Sands of Iwo Jima

1950 "A great human story... makes a mighty motion picture!"
7| 1h40m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 01 March 1950 Released
Producted By: Republic Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Haunted by personal demons, Marine Sgt. John Stryker is hated and feared by his men, who see him as a cold-hearted sadist. But when their boots hit the beaches, they begin to understand the reason for Stryker's rigid form of discipline.

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Reviews

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie
Megamind To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.
Cooktopi The acting in this movie is really good.
Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Leofwine_draca Having watched and been disappointed by Eastwood's FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS, I was eager to try another Iwo Jima story and this John Wayne one came up. The ultimate film detailing that battle is, of course, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA which portrays the Japanese perspective, but for the American viewpoint, SANDS OF IWO JIMA is the one to go for.This is an engaging and compelling portrayal of the battle full of realistic and gripping battle sequences full of fire, destruction, and explosion. It says something that the newsreel footage mixed in with the filmed footage doesn't stand out at all and it's very difficult to tell the two apart, so authentic-looking are the battle scenes in this.The plot is simplistic stuff, with a squad of soldiers working their way through the campaign, bickering and losing men as they do so. It's held together by John Wayne as the gruff Sergeant Stryker. Wayne plays one of his most likable characters in this film and he's a real delight, mixing sensitivity and brawn in a believable way. The supporting cast, including the likes of Forrest Tucker, are fine too. SANDS OF IWO JIMA is a film that doesn't feel dated at all despite the time that has elapsed since release and for an exploration of the American perspective in WW2 it does its job very well.
Edgar Allan Pooh . . . Iwo Jima's iconic raising of the Stars & Stripes by U.S. Marines was the only thing which kept America from negotiating an early spring 1945 cease-fire with Japan (most likely such a capitulation on our part would have required us to give the Land of the Rising Sun a 50% market share of our automobile and personal electronics business in 1945; this horrific outcome was delayed three decades by our victory on Iwo Jima and Japan's Unconditional Surrender in the face of Nuclear Holocaust). Clint's hypothesis is impossible to prove one way or the other, but what IS a known fact is that John Wayne's SANDS OF IWO JIMA is the main thing that kept cost-cutting Congressional Republicans from DISBANDING the U.S. Marine Corps by 1950. Without SANDS, we could not have experienced FULL METAL JACKET, Charles Whitman, the barracks in Beirut, Lee Harvey Oswald, or Gomer Pyle. "Hoo-Rah" would not have become the catch-phrase of W.'s presidency, and we would have had to think twice about invading Iraq (or Grenada, for that matter). SANDS features the "Marine Hymn" sung or played off-and-on throughout its duration. The key phrase of this verse is "To keep our Honor clean." Thanks to SANDS, the USMC has remained on the job these past 65 years, just like those Tidy Bowl ad "scrubber bubbles," keeping America's Honor as clean as possible. It's sort of frightening to think of what our Honor would look like today if not for SANDS and our still-in-business Marines!
Theo Robertson I once saw a documentary about John Wayne and something surprised me . Not the fact John Wayne never saw active service because we all know that while James Stewart was bombing the heart out of Nazi Germany as a squadron leader and Rod Steiger lied about his age to join the US Navy the Duke decided to help the allied war effort by making films in Hollywood which if one is to be honest had the same effect on destroying fascism the battle of Stalingrad and the atomic bomb combined . In April 1945 when Hitler herd Big John was going to make yet another flag waver he pulled out a gun and blew his brains out . There's no evidence of this but it's an established fact and who needs the Red Army when you've got John Wayne making movies . So no what surprised me about this BBC documentary is that the proud United States Marine Corps show THE SANDS OF IWO JIMA to all recruits as part of basic training ! A bit puzzling but it could be worse and could have shown them THE GREEN BERETS instead . I'm also guessing the marine recruits are a bit thankful to escape beastings for a couple of hours and enjoy some escapist fantasy cunningly disguised as a war drama Sorry old boy but this limey thinks this while not being a bad film doesn't really perceive it as being a good one either . It crams in as much cliché as is humanly possible . I suppose the cliché of a tough as nails almost inhuman drill sergeant with a heart of gold might have been less unconvincing in 1949 but since it's been used so often since then it's almost seems a war film isn't complete without one . There are also a few jarring scenes where the action cuts from an obvious studio set to real life footage . This jarring quality also extends to real life marines who fought in the battle playing real life marines . Their courage is beyond comprehension but their acting skills are lacking and are every bit as wooden as the Duke . One wonders if the praise this film constantly receives might be down to jingoism . You don't like this film ? Does that mean you hate the USMC , Uncle Sam and capitalist democracy itself ? I don't think it does but I do know a mediocre movie with a wooden film star when I see one and this is one of them
Maciste_Brother A ridiculous propaganda war movie with a hot-headed sergeant who enjoys nothing but to fight, clobber, duke it out with his soldiers whenever he feels like it without any repercussions. I was actually into the movie but after the 4 or 5th fight between Stryker and one of his subordinates, I couldn't get into it anymore. Certainly after Stryker (John Wayne) fights with Thomas (Forrest Tucker) and Thomas is fine with it, the two men talking to each other as if nothing had happened. The film's credibility, already stretched to the limit with the typical Hollywood war-time propaganda, was thrown out the window with that fight. Yes, Wayne is a manly man and I'm sure soldiers fight with each other but this was ridiculous, veering into the realm of fetish. I mean if your sergeant drags you in the middle of the forest and starts pummeling your face just because of some disagreement but then once the fight is over, the man at the receiving end doesn't complain and is fine and dandy with it, well, the homoerotic subtext suddenly becomes clear. The fighting, btw, is not shown as horseplay. Who cares about fighting the enemy with a sergeant like Stryker? This kind of behaviour wouldn't have been tolerated in reality but because this a John Wayne fantasy based on some real characters/events, well the machismo has be flowing in order to keep audiences entertained and what's more entertaining than seeing John Wayne getting his kicks and showing who's on, eh, top? Seriously underwhelmed by this so-called classic.