[PenultimateManStanding]

I know that many of you share my enthusiasm for movies. I know that even Ayoob, who has said that peak oil moved him on from a connoisseur's life of appreciating fine entertainment, such as Clint Eastwood's contributions in this field, likes movies. To my mind, the two things that will be most sorely missed in the world to come are the personal freedom of movement that the automobile provides and movies. Peak oil doesn't make me want to watch movies less, it makes me want to see every one I can. Letters From Iwo Jima is one I watched today. It shows the whole bloody thing from the Japanese perspective, or at least apparently it does. Didn't seem to bother Japanese audiences who flocked to it in droves. This was another Clint Eastwood effort. Much lower budget than the other Iwo Jima Clint Eastwood film, The Flags Of Our Fathers. Yet it had more success. Very telling. I think people today dread the past and dread the future and long for nunc stans, the ever present now.

[Novus]

That film was mind blowing and I don't even like films. Very edgy and very good. I am surprised they made a film in Japanese for American audience.

[Hagakure_Leofman]

I have a copy of Letters from Iowa Jima, but I've yet to watch it...

The way that Eastwood shot these two films at the same time reminded me a little of the film Tora! Tora! Tora!. That film detailed the lead up and bombing of Pearl Harbour and was shown from both the US and Japanese perspectives. They even had separate Japanese and American directors tell each side separately before it was cut together. Originally, they approached the legendary Akira Kurosawa to direct the Japanese portion, though they lied to him about who was going to direct the US perspective, and when he found out, he had himself fired from the project.

Tora! Tora! Tora! was infinitely superior to that retarded Pearl Harbour with Ben Affleck. That stunk of revisionist, patriotism and constructivist propaganda. Not surprising coming from Jerry Bruckheimer.

Still, I wasn't that impressed by Flags of our Fathers. It wasn't one of Eastwood's best films. Those that have seen both, do you think Letters from Iowa Jima is better?

[midnight-gamer]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'd')o you think Letters from Iowa Jima is better?

[auscanman]

Letters from Iwo Jima is one of the best movies ever IMO.

Those Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima who were on Iwo Jima are kind of like us peak oilers right now. They knew that they would be overwhelmed by the US forces, but were determined to put up a dogged fight. We peak oilers know that peak oil will eventually decimate industrialized civilization, but we (or at least most of us) want to make sure we don't take the same pummeling that most will suffer.

[bodigami]

Actually I prefer downloading anime than going to see the usual crappy USAmerican movies. Right now I'm dowloading Code Geass. The setting of this series is an invasion of Britania (USA) to Japan, which is now called Zone 11. There are mechas, magic (mind control) and (human-like, sexy) aliens.

[Baldwin]

I liked it, too. I wish that more movies were produced from the axis perspective. I loved All Quiet on the Western Front (WWI) both book and movie. It was hard enough getting a classic from the German side in WWI. I'd like to see an equivalent for WWII.

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Baldwin', ' ') I'd like to see an equivalent for WWII.

[PenultimateManStanding]

So I saw Eastwood's other Iwo Jima movie, Flags Of Our Fathers. I think it's a marvelous and poignant look at the significance of Iwo Jima from the American side. The fraud of the two flag raisings and the propaganda use to sell war bonds. The guys who raised the second flag, because somebody didn't want somebody else to get the first one, made heroes and brought home to make speeches and sell bonds because the war effort was bankrupting the US Treasury. The sad story of Ira Hayes was told well. The Boswell Sisters singing rah rah patriotic songs. Now that I have seen them both, I have to rate them both excellent.

Johnny Cash - The Ballad Of Ira Hayes

[Fredrik]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Baldwin', ' ') I'd like to see an equivalent for WWII.

[Hagakure_Leofman]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'T')he sad story of Ira Hayes was told well. The Boswell Sisters singing rah rah patriotic songs. Now that I have seen them both, I have to rate them both excellent.

Johnny Cash - The Ballad Of Ira Hayes

[Eli]

I need to watch all of Letters from Iwo Jima. Great movie and I liked what I saw a lot better than Flags of OUr Fathers. The Japanese perspective is just much more interesting, the strange concepts about honor and duty is really interesting.