Letters from Iwo Jima: Film: B Extras: B-

Clint Eastwood outdid himself in 2006, directing two ambitious World War II films that explore a wide range of the aspects of the war, such as the influence of the American media on public support of the fight and the honor and loyalty of Japanese soldiers in hopeless combat. Unfortunately, the films themselves, "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima," don't nearly reach the heights of the greatest of World War II cinema for various reasons. Still, more so than "Flags," though, "Letters" is sprinkled with clearly visible flashes of brilliance. \nAdmittedly, the film has a few low points. The screenplay, credited to Iris Yamashita, is chock-a-block with emotional and combat cliches. It's hard to translate Japanese into subtitles that render the subtext of a complex story coherently to American audiences, and it doesn't help that Paul Haggis' and Yamashita's story contains more shameless expository dialogue than most installments of "As the World Turns." As with "Flags," the computer graphics work is blatantly obvious and oftentimes borders on distracting. \nStill, there's a reason "Letters" was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, and also a reason most every critic from New York to Tokyo praised it as the second coming of "Saving Private Ryan." General Kuribayashi is a study in understated ferocity, and several other actors turn in brave performances, including Kazunari Ninomiya as infantryman Saigo, and Tsuyoshi Ihara as celebrity-turned-commander Baron Nishi. \nThis two-disc edition is far from overflowing with features, but what's there is nothing to balk at. "Red Sun, Black Sand" is a slightly above-average "making of" exercise that finds Eastwood waxing sentimental about his cast and crew's efforts, and "The Faces of War" is a curious introduction to some of the real historical figures portrayed in the film. Features including media press conferences are accompanied by "Images from the Frontlines," a piece that deals with the film's sun-bleached cinematography. \nNo Clint Eastwood film except "Unforgiven" has ever floored me, and "Letters from Iwo Jima" isn't an exception. It's no easy task threading together a memorable war film, and you can't fault Clint Eastwood for trying -- twice.