Year of Eastwood #50

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

Starring: Ken Watanabe
Directed by Eastwood

In what will probably be remembered as one of Clint’s most intriguing (perhaps controversial) projects, he followed up Flags of Our Fathers with Letters from Iwo Jima.

The film presents the other side of World War II, from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers, stationed on the island with virtually no prospect of returning to their homeland alive. The movie was based upon actual letters written by the soldiers to their loved ones, knowing many of them would not be received before their death.

The film presents an interesting look into a different culture and the pride and traditions of an army that was considered an evil empire. Obviously, the men on both sides of the battle fronts weren‘t that different from one another. They both were fighting bravely for their countries and both had families back home that they desperately wanted to return to see again.

It was a risky proposition for Clint to take on a film about the Japanese struggle against the U.S. One that I’m sure would shock many Clint fans in the 70‘s with his stubborn, gun-blazing attitude, but Clint wanted to portray the another side of the story. While our brave soldiers were battling to raise that American flag atop the island, there were men battling for their own purpose.

There have been many Japanese films made about World War II, but like many others, my exposure to Asian films has been very limited. By directing this film, Clint exposed millions of Americans to the lives that were also destroyed by this conflict. Lives that may be formed on a tradition much different than ours, but similar in many other aspects.

The Japanese soldiers were exhausted and would question the decisions of their superiors much the same any of us would. The soldiers had been fed misconceptions about their enemy, just as American soldiers were. And these soldiers were committed to fighting with honor and valor, just as our troops have been trained to do.

Of course, the honor and tradition involves aspects that we can’t quite understand - like the whole kamikaze nonsense. Soldiers willing to take their own lives in an act of pride. A concept that confused our nation once again after the terrorist attacks on 9/11. As the battle surged on, many Japanese soldiers took orders to kill themselves in the face of defeat. Some of them chose not to, instead falling back with their other soldiers to continue the fight.

Letters from Iwo Jima received multiple Academy Award nominations, including the fourth for Clint as director. There was concern over Clint, or any American, telling the story of an enemy in battle, but the film went on to be a huge success in Japan. Unfortunately, the film was unable to garner as much attention in the U.S.

Year of Eastwood #49

Flags of Our Fathers (2006)

Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford
Directed by Eastwood

Clint wants to set the record straight with Flags of Our Fathers. That iconic image you see of the brave U.S. soldiers raising the American flag atop the treacherous terrain of the desolate Japanese island is a big lie.

Not that these heroes didn’t fight an intense, bloody battle to seize control in the war against the Japanese. No, Clint goes to detailed lengths to demonstrate the struggle, and the Americans lost many lives in order to put an end to the great World War, but that photo doesn’t tell the whole story.

Back home, the U.S. was struggling to finance the war. The country had just begun recovering from the Great Depression when the U.S. was pulled into World War II when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. After years of struggle, American forces had finally pushed back Nazi forces in the battle over in Europe. But the troops were exhausted and the money was running out. The photo that came out of Iwo Jima of the troops raising the flag was seen as a golden opportunity to increase morale of the country and encourage it’s citizens to reach deeper into it’s pockets to invest in the campaign.

As the image began to circulate back home, the government decided what was needed was for some of these brave soldiers to come back and make personal appearances in the states to encourage patriotic Americans to buy more bonds. But as anyone who has examined the photo can tell you, it’s not easy to identify any of the actual faces in the photo. Add to that, many of the soldiers in the photo had been killed later during the ongoing conflict. Then questions began to surface about the validity of the actual photo.

So here’s the rest of the story, Mr. Harvey … there was an initial surge to the top of the hill and the men indeed raised a flag at the top which signaled to the other troops that victory was within reach. Pictures were taken of the events. But in a fine example of military intelligence, an officer ordered that the flag be recovered for his own collection and replaced with a second flag. So when later troops scaled the mountain and reached the peek, the orders were followed and another flag was put in its place. Once again, the photographer recorded the events. No one figured the photos would become such an icon of American history. And the photo that became the icon was in fact taken during the second raising of the flag.

