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itsablog
eastwood's iwo jima project last modified: Tuesday, August 15, 2006 (10:53:17 PM) The most exciting film project I have read about in recent memory is actually inching closer to a release this fall/winter.
Clint Eastwood is directing and producing two movies simultaneously about the Battle of Iwo Jima. The big catch here is that one of the movies tells the story from the American perspective, while the other tells the story from the Japanese perspective. And yes, unlike some cheeseball western male fantasies (I'm looking at you, Memoirs), the screenplay for the Japanese side was written by a Japanese author and all the primary stars are Japanese. This is fantastic because: 1) well, the concept is just amazing. 2) the Pacific front seems to have missed the tide of war movie modernizations until now 3) it looks as if the people involved are really passionate about playing fair to both sides and pointing out the real winners in war (political deal-makers and media culture) and the losers (basically anyone holding a gun, alive or dead). Flags of our Fathers, the American half of the project, is an adaptation of a book by the same name. The movie will release on Oct 20th in the US and a week later in Japan. Red Sun, Black Sand, the Japanese half, will release Dec 9th in Japan -- the first world premiere of a big budget American film in Japan, ever -- and a week later in the US. This is most definitely one to keep an eye on. --- On a lighter note, Misaki Ito will be Kyoko Otonashi in the Maison Ikkoku adaptation. Did anyone *not* see this coming?
Well the same concept of telling the story from both prospectives was done in 1970 with the movie Tora Tora Tora. The USA story and production was done by Richard Fleischer while the Japanese part of the story was written & directed by Kinji Fukasaku & Toshio Masuda with assistance from Akira Kurosawa.
I''ve been keeping tabs on this ever since I heard him talk about it at Cannes a year ago. I like that this has no real studio influence, unlike Tora! Tora! Tora! From what I read, Kurosawa was not happy at all with how he was asked to direct his end, which is why he pulled out.
Ah, yeah, forgot to mention that. This was of course done before and Eastwood specifically mentions that in several interviews (no links handy) and compares their approach. But yes, there was *supposedly* a significant level of studio tinkering. The #2 and #3 bullet points are mostly what gets me excited about this. The commitment of two distinct movies is a huge plus. Check out the Japanese trailer: http://wwws.warnerbros.co.jp/iwojima-movies/trailer/large.html
Whoa! What a time to have Japan revisit its World War II History, as the rising tide of Ultra-Nationalism now requires the singing of Kimigayo at all school assemblies, Koizumi makes repeated visits to the Yasukuni shrine, and the NHK’s (National Television) “historical” Taiga dramas showcase hagiographic representations of the repressive Shinsengumi and Yoshitsune (a cautionary tale of how the mighty Heike were brought down by valuing other, “weaker” arts above their Martial Arts). I know they must feel threatened by the contrast between China’s economic growth and their own financial stagnation, as well as the perpetual threatening saber rattling from Pyongyang, so this will be very illuminating; but I’m also really glad I don’t have to watch this from a Chinese, Philippino or Korean perspective!
I really like this idea, it''s definitely one I''ll be seeing. I never saw Tora! Tora! Tora!, so this new one would be interesting to see it from two different perspectives. Thanks for the heads up Jason, because I haven''t heard of this before until you mentioned it.
Hey, I liked what I saw of Yoshitsune (about 6-7 episodes). But there''s two catches to that: 1) My knowledge of actual Japanese history is limited to whatever I read inside shrine brochures during my last visit and 2) I must admit that the reason why I picked up Yoshitsune at all was because I have a little crush on Satomi Ishihara. But I still do like fantasy historical epics, overall. I''m Filipino but I don''t hold a grudge or anything . Being Asian requires you to keep your stereotypes straight after all. Filipinos are dirty, Chinese are greedy, Japanese are arrogant, Vietnamese will swindle and/or kill you, etc. etc. Hatred between various East Asian cultures is just something that never struck me as either practical or obvious. *shrug*
Hmm…Rather than cultural stereotypes, I was referencing Regional Geopolitics and Revisionist History. More along the lines of: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05179/529696.stm or http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4416593.stm or http://www.nissan.ox.ac.uk/nops/nops35.pdf And I thought Yoshitsune was fun too, even if Takizawa Hideaki looked like he couldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag!~_^ |
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