FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS (DVD/CHECKPOINT/WS) DVD

Flags of Our Fathers
Clint Eastwood's adaptation of the non-fiction book Flags of Our Fathers concerns the lives of the men in the famous picture of soldiers raising the American flag over Iwo Jima during that historic WWII battle. Battle scenes are intercut with footage of three of the soldiers - played by Ryan Phillipe, Jesse Bradford, and Adam Beach -- who survived the battle going on a goodwill tour of the United States in order to sell war bonds. Many evening they are forced to reenact their famous pose, something each of them finds more and more difficult to do as they suffer from survivor's guilt. {$Eastwood frames the story by having one of the men's grown son (Tom McCarthy) interview his father's old comrades in order to find out more about what happened to his father. Eastwood followed this film with Letters from Iwo Jima, a second film about the battle of Iwo Jima, but told from the Japanese perspective. Flags of Our Fathers was produced by Eastwood and Steven Spielberg. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Cast Ryan Phillippe as John 'Doc' Bradley Jesse Bradford as Rene Gagnon Adam Beach as Ira Hayes John Benjamin Hickey as Keyes Beech John Slattery as Bud Gurber Barry Pepper as Mike Strank Jamie Bell as Ralph 'Iggy' Ignatowski Paul Walker as Hank Hansen Robert Patrick as Colonel Chandler Johnson Neal McDonough as Captain Severance Melanie Lynskey as Pauline Harnois Tom McCarthy as James Bradley Christopher Bauer as Commandant Vandegrift Judith Ivey as Belle Block Myra Turley as Madeline Evelley Joseph Cross as Franklin Sousley Benjamin Walker as Harlon Block Alessandro Mastrobuono as Lindberg Scott Reeves as Lundsford Stark Sands as Gust George Grizzard as John Bradley Harve Presnell as Dave Severance George Hearn as Walter Gust Len Cariou as Mr. Beech Christopher Curry as Ed Block Bubba Lewis as Belle's Young Son Beth Grant as Mother Gagnon Connie Ray as Mrs. Sousley Ann Dowd as Mrs. Strank Mary Beth Peil as Mrs. Bradley David Patrick Kelly as President Truman Jon Polito as Borough President Ned Eisenberg as Joe Rosenthal Gordon Clapp as General 'Howlin Mad' Smith Michael Cumpsty as Secretary Forrestal V.J. Foster as Major on Plane Kirk B.R. Woller as Bill Genaust Tom Verica as Lieutenant Pennel Jason Gray-Stanford as Lieutenant Schrier Matt Huffman as Lieutenant Bell David Hornsby as Louis Lowery Brian Kimmet as Sergeant Boots Thomas David Rasche as Senator Tom Mason as John Tennack Patrick Dollaghan as Businessman James Newman as Local Politician Steven M. Porter as Tourist Dale Waddington Horowitz as Tourist's Wife Lennie Loftin as Justice of the Peace David Clennon as White House Official Mark Thomason as Military Censor Oliver Davis as Young James Bradley Sean Moran as Waiter Lisa Dodson as Iggy's Mother John Nielsen as Senator Boyd Jon Kellam as Senator Haddigan Ron Fassler as Senator Robson Denise Bella as Luncheon Singer Vlasis-Gascon as Luncheon Singer Jenifer Menedis as Luncheon Singer Joie Shettler as Luncheon Singer Vivien Lesiak as Luncheon Singer John Henry Canavan as Jailer Donn Emerson as Navy Lieutenant on Plane Jayma Mays as Nurse in Hawaii Yukari Black as Tokyo Rose John Hoogenakker as Funeral Home Employee Barry Sigismonde as Police Sergeant William Charlton as Bartender Beth Tapper as Bar Car Beauty Shannon Gayle as Bar Car Beauty Jim Cantafio as Reporter in L.A. Mark Colson as Reporter in L.A. Danny McCarthy as Reporter in Chicago Patrick New as Reporter in Chicago James Horan as Reporter in NYC Michael Canavan as Reporter at Hansen's Erica Grant as Secretary Silas Weir Mitchell as Lab Tech George Cambio as Lab Tech David S. Brooks as Sergeant A. Company Johann Johannson as Sergeant on Beach Martin Delaney as Marine at Cave Daniel Forcey as Marine on Beach Bjorgvin Franz Gislason as Impaled Marine Darrin Ingolfsson as Wounded Marine Hilmar Gudjonsson as Wounded Marine 4 Jeremy Merrill as Marine in Shellhole Jeremiah Bitsui as Young Indian

