Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
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A single shot can end the war.
The story
After training at Camp Tarawa in Hawaii, the 28th Marine Regiment 5th Marine Division sails to invade Iwo Jima. Following a three-day naval bombardment, the Marines' amphibious landings secure a beachhead on February 19, 1945. During the advance on Mount Suribachi, Navy Pharmacist's Mate 2nd Class John "Doc" Bradley saves several Marines under fire. A platoon is ordered to the top to hoist a United States flag. Amidst the chaos, a group of men, including Private First Class Rene Gagnon and Sergeant Mike Strank, are photographed by Joe Rosenthal as they raise a second flag.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Following the amphibious landings on Iwo Jima in February 1945, Navy Pharmacist's Mate 2nd Class John "Doc" Bradley saves several Marines under fire during the advance on Mount Suribachi. A platoon is ordered to hoist a U.S. flag, but after the first is retrieved by the Secretary of the Navy, Colonel Chandler Johnson sends Private First Class Rene Gagnon up to replace it. Sergeant Mike Strank, Doc, Ira Hayes, Rene, Harlon Block, and Franklin Sousley are photographed by Joe Rosenthal raising the second flag. During the subsequent weeks of fighting, Strank, Hank Hansen, and Harlon are killed; Franklin is killed by machine gun fire, and Doc is wounded. Rosenthal's photograph becomes a popular propaganda tool, leading to an investigation where Rene identifies the men in the photo, eventually naming a reluctant Ira as the sixth man. Doc, Ira, and Rene are sent home on a bond tour, where Ira faces discrimination and alcoholism. After the war, Ira struggles with fame and alcoholism, eventually hitchhiking to Texas to tell Harlon Block's family he was in the photo. In 1954, the three survivors see each other one last time at the USMC War Memorial. Ira dies a year later; Doc finds success running a funeral home and tells his story to his son on his deathbed in 1994; Rene spends his life as a janitor.
- First release year
- 2006
- Runtime (minutes)
- 132
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Clint Eastwood
- Writers
- William Broyles Jr. · screenplay; Paul Haggis · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Ryan Phillippe · Pharmacist's Mate Second Class John Bradley; Jesse Bradford · Private First Class Rene Gagnon; Adam Beach · Private First Class Ira Hayes; John Benjamin Hickey · Technical Sergeant Keyes Beech; John Slattery · Bud Gerber; Paul Walker · Sergeant Hank Hansen; Jamie Bell · Private Ralph Ignatowski; Barry Pepper · Sergeant Michael Strank
- Genres
- war; drama
- Themes
- heroism; sacrifice; truth vs. propaganda; war's aftermath
- Tone and mood
- serious; patriotic; searing
- Premise and plot tags
- historical; war; biographical; non-fiction
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2000 book by James Bradley and Ron Powers
- Franchise connections
- Letters from Iwo Jima
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Globe · Directing · Nomination; Academy Award · Best Sound Mixing · Nomination; Academy Award · Sound Editing · Nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was shot back to back with Letters from Iwo Jima.; Jared Leto was originally cast as Rene Gagnon but had to back out.; The film was filmed almost entirely in Iceland and Southern California.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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