Customer Reviews

Sands of Iwo Jima

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1 star:		(3)

 

 

"Sands of Iwo Jima" was the first movie I ever saw in which John Wayne played a character who actually died, which was certainly one of the more shocking deaths I can remember ever seeing in a film. Wayne plays Sgt. John Marion Stryker and since Wayne's real name was Marion Michael Morrison there seems to be an additional level of identification between actor and character here, while the power of the name "Stryker" is obvious. Stryker seems a bully to the green recruits he is training to be U.S. Marines in 1943. When the men of the rifle squad learn that Stryker's wife had taken their son and left him they think they know the reason why the man who was once the epitome of the tough Marine has become such a martinet.

Of course when Stryker and his men hit the beach at Tarawa and are fighting for their lives against the Japanese troops defending the island, they understand that his hard lessons are the difference being life and death in combat. Then comes the last hard nut to crack of the islands occupied by the Japanese, the volcanic island of Iwo Jima. As the officer briefing the troops says, "nobody knows exactly what they've got on this island, but they've had forty years to put it there." Director Allan Dwan takes advantage of actual combat footage from the documentaries "With the Marines at Tarawa" and "To the Shores of Iwo Jima" to provide an added dimension of realism to the battle sequences. The reenactment of the flag raising on Iwo Jima involved Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, and John Bradley, the only three Marines in the celebrated photograph who survived the battle.

Since this is a Hollywood war movie Stryker's rifle squad consists of not just new recruits but a few veterans, including Al Thomas (Forrest Tucker), an old enemy who is perfectly willing to bad mouth the sergeant at every opportunity, even after he is taken out behind the tents by Stryker to be reminded who is running the outfit. The recruit who absorbs all of this venom the most is young Peter Conway (John Agar), whose father was Stryker's Commanding Officer at Guadalcanal. The old man felt his son was too soft to be a Marine (he reads books and went to college) and the kid resents the particular interest Stryker is taking in his training. Even when Stryker saves Conway's life when the kid is too busy reading a love letter to notice a live grenade gets loose during a training exercise, Conway refuses to show gratitude. So in addition to their relationship and sergeant and private Stryker and Conway are playing out their own familial relationship problems with each other as well.

It is in battle that Stryker is at his best, blowing up a Japanese bunker to save trapped Marines, and once he proves himself to be a warrior god his squad, now tested in battle, finally becomes a true band of brothers. But "The Sands of Iwo Jima" has the elements of a Greek tragedy and at the moment of his apotheosis the hero must fall. Adding insult to injury the blow comes from behind and the shot of a bullet hole beneath Stryker's stenciled name on the back of his fatigues is even more powerful than the reenactment of the raising of the second American flag on Mt. Surabachi.

This is not the best war movie of 1949; that honor goes to William Wellman's "Battleground," which remains one of the very best of the best in the World War II genre. Wayne was nominated for Best Actor, the only other time he was up for an Oscar besides "True Grit," although he arguably gave a better performance that same year in his previous film "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon." Despite the pair of strong performances by the Duke the Academy Award went to Broderick Crawford for "All the King's Men," but "Sands of Iwo Jima" remains Wayne's best WWII movie and one of the few that stands up with his classic westerns."

"The Sands of Iwo Jima" is arguably one of the greatest recruiting tools the US Marine Corps has ever had, and the image of John Wayne as tough as nails Sergeant John M. Stryker can still be seen throughout the fleet. Yet Sergeant Stryker is a flawed man: a lousy husband, a negligent father, and a near alcoholic who has already been busted in rank. His men hate him, and he doesn't care. His fate is nothing heroic. Sergeant Stryker is certainly a brave man, an able squad leader, and fine Marine, but he is not portrayed as John Rambo. John Wayne turns what could have been a cartoon character into something human and understandable.

The movie has its flaws: weak supporting characters and a pointless romance. Yet, in its day, its battle scenes were praised for their realism. Despite the bashing John Wayne received recently for his WWII films glorifying war, "The Sands of Iwo Jima is still one of the finest war movies ever made. Yes, there is blatant flag-waving, but how can you have a movie about Iwo Jima without the raising of the flag on Suribachi? Not only does this movie recreate that epic moment, but actually got the three surviving men, who did the real flag rising, to recreate it for the movie.

