Lucybespro It is a performances centric movie

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

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!

James Hitchcock "Sands of Iwo Jima" is a patriotic war film of the type that was popular (in both America and Britain) in the years following the end of World War II. Although the war itself had been over for four years when it was made, by 1949 the Cold War had started, and the thought that America might soon be at war again may have been a factor in the popularity of films of this sort. It is notable that few patriotic war films were made in the immediate aftermath of World War I when it was widely, if erroneously, believed that the horrors of the trenches had made war a thing of the past; anti-war films were more popular during this period. Like a number of such films it follows a group of fighting men- in this case a squad of United States Marines- through the war, typically starting with their training and ending with some heroic engagement in which the unit acquit themselves with distinction. The engagement in this case is the famous Battle of Iwo Jima of February/March 1945 in which American forces succeeded in seizing control of a Japanese-held island, albeit at the cost of heavy casualties. A photograph of US Marines raising the Stars and Stripes over the island became an icon of American patriotism; this event is recreated in the film making it a "flag-waving" movie in the most literal sense. (The value of this victory has been doubted. It has been pointed out that Iwo Jima had little strategic value and that, given their overwhelming superiority in numbers and their complete control of the surrounding sea and air, it would have been virtually impossible for the Americans to have lost the battle. Needless to say, doubts of this nature are never raised in the film). We first meet the squad during training in New Zealand, where they are being put through their paces by tough-but-fair Sergeant John Stryker. Not all the men, however, appreciate Stryker's rigorous training methods. He is especially disliked by two of them. Private Al Thomas, who has tangled with Stryker in the past, regards him as tough-but- unfair. Private Peter Conway, who has joined the Marines for the sake of family tradition rather than out of any genuine enthusiasm, loathes him for more complicated reasons. Conway's father, who has been killed earlier in the war, was himself an officer in the Marines. Stryker served under him and greatly admired him, but Conway junior despised his father, whom he saw as cold and unfeeling, and transfers his hatred to Stryker, whom he sees as a man of a similar stamp. Needless to say, both Thomas and Conway eventually prove themselves heroes when the squad go into battle. A subplot deals with Conway's courtship of, and marriage to, Allison, a New Zealand girl. (At least, I presume Allison is a New Zealander, although Adele Mara plays her with an American accent). An attempt is made to give Stryker himself some sort of a back-story; we learn that he went through a traumatic divorce before the war and that he has become an alcoholic as a result. The scriptwriters, however, seem to regard his tendency to drink alcohol to excess as a mere personal foible which in no way detracts from his efficiency as a soldier. When his squad come across him dead drunk in the street they all- even those who dislike him- combine to hide him and protect him from the military police, never stopping to think whether a habitual drunkard is really the sort of man they want to lead them in combat. Today the battle scenes would seem fairly feeble, not only in comparison with something like "Saving Private Ryan" but also in comparison with later war films from the sixties and seventies. In the late forties, however, they probably seemed effective enough and aroused greater tension than comparable films made during the war itself. The casting of John Wayne, who himself had never served in the armed forces and was considered a draft dodger by some, was controversial, but the film nevertheless brought him his first Academy Award nomination for "Best Actor in a Leading Role". Wayne had a limited range as an actor, but could be very good within that range, as he is here, making Stryker entirely credible as a man whom others would willingly follow into battle, despite his personal weaknesses. He lost out on "Best Actor", however, to Broderick Crawford as Governor Stark in "All the King's Men"; ironically this was a role which Wayne himself had been offered but refused. "Sands of Iwo Jima" is a "Marmite Film" that will continue to divide opinion, even more than sixty years after it was made. Pacifists will doubtless hate it as a glorification of war. American patriots, especially those who share John Wayne's conservative politics, will love it as a celebration of heroism in a just cause. It is, however, overall a well-written, well-acted and generally well-made picture of men at war, if rather too gung-ho for my tastes. 7/10

edwagreen Excellent 1949 war film with John Wayne giving a fine performance as Sgt. Stryker, a tough leader in combat, but a man of deep convictions at heart and a kind one in the end. Wayne was nominated for a best actor Oscar here and deservedly lost to Broderick Crawford for "All the King's Men."Basic training was a real experience with Stryker as he used common sense to lead his men into battle.John Agar, first husband of Shirley Temple, shined in the role of an enlisted man, whose father expected more of him and was adored by the Stryker character. The two men learn to respect each other as is the case with Forrest Tucker in his role.