Crew Adrian H. Gorton - Art Director Jack G. Taylor Jr. - Art Director Digital Domain - Animator Jane Alderman - Casting Phyllis Huffman - Casting Lennie Niehaus - Conductor Tim Moore - Co-producer Deborah Hopper - Costume Designer Donald Murphy - First Assistant Director Clint Eastwood - Director Michael Owens - Second Unit Director Joel Cox - Editor Kimberly Spiteri - Hair Styles Terry Baliel - Hair Styles Janice Alexander - Hair Styles Ami Pall Hansson - Location Manager Mark Mamalakis - Location Manager J. Chan Claggett - Location Manager Clint Eastwood - Composer (Music Score) Aslaug Cookie Sigurdardóttir - Makeup Petra Dis Magnúsdottir - Makeup Jay Wejebe - Makeup Eryn Krueger - Makeup Zoe Hay - Makeup Gabriel De Cunto - Makeup Christien Tinsley - Makeup Special Effects Stefan Jorgen Argustsson - Makeup Special Effects Paul Varrieur - Camera Operator Stephen Campanelli - Camera Operator Steven R. Wojcik - Camera Operator Leo Napolitano - Camera Operator Ottar Gudnason - Camera Operator Henry Bumstead - Production Designer Tom Stern - Cinematographer Leifur Dagfinnsson - Production Manager Steven Spielberg - Producer Clint Eastwood - Producer Robert Lorenz - Producer Gary A. Lee - Set Designer Joseph G. Pacelli Jr. - Set Designer Adrian H. Gorton - Set Designer Matthew Butler - Special Effects Walt Martin - Sound Mixer Steven Ticknor - Sound/Sound Designer Buddy Van Horn - Stunts Coordinator Steve Riley - Special Effects Supervisor Sgt. Maj. James D. Dever - Technical Advisor Tim Moore - Unit Production Manager Paul Haggis - Screenwriter William Broyles - Screenwriter Richard Bowen - Second Unit Camera Michael Owens - Visual Effects Supervisor Margaret J. Orlando - Production Coordinator Alyssa L. Wittenberg - Production Coordinator Helga Margret Reykdal - Production Coordinator Mike Sexton - Properties Master John Reitz - Re-Recording Mixer Steve Pederson - Re-Recording Mixer Gregg Rudloff - Re-Recording Mixer Dave Campbell - Re-Recording Mixer Mable Lawson McCrary - Script Supervisor Katie Carroll - Second Assistant Director Stephen Campanelli - Steadicam Operator Alan Robert Murray - Supervising Sound Editor Bub Asman - Supervising Sound Editor Ross Dunkerley - Chief Lighting Technician Michael M. Muscarella - Construction Coordinator John Slove - Construction Coordinator Helga I. Stefansdottir - Costumes Supervisor Mitchell Kenney - Costumes Supervisor Nancy McArdle - Costumes Supervisor Jennifer Jobst - Costumes Supervisor Jason S. Gondek - Production Accountant David Bernstein - Second Second Assistant Director Karen Shaw - Supervising Production Coordinator Bryan Grill - Visual Effects Digital Domain - Visual Effects Richard C. Goddard - Set Decorator Alan Hicks - Set Decorator Ron Powers - Book Author James Bradley - Book Author Pacific Title - Title Design Carol O'Connell - Department Head Hair Tania McComas - Department Head Makeup