It is difficult to decide if the Duke is at his best in westerns or war pictures, but the Sands of Iwo Jima is Wayne at his hard-hitting, flag waving best.

The story follows U.S. Marine Corps sergeant John Stryker from a stint as a boot-pusher through the brutal battle on the slopes of Mount Suribachi. The troops include everything you'd expect in a World War II movie; the smart-mouthed, know-it-all rich kid; a street-wise hispanic kid from a tough neighborhood; a pleasure-loving goof off and just about every other stereotype of the American fighting man you can dream up. Of course, the Duke is there to guide them with just the right combination of verbal wisdom and right-crosses. There's even a healthy serving of sentimentality to round out the tour of cliches.

Nonetheless, the Sands of Iwo Jima rises above its predictability to be a solidly entertaining action film and a rousing tribute to the tenacity, sense of self-sacrifice and fighting spirit of the Marine Corps. Despite its rampant and obvious emotionalism, you can't help but feel a lump in your throat as The Shores of Tripoli is played to segue from the final scenes into the closing credits.

Like most Wayne pictures, the emphasis here is on the action, and the movie provides plenty of it, mixing actual combat footage, stock film and original cinematography into a tightly knit, effective product.

This may not be the best picture John Wayne ever made, but it's way up the list. Highly recommended for anyone who loves action films, Mom, the Flag and Apple Pie, or the Duke himself.

I feel that this is one of John Wayne's best! He plays a tough Commander with a soft spot for the mother and baby in the picture. This is a true classic! A must own for every Wayne fan!

Although my first thought would not classify this as a recruiting film, the movie does just that. Within the story we see a few people who are trying to earn respect from loved ones, the fellow soldiers, or themselves. This fits most of the themes for WWII movies starring John Wayne. If the formula works, don't mess with it.

A hard-core Marine, played by John Wayne, has seen a lot of action, but he has also lost quite a bit of rank due to a problem with getting a bit too drunk on his off duty time. This drinking comes from his trying to deaden the pain from the estrangement from his young son.

One of his squad is having trouble dealing with his world also. His father was a famous commander who wanted to see his son be a brave soldier. His trouble with his family leads to friction between him and Wayne.

One soldier gets his buddies killed or injured due to his taking a break from the battle. From this, he must try to regain his respect for himself.

All these men fight their inner battles as they fight the outer ones. This movie is a tribute to duty and honor. I would recommend watching this movie.

No one ever gave a performance in the 1940's about men at war like John Wayne! Sands Of Iwo Jima was the first film to give full credit to the Marines. By the time 1949 had come around (when this film was released) every branch had several films made about there own. Only the Marines had a few before, and they were far and few between each other. The film starts out as Cpl.Dunne (Arthur Franz) who is our narrator, informs us about his rifle squad. His squad saw action on Guadalcanal and from there on were battle harden Marines. Only himself Pfc. Bass (James Brown) and tough as nails Sgt. Stryker (John Wayne) survived to fight another day. When the squad is sent to New Zealand to recieve even more training. The new replacements just from the states arrive. Cpl. Thomas (Forrest Tucker), who already knows Stryker and hates him. The Flynn brothers from the city of Brotherly Love, who fight all the time (Richard Jaeckel and William Murphy.) and Pfc. Conway (John Agar) who's father fought on the "Canal" with Sgt. Stryker, he is only there because of "tradition." But the person that helps shape the film as a supporting actor is Pfc. Benny Regazzi (Wally Cassell) who gives a better than note worthy performance. Regazzi always carries a flag tucked into his shirt to raise over the island once it has been secured, but is always too late. The new formed squad heads to Tarawa, this is where the new state side men get there taste of combat. They go up against Japanese Marines, thats the best they got. From the begining Stryker and Conway go at it all the time. Conway who hated his father for more than one reason, finds another reason to hate Stryker because of his admiration for Conways late father. Conway falls in love with a girl Allison Bromley (Adele Mara) and finds a reason to come back from the war. But in the end he can't help but hear a voice in the back of his mind saying he might not return to her. But he along with his men start a slow relationship of respect torward Stryker. Great editing is used to mix real combat footage with the actors in the film. In some places it is so real, one has to look closely to tell them apart. Even then you can't at times. Wayne's performance earned him along overdue Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Although he did not win. What he gave us was a believable, flawed, loving and troubled man at the same time. This war movie has stayed at the top of many list, and it is still loved to this day. Get the original black and white version. The color one just doesn't do it! Grade:B+

Sergeant Stryker (John Wayne) must prepare his men for combat. He does! He subjects his men to rough bayonet drills and other forms of combat.

