Letters from Iwo Jima

[Sabin]

Saw 'Letters from Iwo Jima' again. Certain movies improve or decline with subsequent viewings. 'Letters from Iwo Jima' produced the same exact sensation. It is such a ridiculously confident piece of work. I think I enjoyed 'The Departed' a little more (it's one of the most sheerly entertaining and grippy experiences I've had at the movies in years), but I think the last time two movies so clearly dominated an Oscar slate in terms of quality was '93 with 'The Piano' and 'Schindler's List', both movies I was astonished by for different reasons.

Great movies almost never win Best Picture. Right now, my two favorite Best Picture nominees this decade are 'The Departed' and 'Letters from Iwo Jima'.

A buddy of mine just watched 'Letters from Iwo Jima'. He's a cinematographer and hates Tom Stern for his use of shadows, citing that only in a Tom Stern movie can people be walking in broad daylight and be completely dwarfed by shadow. He was astonished by 'Letters from Iwo Jima', loved every minute of it. He asked me how it got so few nominations when it was a war movie and such a perfect piece of work. I had to tell him (and I was a bit incredulous even as I was saying it) that 'Letters from Iwo Jima' picked up almost zero Guild nominations, that really the fact it was nominated in the first place was a pretty big surprise. He responded: "But it's a Clint Eastwood film! Everything he does lately gets nominated." I had nothing to really tell him other than this Guild subsections really, really responded to 'Little Miss Sunshine', 'Dreamgirls', 'The Queen', 'Babel', etc.

In retrospect, it is pretty amazing that 'Letters from Iwo Jima' was not nominated for Best Score, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and more.

[Damien]

I love The Gauntlet, and you're right in the past I probably did rate it over Unforgiven. But it's been so long since I've seen it, that my memory of it is kind of vague, so I need to watch it again (and the unopened DVD has been sitting on the shelf for about 7 years now -- it was one of the first DVDs I bought).

[dws1982]

For some reason, I thought you liked The Gauntlet more than Unforgiven.

I'd say Letters ranks in his top ten for sure, but I'd have to see it again to know exactly where it would stand. I've seen it twice, but neither viewing was under ideal circumstances. (The first time, I had to be at work pretty soon after the show, and felt rushed; The second time, I was with someone who hadn't seen it, and was worried about whether they'd like it.) I may try to catch it again next Wednesday.

[Damien]

Daniel, I'd say it's a toss-up between two great, great films, Letters and Unforgiven. I might pick Unforgiven by an ever-so-slight margin because it has somewhat more breadth. But then again, on second thought, I might pick Letters From Iwo Jima by an ever-so-slight margin because it is so beautiful and heartbreaking -- with so much of it taking place in the land of memory, it's Eastwood's most Fordian film.

[dws1982]

So, do you think this is Eastwood's best film, Damien?

[Damien]

There's a hilarious (and actually kind of scary) IMDb thread about Eastwood's masterpiece called "'Flags' is Great. This Movie is a Politically Correct Fraud"

The initial post is "What was Eastwood thinking? One of the Japanese soldiers in the movie gave his last shot of Morphine to a Marine. Riiiiight! What a joke. What about the torture that occurred in "Flags". The Japanese were brutal and tortured not only our guys, but they would do such things like throw Chinese babies up in the air and catch them with their bayonets in the CBI theater. And don't give me the ol' "the US did it, too" garbage. There is a reason the Germans hoped that the US would capture them and not the Russians. We are the good guys. From this former Marine: God bless this country and our veterans!"

and it goes from there . . .

Check it out at
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0498380/board/nest/65943374

[ITALIANO]

At least Eastwood will lose to Scorsese - not Scorsese at his best, in my opinion, but still one of the best living American directors. And we are used to the truly best picture not winning Best Picture, aren't we?

I found especially refreshing, and even moving - in this era of an increasingly aggressive America launching senseless wars - to see an American movie taking, for once, the point of view of the enemy.

And I agree 100% with you on The Thin Red Line.

[Sabin]

'The Thin Red Line' is both the most pleasant surprise Best Picture nominee I've ever seen and the best nominee for Best Picture in two decades, perhaps more (I just scanned the nominees and it may go even farther back). In a perfect world, 'Letters from Iwo Jima' would be the runaway favorite winner. Next year. This year, I don't see it happening. I love both it and 'The Departed', which couldn't be more different than night and day. Where's Saigo's nomination?

[criddic3]

Letters from Iwo Jima is infinitely superior to The Thin Red Line. It's narrative is more focused, the acting is more affecting and the direction's vision is clear and strong.

Then again, I would prefer to see an Eastwood film over Malick any day. Malick knows how to make visually beautiful films, but neither The Thin Red Line or (especially) The New World offered much else.

[ITALIANO]

This is clearly the best among the Best Picture nominees. I'd even call it a truly American work of art - in the best sense, like for example Ernest Hemingway's novels are true American works of art. There are, of course, a few minor flaws, which others have talked about, but with the exception of The Thin Red Line this is the best American war movie in a long, long time. Now I have a movie to root for - and another chance to be bitterly disappointed, especially if it is beaten by Little Miss Sunshine...

[Sonic Youth]

Admired this film very much. Especially after seeing and not admiring Flags of Our Fathers on DVD, where Eastwood is simply out of his element. Although it sometimes straddles the line between affecting and overly-sentimental, Iwo Jima suits Eastwood's temperment far better, heavy, austere and serious as death. More later, must sleep now.

[Akash]

I'm happy about those two inclusions too Eric. I never understood the mixed review for The Black Dahlia, which is one of my top 10 films of the year. (I know citing one's own top 10 list is incredibly pretentious, so hopefully I can diffuse that with this caveat)

[Eric]

That is admittedly one of the ones I haven't seen. (Alright, I admit I'm just glad it's Black Dahlia and Children of Men instead of a bunch of BP nominees.)

[Damien]

I haven't seen a couple of the nominees, nor have I seen Iwo Jima yet, but this year's cinematography slate strikes me as being of extremely high quality, so it could also just be the category was too crowded.

The nomination for The Illusionist completely perplexes me. The cinematography is utterly adequate.

[Eric]

I'm sure there's some stupid, crony-related reason why Stern is not a cinematography nominee for such a breathtaking-looking effort. The shot where Saigo first sees the arriving American fleet -- bigger by scores than anything he imagined -- is one of the great single moments of the year.

I haven't seen a couple of the nominees, nor have I seen Iwo Jima yet, but this year's cinematography slate strikes me as being of extremely high quality, so it could also just be the category was too crowded.