rather than real people but to concentrate on that would be churlish.
Never the less the film is a classic of its type. Perhaps not so much propaganda but a celebration of the actions of brave men who gave to their country what was asked of them.
Movie Review: A good movie about WWII, and a great performance by the Duke
Summary: 4 Stars
John Wayne stars as Sargeant John M. Stryker in this very well-done movie about what is perhaps the most famous battle of the Pacific campaign--Iwo Jima. The special effects are good for the time (1950), and the scenery adds greatly to the overall effect of the film. Wayne does an excellent job as Stryker, the tough-as-nails marine who is hard on his men but soft at heart. The most compelling thing about this film is Wayne's character. He is no great war-hero--in fact, he does very little on the battlefield of any great consequence. Instead, he does his duty, unglamorous though it may be. He is human, and this is what sets him apart from many war-movie heroes today. The movie lacks any intense combat or epic battles, but its strength lies in the character of Stryker and in his relationship with his men.
The reason I don't give this five stars is because it's scope pales in comparison with many other war movies. Part of this is due to technology, but much is also due to more action-intense films which (I think) help us understand better the battles and conflicts which the movies portray. Such movies as Gettysburg, We Were Soldiers, and even old films like All Quiet on the Western Front do a much better job than this film of showing the various positions of the battle, and of the obstacles the soldiers faced. The marines in this film have a relatively easy time getting to the top of Iwo Jima, but I would have liked to have had a little more information about the battle. Were it not for this, I would give the movie five stars without hesitation.