Flags of Our Fathers
Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers uses a true story about World War II in order to make timely reminders about sacrifices in wartime. Jesse Bradford, Ryan Philippe, and Adam Beach play three soldiers who appeared in the famous photograph of American troops planting the flag on Iwo Jima. Eastwood economically establishes how this photo affected the mood of the country, but since his tone for the film is not particularly rah-rah, he never indulges in the feelings of patriotism this famous image evokes -- the characters feel it, but the audience does not. Instead Eastwood plunges the viewer into the harsh reality of the invasion. The war footage in Flags of Our Fathers brings to mind the opening passage in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, offering a grunt's eye view of the brutal human cost of war. The carnage becomes so commonplace that viewer must accept this new reality, just as the characters must. These brutal action sequences are intercut with the three soldiers on a homefront tour designed to help sell war bonds. The way the media and the government help shape public sentiment around them recalls certain sequences in The Right Stuff, but where Philip Kaufman's film about the early days of the space program plays those absurdities for comedy, Eastwood's downbeat tone plays those same ironies for tragedy. The audience learns that veterans generally didn't talk about what they saw and what they did, but these three young men are forced to relive their experiences every night before adoring crowds. The survivor's guilt affects each of them differently, most notably Adam Beach as a young man so overcome that he begins drinking himself into oblivion. Beach carries the emotional weight of the film, and Eastwood's measured pacing gives him nowhere to hide. His is a difficult performance that earns much audience sympathy, even though he never once asks for it in the performance. These thematic elements are presented so well that the film suffers when Eastwood gets around to tying up the story's framing device concerning one of the soldier's sons. The interaction between father and son never achieves the depth of the earlier sequences in large part because the audience never sees the veterans raising their kids. The screenwriters miscalculate the audience's interest, leaving a half hour of screentime after an emotional scene involving Beach provides the dramatic climax of the story. The fact that Spielberg also serves as a producer on the film, alongside Eastwood, forces one to consider how Flags of Our Fathers compares to Saving Private Ryan in more ways than just the reality of the battle sequences. Ryan, released in 1998, was directed by a baby-boomer shaping a love letter to his father. Part of a wave of WWII veterans veneration that includes Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation and the miniseries Band of Brothers, many of these projects felt like boomers attempting to close the generation gap now that they themselves were facing mortality. Flags of Our Fathers, although covering much the same ground thematically, improves upon Ryan for two major reasons. First, Eastwood is old enough to be a World War II veteran himself. He feels no need to sentimentalize these young soldiers, or their reasons for fighting. Secondly, this is a post 9/11 movie, and the culture has been saturated with nearly nonstop reminders that war is hell. Eastwood is reminding audiences that the men on the ground are not thinking about anything other than themselves and their fellow soldiers. Flags of Our Fathers is a sobering reminder that the lessons and experiences of WWII soldiers do not belong only to history, but offer valuable insights for any country that finds itself in a time of war. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
 

Adam Beach: Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (nominated) Adam Beach: Satellite Awards, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (nominated) Alan Robert Murray: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Sound Editing (nominated) Alan Robert Murray: Satellite Awards, Best Sound (nominated) Bryan Grill: Satellite Awards, Best Visual Effects (nominated) Bub Asman: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Sound Editing (nominated) Bub Asman: Satellite Awards, Best Sound (nominated) Clint Eastwood: Golden Globe, Best Director (nominated) Clint Eastwood: Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Best Director (Runner-up) (winner) Clint Eastwood: Satellite Awards, Best Director (winner) Clint Eastwood: Satellite Awards, Best Original Score (nominated) Dave Campbell: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Sound Mixing (nominated) Dave Campbell: Satellite Awards, Best Sound (nominated) Gregg Rudloff: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Sound Mixing (nominated) Gregg Rudloff: Satellite Awards, Best Sound (nominated) Henry Bumstead: Art Directors Guild, Best Art Direction in a Period Film (nominated) Henry Bumstead: Satellite Awards, Best Art Direction/Production Design (winner) Jack G. Taylor Jr.: Satellite Awards, Best Art Direction/Production Design (winner) Joel Cox: Satellite Awards, Best Editing (nominated) John Reitz: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Sound Mixing (nominated) John Reitz: Satellite Awards, Best Sound (nominated) Matthew Butler: Satellite Awards, Best Visual Effects (nominated) Michael Owens: Satellite Awards, Best Visual Effects (nominated) Paul Haggis: Satellite Awards, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) Richard C. Goddard: Satellite Awards, Best Art Direction/Production Design (winner) Steve Riley: Satellite Awards, Best Visual Effects (nominated) Walt Martin: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Sound Mixing (nominated) Walt Martin: Satellite Awards, Best Sound (nominated) William Broyles: Satellite Awards, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated)

Dallas/Fort Worth Film Critics Associat, Best Picture (nominated) Las Vegas Film Critics Association, Best Picture (nominated) National Board of Review, Best Picture (nominated) Satellite Awards, Best Picture - Drama (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French Subtitle Options: English, Spanish Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel DDS2.0: Dolby Digital w/ 4 channels of sound from a 2-channel stereo mix. Additional Features: MPAA Rating: R DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 132 min