Once the soldiers were identified in the photo, three of them were returned to the U.S. and unknowingly were swept into the maelstrom of publicity created by the reaction to the photo. The soldiers, torn between the duty to serve their country and their modesty of the actual events, struggled to hold on to their rightful pride in what they had sacrificed to protect our freedom. Each time they were paraded about, the guilt of taking credit for what others had done wore them down. Eventually, the tragic hero of the story - Native American Ira Hayes - turned to the bottle and was pushed out the door by the same government whom he had fought so bravely to defend.

The “true” story of Iwo Jima resonates with the recent actions of the U.S. government. Still deeply involved in a war in which the facts have been manipulated to persuade the public, people today have grown tired of a government that uses deception and lies to drive its foreign policy. Once again, Clint’s adept skill at directing a compelling story and his straightforward style never gets in the way of the real-life drama that demonstrates that every iconic image of what defines America has a complicated story behind it.

Year of Eastwood #48

Clint TV

Rawhide (1959-1965)

Clint was a young buck running around Hollywood when he got his big break starring in the long-running TV western Rawhide. Clint was an unknown when he was cast as Rowdy Yates, the cocky sideman on a cattle drive from Texas to Missouri. Clint’s career has had a strong connection to music … his love of jazz, Morricone’s Spaghetti Western theme, and obviously Every Which Way but Loose - and Rawhide is still a familiar tune to many who have never even seen the show.

Clint was second banana on Rawhide. He usually was the one getting himself in trouble … in the two episodes I watched Clint got shot, got drunk, and got thrown in jail. The appeal of the show is that this group of misfits get themselves into as much trouble during the journey as the cattle. Most of the guys on the crew are unlikable trouble-makers and Clint squabbles with the leader most of the time.

The crew finally make their destination - Sedalia, Missouri (home of the Wheel Inn) only to find the buyers have all left because of a market crash. But thanks to some smooth talking by Clint, the cows get sold and the gang can head to town to get drunk and enjoy some goober burgers. The show continued its run for several years after they sold the cows, so I’m not sure what they did week after week - maybe they started a co-ed softball league.

Mr. Ed (1961)

I’m not sure exactly why Clint guest-starred on Mr. Ed, but considering he hasn’t made many television appearances in his career, it does seem like an odd choice. I’d bet there was some woman involved that Clint was chasing after.

Mr. Ed was a talking horse, of course. Clint plays himself and moves in next door to Mr. Ed and his longtime companion, Wilbur. Wilbur is an architect and he must be doing pretty well considering that he lives next door to a TV star. Mr. Ed isn’t too excited about Clint moving in next door cuz he’s got his eye on a philly - and Clint’s horse might just steal her away. Sounds crazy - but I have to admit that I did laugh once, when Mr. Ed called Clint a mule head.

A show about a talking horse probably wouldn’t last long in this day and age - although last year we did have the Caveman show. I haven’t really done much research on Mr. Ed. I’m not sure why he talks … was it a freak accident? But he sure is a surly bastard. My theory is that Mr. Ed doesn’t talk at all. Wilbur is apparently the only one who can hear Mr. Ed, so maybe the whole thing is in Wilbur’s head, allowing him to express his deep-seeded anger to the world around him, a la Fight Club.

Amazing Stories (1985)

In the 80’s, Spielberg was the man. He quickly became one of the biggest directors of all time with hits like Jaws, ET, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. So when it was announced that Spielberg was going to produce a TV show, the nation was giddy with anticipation. Sunday evenings would once again become a time for the family to gather around the TV to be thrilled, shocked, and awed. Surely, Amazing Stories would be a program that would run for decades, win every Emmy, and be remembered for generations as grandparents share stories of the premiere of Amazing Stories ... the show lasted for one year and hasn’t been mentioned again.

Spielberg envisioned Amazing Stories as a Twilight Zone for the new generation. Each week, a new story that would entertain and provide discussions around the watercooler all week. Spielberg lined up top notch actors and directors that would increase the scale of the television screen to blockbuster status. Clint signed on to direct an episode, Vanessa in the Garden, about an artist on the verge of international fame, when a tragic accident steals away his beautiful muse.

Distraught, the artist (Harvey Keitel) destroys his entire collection of work, vowing to never paint again. Until he discovers that painting his beautiful bride can magically bring her back to life. This was the 80’s, so of course the muse was played by Ms. Locke. She certainly has provided a lot of inspiration to this Year of Eastwood.