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Summary:

Sixty-one years ago, the United States and Japanese armies met on Iwo Jima. Decades later, hundreds of letters are unearthed from that stark island's soil. The letters give faces and voices to the men who fought there, as well as the extraordinary general who led them. Leading the defense is Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi. With little defense other than sheer will and the volcanic rock of the island itself, Gen. Kuribayashi's unprecedented tactics transform what was predicted to be a quick and bloody defeat into nearly 40 days of heroic and resourceful combat.

Contributors:

Eastwood, Clint, 1930- , director, production personnel

Lorenz, Robert , production personnel

Spielberg, Steven, 1946- , production personnel

Yamashita, Iris , screenwriter

Haggis, Paul

Watanabe, Ken, 1959-

Ninomiya, Kazunari, 1983-

Ihara, Tsuyoshi

Kase, Ryo

Nakamura, Shido

Watanabe, Hiroshi

Bando, Takumi

Matsuzaki, Yuki

Yamaguchi, Takashi

Ozaki, Eijiro

Kuribayashi, Tadamichi, 1890 or 1891-1945

Yoshida, Tsuyuko

Warner Bros. Pictures (1969- )

DreamWorks Pictures (1994-2006)

Malpaso (Company)

Amblin Entertainment (Firm)

Warner Home Video (Firm)

Languages:

Japanese
English
French
Spanish

Language Notes:

In Japanese and English dialogue, with optional English, French, or Spanish subtitles.
Closed-captioned.

Related Works:

Motion picture adaptation of: "Gyokusai Sōshikikan" no etegami [by Kuribayashi, T.] (English)

Subjects:

Iwo Jima, Battle of, Japan, 1945 — Drama

Japan Rikugun — Military life — Drama

Letter writing, Japanese — Drama

Foreign films — Japan

Motion pictures, Japanese

Japanese language films

Japan Rikugun

Battle of Iwo Jima (Japan : 1945)

1945

Letter writing, Japanese

Foreign films

Armed Forces — Military life

Japan

Genres:

Motion pictures

Feature films

War films

Historical films

Video recordings for the hearing impaired

Foreign language films

Drama

System Details:

DVD ; region 1 ; widescreen (2.40:1) presentation ; Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, dual-layer, DVD-9.

Performers:

Cast: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, Shido Nakamura, Hiroshi Watanabe, Takumi Bando, Yuki Matsuzaki, Takashi Yamaguchi, Eijiro Ozaki.

Production Credits:

Director of photography, Tom Stern ; editors, Joel Cox, Gary D. Roach ; music, Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens ; costume designer, Deborah Hopper ; production designers, Henry Bumstead, James J. Murakami.

General Notes:

Based on the book "Picture letters from Commander in Chief" by Tadamichi Kuribayashi and book editor Tsuyoko Yoshido.
Special features: "Red sun, black sand: the making of Letters from Iwo Jima:" led by Clint Eastwood, take an inside look at the creation of the film with many of the key players involved who brought this epic film together; "The faces of war: the cast of Letters from Iwo Jima:" cast members introduce the characters they portray in the film; "Images from the frontlines: the photography of Letters from Iwo Jima" world premiere at Budo-kan in Tokyo; press conference at Grand Hyatt Tokyo.
Academy Awards, USA, 2007: Best Achievement in Sound Editing (Alan Robert Murray, Bub Asman).
Golden Globes, 2007: Golden Globe - Best Foreign Language Film.

Audience:

MPAA rating: R; for graphic war violence.

Physical Description:

2 videodiscs (140 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in.

Physical Characteristics:

plastic; metal; polychrome

Audio Characteristics:

digital; optical

Digital Characteristics:

video file; DVD video; region 1

Call Numbers:

LET DVD

ISBNs:

1419845268
9781419845260

Other Standard Numbers:

Universal Product Code: 085391112921
Publisher Number, Warner Home Video: 111292

OCLC Numbers:

1050145252
122272968 [Invalid]