Flags of Our Fathers & Letters from Iwo Jima (Clint Eastwood, 2007)

[Antoine Doinel]

[Matt]

I'm looking forward to this (we've had a good run of WWII films in the past decade and Clint's really on a roll), but I'm looking forward to Red Sun, Black Sand even more. Is the plan still to release this one in October and RSBS in December?

[Antoine Doinel]

Yeah, I think I'm looking forward to RSBS even more as well. It's a tale that really hasn't been told on a such a large scale before and I think Eastwood is the right guy to do it. I'm hoping it will be as fascinating as I think it will be.

As for the release dates, I haven't heard anything otherwise, but the lack of a firm date on the one sheet makes me think they are leaving it open to shuffle around if they need to.

[Highway 61]

WB has a Japanese trailer out for both films here. It seems that RED SUN, BLACK SAND will be released in Japan in December as LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA.

I'm very excited about both of these films, but it's disappointing to see that Eastwood went with the overdone Spielberg/Kaminski WWII look here.

[kinjitsu]

Is the plan still to release this one in October and RSBS in December?

Flags of Our Fathers: 20 October 2006
Red Sun, Black Sand: December 2006 (TBA)

Eastwood is one hell of an ambitious septuagenarian. It certainly gives one hope...

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

WB has a Japanese trailer out for both films here. It seems that RED SUN, BLACK SAND will be released in Japan in December as LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA.

Apparently this is now the U.S. title as well. (There's already a book and documentary about Iwo Jima called Red Blood, Black Sand, which may account for the change.) Also, it hasn't been confirmed yet, but word is the U.S. release has been pushed back until at least January, although it'll be out in Japan and maybe some other countries by the end of the year.

[flyonthewall2983]

I'm very excited about both of these films, but it's disappointing to see that Eastwood went with the overdone Spielberg/Kaminski WWII look here.

In Clint's defense, a project like this requires a level of visualism that Clint has never really approached in the past. The only other war movie he did before this was mostly shot in barracks, offices and other rather mundane locations (Heartbreak Ridge).

I really hope Hans Zimmer scores this, btw. Or someone other than Clint, no offense to him as a musician. I'd settle on Niehaus because of his work with Clint obviously, and also his work under Jerry Fielding.

[kinjitsu]

it's disappointing to see that Eastwood went with the overdone Spielberg/Kaminski WWII look here.

Thanks for that link.

A minute is not much to go on, but from what I could tell, they haven't the look or feel of a Spielberg film, and if they were, Watanabe would be speaking English instead of Japanese.

I really hope Hans Zimmer scores this, btw. Or someone other than Clint, no offense to him as a musician. I'd settle on Niehaus because of his work with Clint obviously, and also his work under Jerry Fielding.

Eastwood's long time collaborator Lennie Niehaus has composed the score, thankfully, not Zimmer.

[rs98762001]

Eastwood's long time collaborator Lennie Niehaus has composed the score, thankfully, not Zimmer.

Zimmer is for the most part a hack, but his soundtrack for Malick's WW2 movie was undeniably beautiful.

[Highway 61]

A minute is not much to go on, but from what I could tell, they haven't the look or feel of a Spielberg film, and if they were, Watanabe would be speaking English instead of Japanese.

I hope you're right. Many of the shots did look black and white, but as far as I can tell most of them have the SAVING PRIVATE RYAN desturated colors.

[kinjitsu]

According to Cinematical's Martha Fischer, "the film's visual tone closely resembles that of Aleksandr Sokurov's The Sun, another movie about Japan at the end of World War II."

[Andre Jurieu]

According to Cinematical's Martha Fischer, "the film's visual tone closely resembles that of Aleksandr Sokurov's The Sun, another movie about Japan at the end of World War II."

Martha's interpretation of the visuals is interesting, but based on the trailer, it's still difficult not to see the similarities in cinematography between Eastwood's films and Saving Private Ryan - there seems to be a definite resemblance. Didn't Eastwood ask for Spielberg's advise prior to shooting these two films? Dreamworks is co-financing these films. Besides, The Sun took the visual technique to far greater extremes than Eastwood seems to be doing in these films, which I think is probably also due to Sokurov shooting on digital.

[kinjitsu]

Martha's interpretation of the visuals is interesting, but based on the trailer, it's still difficult not to see the similarities in cinematography between Eastwood's films and Saving Private Ryan - there seems to be a definite resemblance. Didn't Eastwood ask for Spielberg's advise prior to shooting these two films? Dreamworks is co-financing these films. Besides, The Sun took the visual technique to far greater extremes than Eastwood seems to be doing in these films, which I think is probably also due to Sokurov shooting on digital.

I thought that desaturation takes place either in-camera, or during postproduction through optical printing, bleach bypass, and/or digital color-correction and other techniques. Anyhow, whatever the similarities, desaturation has been around for ages, though every other filmmaker and his aunt seem to be using it lately, but with varying degrees of success. As far as I can tell, the films are alternately in black and white, color, as well as desaturated color. Whether Eastwood consulted with Spielberg or Kaminski seems moot since Tom Stern (who apprenticed with some of the best) has experimented with desaturation on several films, albeit conservatively.

[flyonthewall2983]

His work on The Thin Red Line was what I had in mind when I said it, along with The Last Samurai. As far as Hans being a hack, I'd have to disagree with that. I think the other Media Ventures composers who rip off his work, almost note by note sometimes, are collective hacks. But it was him who created that sound, and no one can say that anyone before him did what he did.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

Martha's interpretation of the visuals is interesting, but based on the trailer, it's still difficult not to see the similarities in cinematography between Eastwood's films and Saving Private Ryan - there seems to be a definite resemblance. Didn't Eastwood ask for Spielberg's advise prior to shooting these two films? Dreamworks is co-financing these films. Besides, The Sun took the visual technique to far greater extremes than Eastwood seems to be doing in these films, which I think is probably also due to Sokurov shooting on digital.

Looking at the trailer, the look may be indebted to Saving Private Ryan but the tone, to me, seems closer to The Thin Red Line. More meditative perhaps? We can only hope.

New trailer is online.

If that doesn't work, just go here and it's on the right of the front page.

[Antoine Doinel]

That link didn't work for me, so here's another link to the trailer.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

The NY Times ran a piece on the making of the movie: The Power of an Image Drives Film by Eastwood

[Antoine Doinel]

Here's the English two-in-one trailer for both films

[Roger_Thornhill]

One extremely negative review from Dave Poland for Flags of our Fathers, and one positive one.

[dadaistnun]

Eastwood's long time collaborator Lennie Niehaus has composed the score, thankfully, not Zimmer.

The last line of Variety's review:

The director himself composed the spare, effective musical score.

[Antoine Doinel]

According to IMDB, Eastwood did the score.

[Matt]

According to IMDB, this 12-year-old boy was in a Hungarian porn film.

[Andre Jurieu]

According to IMDB, this 12-year-old boy was in a Hungarian porn film.

That new avatar really works well with that post.

[kinjitsu]

Variety

[Antoine Doinel]

The Hollywood Reporter raves