Saw Flags of our fathers tonight.

[RightF00T]

Its an issue to this guy, and he's a veteran.  I can understand his sense of disillusionment.  Although I agree you can't represent everthing in one movie.

[lasersailor184]

but SPR was the perfect war movie action/drama had a balances amount of each with great acting, and great directing.

  God you guys get funnier every post.

[megadud]

Originally posted by lasersailor184
  God you guys get funnier every post.

I will see flags when it comes out in theaters, too bad it tanked haha

[GtoRA2]

Number 3 for opening weekend with fewer places showing it then the other two is not tanked.


Are you like 11 or something?

[megadud]

10 mil opening weekend regardless of how many theaters it was in = tanked to me. Also the fact it lost to a 3 week old movie and the prestige. It beat flicka though! WTG! yea it tanked. It won't do much more then 10 mil a week the rest of it's run time.

[Yeager]

this isnt a movie made for the approval of the masses.  It cant be.   The masses aren't interested in the story of IwoJima.  This is a story for intelligent and thoughtful people interested in the human story and the history.  This will of course impact the monetary success of the film.

Also, no matter how wonderful the movie may be, many people are pathetically tired of seeing american soldiers get blown up on the news, let alone in the theater.  Still, I plan on seeing this movie on the big screen,  of course if it is even playing in my town?

[mandingo]

i saw this movie yesterday

it was nothing new.  as expected, the battle scenes looked like exact reproductions of SPR.  But i found their impact was lost  because the movie is edited in such a way that you jump back and forth in time.  I find it really distracting when this is done.

The acting was pretty horrible.  The guy who played Ira Hayes was the exception.  

There is an end scene where the entire platoon goes swimming off the shore of Iwo Jima.  About the most contrived ending ever.  

The thing I found most annoying, however, was the digital effects.  The film was extremely contrasty, almost as if someone underexposed a negative.  It was almst difficult to see the shadow detail in some scenes.  THe colors saturation was also very low.  I don't know what they were trying to achieve with this type of cinematography.  I felt liek i was wearing sunglasses in the movie.  Was this some bad attempt at being artiistic??

i give it a B.

[Stoney74]

The lack of color is a good representation of what that place looks like.  When I was there, obviously it wasn't as de-vegetated as it would have been, but Suribachi and the beaches were still the yellowish-grey (Suri) and pitch black (beaches) as they were during the battle.  Walking around the island, it is easy to visualize what type of black and grey world it would have been like devoid of vegetation.  Not to mention that with a little bit of overcast, standing on the catwalk of the ship looking at the island from about 4 miles offshore looked exactly like a black and white photo from a history book.  

I don't know if it was an overt gesture or not, but I think the effect was appropriate in order to illustrate what a ugly, stark island it was, and still is today...

[rogwar]

Read the book "Flags of our Fathers" and then as well maybe a few other accounts of Iwo Jima as well.

The film makes a great visual companion to the book.

I would bet there may be a directors cut when it comes out on DVD. Probably had to cut a few parts for the theater. They did the best they could in the available time to tell the story.

It's not a war film to go see to be entertained. Every American ought to know the story though.

[Angus]

Some have been comparing Flags to Saving Private Ryan.
While I rather like SPR, I must point out that Flags is NOT a fiction, - it's pretty much a true story.
So, a true story does not necessarily fit the audience as well as a history based fiction designed for the audience.

[Angus]

Here's a link for an interview with Barry Pepper and Jamie Bell:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbDFDBGwTmE

What Pepper sais about the filming and the element of natural surprize being applied by Clint is very much true. The extras were in many cases getting jittery about the bombs going up suddenly all around them.
Interesting way to work. Don't get the actors and extras to play scared, just make'm

[Hawco]

Originally posted by DREDIOCK
Maybe but perfectly accurate. Cept maybe the music
Its called survivors guilt


Something about Hallmark. Is it usually carries a ring of truth to it.
Thats why Hallmark is so good.
and I'd like to think that most families when they see a man who is obviously uset about something like that would rallly around him in that manner.

Wouldnt think much personally of the family that didnt

think about it. How would you feel if say. You were in my father in laws shoes and cept for a freakish twist of fate. Or because you were standing one place and two feet next to you someone else died instead of you

OR someone Gave up their life so that you could live.
Looking back at it in the twighlight of your life

Wouldnt you pause and think if you were worthy?
Wouldnt you always wonder what made you worthy enough to get to live your life, get married, have children when the other guy didnt?

Coulda been you but wasnt. What made you so special that you were allowed to have a life and he or they didnt?
Wouldnt you also wonder if you had lead your life good enough?

I think alot of vets who have witnissed this sort of thing feel alot the same way about it. Thats why you alwyas see thenm giving credit to the guys that didnt make it. The ones they left behind.

In closing I find myself thinking about an article I read after the release of SPR.
It was written by the wife of a man who had served and fought in WWII.
She wrote how they went to see the movie. And of the deafining silence of the ride home. And how she realised how he was reliving that time as looked over at him and saw tears as they flowed down his face.
She spoke of how she reached over and held his hand and said to him "I had no idea"
And his reply
"Welcome to my world"

I never usually open myself up like this, especially on the Internet, but what Dred says is correct, due to my experiences, I take 1 day at a time, I have 1 med to take usually every 4 hours to keep me calm and one at night time to stop me from dreaming, Hard to describe really, I feel guilty almost all of the time, sometimes I even feel happy, It's like carrying a burden that doesn't get lighter.
For the record, I've never seen Saving private Ryan or any of the others that are doing the rounds, I go and see romantic comedies and Harry potter movies with my wife. I don't want to see various war related movies, I wouldn't want to subject my wife to all my emotions in that respect.
Nothing wrong with these movies, I think they tell great stories and these guys should be remembered. They're probably good for a lot of people who want to understand what fighting for your life is all about.

[Billy Joe Bob]

angus werent you like IN the movie or something?

[Debonair]

[Angus]

Originally posted by Billy Joe Bob
angus werent you like IN the movie or something?

Yes, was one of the extras. Was on the set for about 4 weeks. In the last days there were rather few of us.