A wartime epic hailed as Clint Eastwood’s finest achievement is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Letters From Iwo Jima, which arrived in cinemas back in 2006, chronicles Japanese soldiers during the Battle of Iwo Jima throughout World War II – a devastating five-week confrontation that claimed approximately 18,000 Japanese lives and nearly 7,000 American casualties.
The film serves as an ideal counterpart to Flags of Our Fathers, also released in 2006 and helmed by Eastwood, which portrays the identical battle from the perspective of American troops.
Presented entirely in Japanese, Letters From Iwo Jima features an exceptional ensemble cast, including Ken Watanabe portraying General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, alongside Kazunari Ninomiya and Tsuyoshi Ihara, amongst others.
The production garnered extraordinary critical praise and secured four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director for Eastwood, reports the Express.
Whilst the wartime drama claimed only one Oscar for Best Sound Editing, this doesn’t diminish the 2hr 21min masterpiece’s stellar reputation.
Letters from Iwo Jima maintains remarkable standings on Rotten Tomatoes.
An outstanding 91% critics’ rating from 201 reviews, plus 86% audience approval across more than 250,000 user scores.
The plot summary says: “When General Kuribayashi’s subordinates refuse to follow his commands to march towards the American military camp to attack them, Saigo, a young soldier, finds courage and strength to support him.”
One critic wrote: “Much as already been made about the pride and honor of the Japanese, but as a people they have rarely, if ever, been depicted as fully human characters in American war movies. It’s amazing to think what Clint Eastwood has done here.”
Another added: “Eastwood has made a film that is thoughtful, poignant, touching, and philosophical. It stands as one of the best works in his long, illustrious career.”
Film enthusiasts echo these views, with one review saying: “One of Clint Eastwood’s best films and best war films of the century so far,” whilst another added: “Arguably the greatest war movie you will ever see.”
The praise doesn’t stop there, with one user commenting: “An All Time Classic. The acting is phenomenal across the board with no soldiers story ever feeling generic or repetitive, and despite hardly any English spoken you are able to connect with each of them.”
Letters From Iwo Jima is currently available to buy or rent on Amazon Prime Video.