See a Problem?
Preview — Picture Letters from the Commander-in-Chief by Tadamichi Kuribayashi
Comprised mostly of personal letters from Kuribayashi to his family, Picture Letters from the Commander in Chief offers readers a uni..more
Be the first to ask a question about Picture Letters from the Commander-in-Chief
Books and Stories Filmed by Clint EastwoodMore lists with this book..
Picture Letters is so unlike anything else I have read that it is difficult to classify using standard terms. The man who will be promoted to General after his honorable death was here writing letters to his family, for the most part, from America. He came to America as part of his training, and visited Mexico and Canada, as well as many parts of the USA where he stayed for about two years. But, throughout this time, he painstakingly drew illustrated letters to his five yea..more
General Tadamichi Kuribayashi was the Commander of Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Chichijima, and Hahajima at the end of the war. Forces under his command held Iwo Jima against the USMC for 35 days, and he himself was killed in the battle.
In the late 1920's, then Captain Kuriba..more
It gives you an insight on who General Kuribayashi was and made him an officer, a father and a human being.
May 03, 2010
May 17, 2015
Jan 02, 2015
Feb 17, 2014
Mar 25, 2016
See a Problem?
Preview — Letters from Iwo Jima by Kumiko Kakehashi
Kumiko Kakehashi's heart rending account is based on letters written home by the doomed soldiers on the island, most family..more
More lists with this book..
The book only made me tear up a couple of times, mo..more
You can live normally for a while then lose it horrifically for a cause, like your country’s war, then after many years be remembered and turned into a film by Clint Eastwood or some such Hollywood guy looking for some nice stories they can recreate on screen and win Academy awards for.
Before the war, Lt. General Kuribayashi Tadamichi stayed in the US for about two years and had seen with his own eyes how nice, normal and likeable the average Americans are and how far..more
I just finished watching FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS *which is told from the Americans perspective*. I thought it was an ok movie. But I'm half an hour into this movie and I'm already loving it more! Sure, Ken Watanabe *gorgeous man* softened me up to the idea of giving it a go, but I was also very curious to s..more
The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.
Ken Watanabe: General Kuribayashi
(Review of film, which was similar to the book, although obviously more detail provided..)
A film with powerful, historical significance. Told from the side of the Japanese as they pr..more
I think I'd rather have just read t..more
This time it was filled with books, including this one. My father wasn't an avid book reader, so for him to have bought this book (inside the cover he wrote where he bought it and when) and read it cover to cover, is an important clue to how much he enjoyed the subject matter.
I have recollections of..more
This book is written by a Japanese journalist, yet is elegant in expression while being well re..more
Books like this are there to remind us that there are actually several.
The letters of Lt. General Kuribayashi are not included in there entirety but rather quoted as inserts into the main text as it tells it's story. Alongside interviews with survivors and family members, these add to a well researched book about a very singular, a-typical Japanese officer and a 'quality human being' to boot, and therein lies the authors' aim.
Obviously writte..more
Those who have heard of the small island off the coast of Japan known as Iwo Jima have more than likely seen the famous Clint Eastwood film 'Letters from Iwo Jima' that depicts the epic thirty-six day confrontation between Japanese and American forces in 1945. While the film version itself is a masterpiece in it's own rights, I was most inclined to read the actual memoirs of the Japanese defenders who courageously fought and endured untold hardships thousands of miles from home. From her first b..more
Instead of doing a defense of Iwo Jima in the traditional way, he did it his way, literally, and his way produced far more American casualties than if he had followed tradition. The book reveals a lot about the..more
The real of strength of this book is the personal and direct insight it gives of the mentality of the Japanese Imperial Forces at the time. It certainly fills in alot of gaps in my own understanding as to why they were so brutal at tim..more
Written by a Japanese historian, there are a few small areas where the American military is lambasted, especially in regards to the fire bombing of Tokyo, and this writer did fail to mention some of the muti..more
What I liked most were the examples of 'last letters', which had to be patriotic and stoic else they were censored, and the demonstration of the general's manipulative 'kindness' - only the soldiers' loyalty to him, and not only the emperor, would have kept them from suicide. He..more
The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.
Baron Nishi
- Clint Eastwood
- Iris Yamashita
- DreamWorks SKG
- DreamWorks SKG
- Warner Bros.
- Malpaso Productions
- WEBSITE
- WWWS.WARNERBROS.DE/LETTERSFROMIWOJIMA/
- CAST
The island of Iwo Jima stands between the American military force and the home islands of Japan. Therefore the Imperial Japanese Army is desperate to prevent it from falling into American hands and providing a launching point for an invasion of Japan. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi is given command of the forces on the island and sets out to prepare for the imminent attack. General Kuribayashi, however, does not favor the rigid traditional approach recommended by his subordinates, and resentment and resistance fester among his staff. In the lower echelons, a young soldier, Saigo, a poor baker in civilian life, strives with his friends to survive the harsh regime of the Japanese army itself, all the while knowing that a fierce battle looms. When the American invasion begins, both Kuribayashi and Saigo find strength, honor, courage, and horrors beyond imagination.