Many modern war movies are sanitized of the realities of war. Not this one! There are numerous scenes of soldiers suffering and dying. There is a scene where a Jewish soldier says his last prayers in Hebrew. There is no happy ending for Sergeant Stryker himself.

The viewer sees the progression of the US island-hopping campaign. The islands of Tarawa and Iwo Jima are seized from the Japanese. In each case, there first is the "softening" of Japanese positions by massive bombing by airplanes and shelling from battleships. Then comes the invasion by amphibious craft. The US soldiers are under constant fire. They must crawl from one hiding place to another in their advance against Japanese positions. The Japanese have a habit of jumping out of their hiding places in caves and attacking unsuspecting Americans from behind. The entrenched Japanese have to be driven out by bazookas and flame throwers. Some of the latter are hand-held, whereas others are tank-mounted. Old-fashioned field phones are used for communication.

This old movie includes actual combat footage!

Iwo Jima was one of the most bloody battles of the Pacific war. Thousands of Japanese and American soldiers lost their lives fighting over this island which was barely five miles long and two miles wide. Republic Pictures produced this timeless movie about that battle. John Wayne gives a stirring performance as Sergeant John Stryker, a tough-as-nails yet compassionate marine who is trying to mold his squad of raw recruits into a fighting machine. John Agar stars as PFC Peter Conway, a college-educated marine who truly dislikes Stryker and his tactics. However, over the course of the film, Conway develops a genuine respect and friendship for Stryker. Forrest Tucker does a marvelous job as PFC Al Thomas, one of the few combat veterans in the squad.

The movie begins with the marines training in Hawaii. After completing their training, the squad is sent as part of the invasion force of the island of Tarawa. I found some mistakes made by the producers dealing with this part of the movie. In the film, the landing craft are seen driving directly up to the beach and discharging their men. This is inaccurate. In reality, the marines who actually invaded Tarawa were forced to deploy from their landing craft as far as one half mile from the beach due to a low tide which didn't allow the amphibious craft to get close to the beach.

After the Tarawa invasion, the squad goes back for more training and replacements. Finally, it was on to Iwo Jima. The actual battle scenes on Iwo Jima only last about 15 to 20 minutes, but the fighting was very realistic, especially the flag raising on Mt. Surabachi. The three surviving flag raisers, Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, and John Bradley, actually took part in the flag raising in the movie.

I enjoyed this movie very much. The colorized version was especially good, although some of the colors looked strange. John Wayne, John Agar, Forrest Tucker, and the entire cast helped bring the war in the Pacific and especially Iwo Jima to life. This rates as one of John Wayne's best performances. For more information about Iwo Jima, I recommend the books "Iwo Jima" by Bill Ross and "Flags of our Fathers" by James Bradley.

John Wayne is at his best as Sargeant Striker, the veteran Marine who must whip his young marines into a fighting unit. The tough wayne never lets up and is the leader to the end. One of the few films that Wayne dies in. A strong cast and story that takes you into the life of a WWII marine. This one made Wayne a star. Must see.

I first saw this movie as a child in black and white, and I still consider it one of the best films for a night of quality time with my popcorn, recliner, and the phone off the hook. I detest the colorized version. I don't think it was colorized correctly, if there is such a way.
The Sands of Iwo Jima combines all of the elements for a great movie, and does it well. It has John Wayne,(not much more needed),it has action, it has romance,(that isn't too sappy for a war movie), it has Forrest Tucker pre-F-Troop, and it has the most important element, some good ole' fashioned American whup- [but] on the enemy...
If you like a good movie, this is an essential for your library.