or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
51 used & new from £0.21

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Flags Of Our Fathers [DVD] [2006]
 
See larger image
 

Flags Of Our Fathers [DVD] [2006]

DVD ~ Paul Walker
3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
RRP: £12.99
Price: £4.98 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £8.01 (62%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Items for dispatch to UK will be sold by Amazon's Preferred Merchant. (Why?)

Only 3 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

23 new from £1.99 28 used from £0.21
Christmas Offers--Up to 70% Off DVD and Blu-ray
Low-priced gift ideas, TV box sets, Blu-ray documentaries and recent drama, action and sci-fi hits. Go easy on your wallet this Christmas. Shop now
Learn about Lovefilm
Amazon's choice for DVD rental.
With a 14 day FREE trial. Learn more

Frequently Bought Together

Flags Of Our Fathers [DVD] [2006] + Letters From Iwo Jima [DVD] [2006] + Days Of Glory [2006] [DVD]
Total RRP: £45.97
Price For All Three: £14.94

Show availability and delivery details


What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?


Product details

  • Actors: Paul Walker, Robert Patrick, Ryan Phillippe, Barry Pepper, Adam Beach
  • Directors: Clint Eastwood
  • Format: PAL
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Warner Home Video
  • DVD Release Date: 24 Dec 2007
  • Run Time: 126 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000Y1VQ4O
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 25,579 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

Reviews

Synopsis

Clint Eastwood's early-21st-century output has endeared him to Academy Awards voters, and he makes another bid for their attention with this tale of the flag-raising at Iwo Jima. Eastwood cuts back and forth between the battle that led to the flag being firmly planted in enemy soil, and the tour undertaken by three of the flag-planting Marines (played by Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, and Adam Beach) in the aftermath of World War II. The re-creation of Iwo Jima features impressive APOCALYPSE NOW-style battle scenes, the air full of thick plumes of smoke, zinging bullets, and pounding explosions. But the most interesting part of the movie comes as the three men are paraded in front of the American public, as they vacillate between embarrassment and anger at the public relations campaign they find themselves embroiled in, while also pleading with the public to help provide funds for the soldiers who are still at war.

Eastwood uses a script co-written by CRASH director Paul Haggis and a source book written by James Bradley, the son of John "Doc" Bradley (played by Phillippe in the film), to tell this affecting tale. Tom Stern, who worked with Eastwood on MILLION DOLLAR BABY, employs his skills as a cinematographer once again, deftly coupling vast panoramic battle scenes with darkly contemplative moments between the touring soldiers. Fascinatingly, the director's next jaunt behind the lens is to be LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, which will provide the Japanese perspective on this famous event. It seems Eastwood will be keeping the Academy busy for quite some time.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Letters From Iwo Jima [DVD] [2006]

Letters From Iwo Jima [DVD] [2006]

DVD ~ Ken Watanabe
4.0 out of 5 stars (2)  £4.98
Letters from Iwo Jima (2 Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [2006]

Letters from Iwo Jima (2 Disc Special Edition) [DVD] [2006]

DVD ~ Ken Watanabe
4.2 out of 5 stars (14)  £5.98
Saints And Soldiers [DVD]

Saints And Soldiers [DVD]

DVD ~ Corbin Allred; Alexander Polinsky; Kirby Heyborne; Larry Bagby; Peter Asle Holden
3.0 out of 5 stars (27)  £4.98
The Death And Life Of Bobby Z [DVD] [2007]

The Death And Life Of Bobby Z [DVD] [2007]

DVD ~ John Herzfeld
2.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £4.88
Noel [DVD]

Noel [DVD]

DVD ~ Susan Sarandon
Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

 

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:    (0)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.2 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Flagging a dead horse, 3 May 2008
By Petrolhead (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews
  
Although beautifully shot and based on a true story of a fearsome and bloody battle, this film manages to be confused, overly long and distracted by the rather marginal question: "Were the Marines in the famous photograph of flag-raising on Iwo Jima actually the ones who put the flag up?"

The action chops and changes irritatingly between different times and the characters are not well-rooted enough for us to be quite sure who is who. When you put these two failings together, it is hard to keep track of who is dead and who is alive. And when we cut to the modern day, with aged vets telling the narrator about their days with his father, it is totally unclear who each one is. I suspect we are supposed to be in tears by this stage (the music would suggest as much) but I was merely drumming my fingers.

So the heart of the film is not the battle, but this question about the flag, which will probably only stir you if you are a) American (and tremendously proud of your flag) and b) easily led by the Forrest Gump school of film-making. The film actually seems to be asking us to care more about the veracity of the flag picture than about all the young men being turned into mincemeat by Japanese guns.

In the segments interspersed in between the Iwo Jima battle scenes, "Flags of our Fathers" follows the story of three of the combatants, yanked back to the States to do a War Bonds fund-raising tour, based on their status as flag-raising heroes. So the key conflict is not American vs Japanese, but the troubled self-reflections of these three men, who have to swallow the truth about the flag to do their duty on the home front.

To cap it all, this version of the DVD, although cheaper than all the 2- and 4-disc sets, has absolutely no special features at all, which was pretty, well... cheap.

If you want to see a much better film about much the same thing, with more focus on the battle and a genuinely moving story, watch the companion to this one: Letters from Iwo Jima.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A Mixed Bag, 9 April 2008
By T. Williams "Maranatha!" (North West, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I felt a bit let down by this film. Why? Well, here goes. The film is comprised of scenes from the battle at Iwo Jima and scenes from after the battle (where survivors from the Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima picture are travelling around America in an attempt to convince the public to buy war bonds to keep America in the war.). The Iwo Jima scenes are very well done (I tried my best not to keep comparing them to Private Ryan as I do not think it was Eastwood's aim) but strangely I found myself relieved whenever the movie went back there from the America scenes and that for me is the issue. The scenes in America are so downbeat that I actually prefer watching soldiers kill each other. I suppose the message about what makes a hero is made and I still think it as a good film but it is by no means a classic and below the level of Ryan and Band of Brothers (not hard).
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The harrowing truth, 21 Feb 2009
By S J Buck (Kent, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
I agree with some of the previous reviewers comments - particularly in relation to confusion over the main characters. However as with most of Clint Eastwoods films this has a depth to it that is missing from the majority of films. It is beautifully shot. Clint Eastwood has defintely watched John Ford films. There was one shot with a character framed in a doorway, which could have been straight out of the Searchers.

The battle scenes which are spread throughout the film are well done and the effect they have on the main characters is profound. I don't want to see 2 hours of continuous carnage, so the jump cuts to different time sequences were a welcome relief from the battles. The sequences where the 'heroes' are dragged round to raise money for the war effort seemed very authentic, but the book this film is based on does not place nearly as much emphasis on this. Nevertheless I could feel myself getting angrier as it went along. Having been traumatised by the war, when you return to the US it seems you don't get to be with your family, you are treated like a commodity to raise money.

Ultimately it is a rather depressing film, as it deals with not only the war, but also the long lasting after effects as well. See this and then watch Clint Eastwoods companian film 'Letters from Iwo Jima' which looks at the same battle from the Japanese point of view and is probably the better of the two films.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A Thought Provoking Film
"Flags of Our Fathers' is a thought provoking historical film. It consists of two basic segments, scenes of the battle for Iwo Jima and the story of the War Bond Tour on which... Read more
Published 16 months ago by James Gallen

3.0 out of 5 stars Fairly Average
This film is well directed and the battle scenes in particular are vivid and real. Some of the acting is also very good making the film worth watching. Read more
Published 18 months ago by DJW

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject





i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.