SIMILAR MOVIES
- The Tuskegee Airmen
1995 •106 min - Bloody Sunday
2002 •107 min - A Bridge Too Far
1977 •175 min - Zulu
1964 •138 min
The movie is accurate. There were people on both sides of the war who at times showed kindness.
Labeling all the Japanese soldiers as people who tortured POWS would be like saying all American soldiers in Vietnam killed and rape innocent Vietnamese. Or all American soldiers in Cuba tortured POWS from the wars in the Middle East. You can't group people together like that.
This movie shows better than any other film that there's really no good guys or bad guys when it comes to war. War is just pointless.
The movie is not supposed to be a documentary so the people who bash it for little details should go rent a documentary if thats what they want to see.
Also, Clint Eastwood deserves major credit for telling both sides of the war. Too many war movies always show the enemy as 'heartless monsters' when it reality its never like that.
This is without a doubt the best movie of the year. Make sure you go see it.
Letters From Iwo Jima Book
Iwo Jima Videos
FAQs
Letters from Iwo Jima portrays the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and is a companion piece to Flags of Our Fathers (2006) (2006), which depicts the same battle from the American viewpoint. Both films are directed by Clint Eastwood. Duralast jump starter 700. The movie focuses on a platoon of Japanese soldiers, commanded by Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe), under orders to defend to their deaths Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi from U.S. attack. Edit (Coming Soon) Velaikaran songs download masstamilan.
• Was awarded the young achievers of India award 2007, by India today, a leading magazine for his outstanding performance in Radio and TV news media in 2007. • Honoured with Santhome awards 2008. • He has motivated 3,00,000 students in 5 years as a human value communicator and key note speaker. • Got awards, the prestigious award given by for his outstanding performance as a Presenter for the years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012 • Got selected as India’s special Representative to participate in the International Health Conference (IAS) held at Sydney, Australia in 2007. Vijay tv neeya naana latest. • Honoured with Bharath Awards for Best Anchor • Outstanding young Indian award by JCI () in 2008.
Letters from Iwo Jima is based on a screenplay by Japanese-American screenwriter Iris Yamashita. She based her screenplay on two nonfiction books: (1) 'Gyokusai Soshireikan' no Etegami [Picture Letters from the Commander in Chief] (2002) by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, and (2) So Sad to Fall in Battle: An Account of War (2005) by Kumiko Kakehashi. Edit (Coming Soon)
- Is seeing 'Flags of Our Fathers' important for understanding this movie?
To understand it? No. Both films can be viewed as standalone movies. However, it's better to watch them both (no matter the order), because the point of making them was to show different points of view of one event. Edit (Coming Soon)
Iwo Jima (now Iwo To) is a volcanic Island in the northwest Pacific Ocean south of Japan and east of Taiwan. Edit (Coming Soon)
- Why was Iwo Jima such an important island during World War II?
Although sparsely inhabited, Iwo Jima was the site of several airfields that hindered U.S. bombing missions to Tokyo. Once the bases were secured, it was believed that the U.S. would use the bases for an invasion of the Japanese mainland. Edit (Coming Soon)
After burning the documents and burying the letters, Private Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) seeks to rejoin Kuribayashi and his troops only to find Kuribayashi dying of the wounds he suffered during the final surprise attack and Lieutenant Fujita (Hiroshi Watanabe) killed by a sniper. With his last breaths, Kuribayashi asks Saigo whether Iwo Jima is still Japanese soil (yes) and rrequests to be buried where no one can find his body. He then shoots himself with the M1911, and Saigo drags off the body for burial. Meanwhile, a US patrol finds Fujita's body, and one Marine picks up Fujita's katana while another tucks Kuribayashi's M1911 into his belt. They search the area and find Saigo hiding, still carrying the burial shovel. Saigo is ready to surrender until he notices the M1911 tucked in the Marine's belt. He goes berserk and begins swinging his shovel at the Marines until one of them knocks Saigo unconscious with the butt of his rifle. When Saigo awakens, he finds himself lying on a stretcher amid other wounded soldiers waiting to be transported by 'the enemy.' He looks up to see the red rising sun in the east. The final scene cuts back to 2005 where the Japanese archeologists are digging up the sack of letters Saigo buried 61 years earlier. Edit (Coming Soon)
- Was 'Letters from Iwo Jima' actually filmed on Iwo Jima?
It was filmed mostly in Barstow and Bakersfield in California. A skeleton crew was allowed only one day to make on-location shots on Iwo Jima, and that was only after being given special permission from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, because more than 10,000 missing Japanese soldiers still rest under the soil. Edit (Coming Soon)