Any sensitive man or woman who knows the depth of detail of the greatest battle in the WWII Pacific Theater, the "Battle for Iwo Jima" gets tears in their eyes not just for the incredible loss of Marines but startlingly enough, for the tragic, needless loss of the Japanese soldiers who had dug themselves deeply into the island's rock-like volcanic ground and fought to their deaths from bunkers, many remainders committing suicide in keeping with the then prevailing philosophy of war in Japan. <br /><br />One can almost feel the sadness coming from text written by invested historians even today, now more than 60 years after the event that began just before 2AM on 16 February 1945. <br /><br />This feature film bears the title of the book upon which it's based. The book was written by James Bradley, the son of Petty Officer John Bradley one of the flag raisers in the famous photo by photographer Joe Rosenthal. Roughly a year ago or so I sent around an email to friends about the flag raising photo and about Joe. Joe Rosenthal is now gone, having passed away this past August (2006). <br /><br />The author of the book was the son of a US Navy Corpsman (a medic, then rated as a Pharmacist's Mate) serving with the Fleet Marines whom history had placed at the point where the large flag was raised over Suribachi (a replacement flag for a smaller one raised shortly before).<br /><br />While I would argue a bit with Clint Eastwood about the lack of historical background data in his film I cannot argue about the quality of it. It stands as the best film depicting war or a battle that I have ever seen. <br /><br />What the film is about; the gap between those who fought the hellish and nightmarish battle and the remote, sometimes even supercilious perceptions of it by the mass public at large, those who just simply heard of the battle. The film pulls no punches when it comes to revealing this human riddle. <br /><br />There have been other films about this battle. One that comes easily to mind is about one of the other flag raisers, a Native American by the name of Ira Hayes. His tragic life was dramatized in the moving 1961 Delbert Mann feature film well portrayed in this serious turn by Tony Curtis (as Hayes). <br /><br />We have also had some superb anti-war films such as Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1957) set in WWI. <br /><br />This Clint Eastwood film takes its place among the best of this kind. It clarifies, instructs and above all it inspires us when we realize that such films that reveal the horrible truth about war can not only be made but celebrated by growing numbers of audiences. This towering film will receive much recognition as time plays out. It's a triumph in film-making.