ROTTEN TOMATOES: Eastwood's "Letters of Iwo Jima" To Follow "Flags" in February

Eastwood's "Letters of Iwo Jima" To Follow "Flags" in February

by Jen Yamato | October 13, 2006

Clint Eastwood's WWII drama "Flags of Our Fathers" is due out this month, and Oscar-buzzers have been wondering when the film's Japanese-language companion piece, "Letters From Iwo Jima," might also get a release. Mark your calendars for February!

The idea has been intriguing ever since word got out of Eastwood's double-bill; while "Flags of Our Fathers" was to follow a trio of American soldiers present at the nation-solidifying flag raising at Iwo Jima, a second film entitled "Letters From Iwo Jima" would tell the story from the Japanese perspective. The films would be released within months of each other, giving audiences the chance to experience one moment in history (World War II) from both sides of the clash.

Ryan Phillippe and Jesse Bradford star in "Flags of Our Fathers"

Well, with "Flags of Our Fathers" coming out in less than two weeks (released jointly by Paramount and DreamWorks October 20), it seems it was time to set a date. "Letters From Iwo Jima" will debut in Japan first on December 9, then cross the Pacific to the U.S. for a February 9 release.

This essentially puts "Letters" out of the running for the Oscars, although industry types have Eastwood and Co. are gunning for "Flags" to nab a nomination. The script for "Flags" was written by William Broyles Jr. (Oscar-nominated for co-writing "Apollo 13") and Paul Haggis (Oscar-winner for last year's "Crash") and stars Ryan Phillippe, Adam Beach, and Jesse Bradford as three of the six men immortalized in the iconic Iwo Jima flag-raising photograph.

Click image for more from the flipbook of "Flags of Our Fathers"

The Japanese-language "Letters From Iwo Jima" was written by screenwriter Iris Yamashita and stars Japanese actors Ken Watanabe and Shido Nakamura. Steven Spielberg serves as producer on both "Flags" and "Letters."

For a glimpse of Eastwood's double vision, see the trailers for "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo Jima."

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(1-17 of 17 posts) | Reply

245_trioxin writes:
on Oct 13 2006 10:57 AM

i think that would be a great idea to run both films back to back. the fact that there is a movie made from the other perspective is wonderful as well. but if they were to do that that would cut profits for the box office. and i am sure that the studio would not want that

thomas of the living dead

(Reply to this)

Mikeal420 writes:
on Oct 13 2006 11:07 AM

Febuary!!! is the outlook really that bad, or do they think they will only sell tickets to a foreign language film if there is still enough buzz from the American Iwo Jima pic???

This is the first Hollywood pic I can think of since "All Quiet on the Western Front" that completly tells the story through our so-called "enemie's" perspective --and that film was in English with all Americans as cast)

They obviously want the American Iwo Jima pic to be ready for oscar time, why not wait a year on releasing the Japanese version to give it a chance also...

It can still sweep the Japanese awards though, I guess (if it is any good)

(Reply to this)

medicineman writes:
on Oct 13 2006 01:06 PM

In reply to this comment (#846506)
If Letters of Iwo Jima is good enough to win best picture next year, it being released in February won't matter. Silence of the Lambs was a February release and it won the Academy awards for best picture, best director, best actor, best actress amd best screenplay.

(Reply to this)

Mikeal420 writes:
on Oct 13 2006 01:49 PM

In reply to this comment (#846507)
MILLION DOLLAR BABY -dec 15
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING Dec 14
CHICAGO Dec 27
A BEAUTIFUL MIND Dec 21
AMERICAN BEAUTY- Oct 1
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE Dec 3
TITANIC Dec 19
THE ENGLISH PATIENT Nov 15
BRAVEHEART Sept. 15
SCHINDLER'S LIST- Dec 15
DANCES WITH WOLVES- Nov 9
RAIN MAN- Dec 19
THE LAST EMPEROR Dec 18
PLATOON- Dec 24

Early in the year, but not THAT early:
FORREST GUMP- July 6
GLADIATOR-May
UNFORGIVEN- Aug. 7

Exceptions-
Silence of Lambs, Driving Miss Daisy

This trend goes back many more decades than this, just go on google, type the name of an oscar winner and "theatrical release date" (it only wasted five min of my class time to make this list)

*what you should of said, and I might agree with you, is that winning an oscar is not what a film should look up to

(Reply to this)

WileyMan writes:
on Oct 13 2006 06:34 PM

In reply to this comment (#846508)
I don't mean to be picky but BRAVEHEART actually opened on May 24th. Because of all the Oscar-hype they re-released it later in the year. This exact same scenario could happen again if LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA generates the same buzz. I wouldn't count any movie out of the running if it truly is a good movie. In fact, it doesn't even need to be a good movie, look at CRASH; it was released on May 6th. Times are changing too. With DVDs and Online downloads in development, a movie�s release date is becoming less relevant.

