World War II · Film · 2006
Letters from Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima seen from the Japanese side: a homesick baker turned private and the cultivated general who knows the island cannot be saved, dug into tunnels waiting for the Americans.
Where it happened
Follow the story across 3 places.
Stop 1: Iwo Jima beaches and tunnels
Saigo is digging useless beach trenches when Kuribayashi arrives and orders the garrison underground, to the anger of his officers.
Stop 2: Mount Suribachi
Key location
After days of bombardment the Marines land; cut off on the mountain, Saigo's unit is ordered to kill itself rather than retreat.
Stop 3: Northern caves, Kuribayashi's last stand
Pushed back to the north of the island, the last defenders prepare a final night attack while Saigo is told to burn the documents.
What really happened
Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi took command of Iwo Jima in June 1944. Knowing no fleet or air cover would come, he abandoned beach defence and had his roughly 21,000 men dig some 18 kilometres of tunnels and bunkers so they could bleed the invaders for as long as possible.
US Marines landed on 19 February 1945 and the island was declared secure on 26 March. Almost the entire Japanese garrison died, with only about 216 taken prisoner, while the Americans suffered more than 26,000 casualties, including nearly 7,000 dead. The film is built on real letters found on the island and on Kuribayashi's own; Saigo and the other soldiers are fictional, and the general's exact end remains unknown.
Where to watch
Checking streaming services…
Full details
- Original title
- Letters from Iwo Jima
- Directed by
- Clint Eastwood
- Countries
- United States
- Languages
- Japanese, English
- Released
- 2006
- Period
- –
- Theaters of war
- Pacific
- Themes
- Combat