(Reply to this)

medicineman writes:
on Oct 14 2006 06:32 AM

In reply to this comment (#846508)
I only said that a February movie can win.

(Reply to this)

unbreakable_samurai writes:
on Oct 15 2006 08:42 AM

I'm sure they will release it for like a weekend on one screen at the end of the year to make it eligible, than pull it untill February. I thought it was going to be called Red Sun, Black Sand which is a way cooler title. Whatever I'm looking forward to it.

(Reply to this)

frogleg writes:
on Oct 16 2006 07:55 AM

In reply to this comment (#846511)
I'd be surprised if they want both movies competing with each other for the same Oscars.
Oscars are a big deal to movie studios, but not as big as ticket sales. I think that's the reason the second movie is coming out in Feb. Why would they want to wait a whole year, when audiences might lose the freshness of the first movie?

(Reply to this)

Mikeal420 writes:
on Oct 16 2006 08:40 AM

considering the outlook of "Flag of Our Fathers", Im now convinced the "Letters" has a Febuary release because the outlook of that is bad as well. Febuary is a death-trap for movies and the studios know it

(Reply to this)

Now it's dark writes:
on Oct 16 2006 10:23 AM

The last movie released in February to win the oscar was Daredevil.

(Reply to this)

bkkramb writes:
on Oct 16 2006 10:32 AM

[b]What outlook?[/b]
There have only been 3 or 4 reviews from respectable film sources so far. I'll wait until more opinions come in before making a judgement and you should as well.

(Reply to this)

WiseGuy writes:
on Oct 16 2006 10:45 AM

Daredevil never won an oscar. Do your research! The last movie to be released in February and receive any kind of nomination was The Passion of the Christ. It was for cinematography.

(Reply to this)

Mikeal420 writes:
on Oct 16 2006 10:50 AM

In reply to this comment (#846515)
what is a repectable source-- the cream of the crop seem to mostly go by what's percieved as good, and ones who don't seem to just want to stand out

(Reply to this)

bkkramb writes:
on Oct 16 2006 09:26 PM

[b]Let me explain...[/b]
A respectable film source is a real critic such as those in the Cream of the Crop or Metacritic...not some internet nerd. You know exactly what I mean, I don't like all of the hack critics that Rottentomatoes lets on here. Let's face it..I;ve never done a study but look at the difference in the number of reviews some movies get while others get way more..that tells me a lot of hack critics just hit and miss with the films they rate, hence why they are hacks.

(Reply to this)

aconline writes:
on Oct 17 2006 10:32 AM

I think that both movies are going to be good. Clint Eastwood hasn't made a bad film since Blood Work, and that wasn't that bad. As for the Feb release date, screw it, who cares? Maybe this will be the movie to break the mold of Feb sucking. Maybe not. I think they should wait until the end of April, but, I will see it whenever they release it.

And on the topic of the current status, I personally don't even care what it is until it is over 50. Miami Vice was an 80+ until it hit 30ish. Then it struggled to stay at 50%. The Departed is one hell of a movie to be at 93% with the amount of reviews in on it. It is also one hell of a movie, period.

(Reply to this)

Now it's dark writes:
on Oct 17 2006 12:34 PM

In reply to this comment (#846516)
You're right, I was thinking of Elektra.

(Reply to this)

DariusVIII writes:
on Oct 20 2006 04:24 PM

In reply to this comment (#846520)
Lol. Hey and to the guy who made the list. ROTK was Dec. 17 man. Everyone knows that. I will agree, however, that the Academy has a short memory span and most films which are believed to have a shot at the Oscars are released later in the year. Spring is for all the shitty movies to come out, summer for all the pop-corn money making (lately sequals) blockbusters, and fall and winter for good, solid Oscar worthy dramas. Why that is, I don't know.

(Reply to this)

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