Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15664 in DVD
• Released on: 1998-07-14
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, Original recording remastered, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 100 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
John Wayne's old studio home, Republic, made this 1949 drama about the heroic capture of an important island in the Pacific by marines in World War II. Director Allan Dwan (Brewster's Millions), a pioneering filmmaker from the silent days of cinema who easily crossed over into sound, handles the action sequences like a consummate pro, while Wayne works hard as the tough sergeant molding new recruits into fighters. John Agar plays a contentious surrogate son to Wayne, though the relationship is hardly the stuff of Red River. --Tom Keogh

Amazon.com
This classic World War II actioner has Wayne as a tough but compassionate Marine Corps sergeant, John M. Stryker. Tough name, too. Stryker's job is to turn a bunch of raw recruits into a fighting machine. His no-holds-barred approach causes a great amount of friction, not to mention a running subplot concerning his personal life that makes him something of an enigma to his men. The mystery of his past is not fully resolved until the very ending, by which point Stryker is decidedly a war hero. The supporting roles of those who hate Stryker's guts, and who are inevitably won over, are played handsomely by John Agar and Forrest Tucker. Veteran film director Allan Dwan helmed this one, and used real war footage and three of the surviving soldiers who raised the flag on Mt. Suribachi to reenact that momentous event. An engrossing and entertaining war flick all around, boasting one of the Duke's finest, most measured and layered performances. The DVD includes a wonderful making-of featurette hosted by Leonard Maltin, interviewing Wayne's son, John Agar, and some of the military personnel who served as advisors on the film. --Jim Gay

Customer Reviews

An admirable tribute to the U.S. Marines
''The Sands of Iwo Jima'' covers far more than the Marine invasion of Iwo Jima in World War II. The film follows the seemingly real Sergeant John Stryker (John Wayne) and the men he was commanded over a period of a year or so in the South Pacific. While the film's script is only loosely based on actual events, it's not hard to believe the men in the film and events that they experienced could very well have happened in real-life.

The film opens with the U.S. Marines regrouping in New Zealand after the fight for Guadalcanal had ended. Sergeant Stryker is assigned to command a platoon of Marines who are anxious to see some action. Stryker's hard-bitten, by-the-book command style (''Saddle-up! Saddle-up!'') soon rankles many of the men, especially Private Thomas (Forrest Tucker) who had fought alongside him before, and Private Conway (John Agar), whose recently killed-in-action father was a carbon-copy of the hard-nosed Stryker.

Stryker's attempt to whip the men into a fighting force has mixed results. Some are incompetent, while Conway and Thomas try to buck his authority. Stryker tries to win-over Conway by expressing his admiration for Conway's father. But Conway, who is somewhat arrogant, despised his father and now takes his hatred out to Stryker. On top of that, Stryker is battling his own personal demons which he tries to drown in alcohol when off duty.

Over the course of the film the Marines see action in Tarawa and later Iwo Jima. The film effectively captures the camaraderie amongst the men and also their fears, bravery, and successes. Although the film is not gory, it does show the death and destruction of warfare. The film also shows how some men made terrible mistakes that cost the lives of others and how Stryker tried to show leadership under extremely stressful conditions even as some of his men battled him every step of the way.

''The Sands of Iwo Jima'' is a must-have-film for any World War II buff. Director Allan Dwan did an excellent job of capturing the toughness of the Marines along with their softer moments and devotion to each other. There are some corny scenes in the film and it's not as realistic as war films made since the 1990s, but I rate the movie as a strong 4 stars and recommend it to anyone interested in learning about World War II, the U.S. Marines, or John Wayne in one of his finest roles ever.

GREAT MOVIE
This is one of John Wayne's best war movies with 4 Academy Award Nominations including Best Actor. He is a tough Marine Sergeant with a tough job: to take men and make them Marines.

The Best Film of the Pacific War
This film had the three surviving flag raisers: Pfc. Rene A. Gagnon, Pfc. Ira H. Hayes, PM3C John H. Bradley. This film was dedicated to the USMC, who aided in its production. The screenplay was written by Harry Brown, the author of "A Walk in the Sun", and has some of the actors from that earlier film. It begins after the Battle of Guadalcanal. The men are sent to New Zealand to rest, retrain, and get more replacements. Sgt. John M. Stryker is the squad leader. He will learn the men what isn't in the books; their lives will depend on this. Sgt. Stryker leads the men in their drills and exercises. One soldier, Conway, joined for the family tradition. Stryker drives his men hard, they need training. He also has a family problem. The men have liberty in Wellington.

Stryker advises Conway against a long-term commitment. Stryker uses a novel training technique for bayonet drill [comic relief?]. Then the men get sent to their target: Tarawa. Stryker warns them of a difficult combat, no matter what the Navy guns and fliers have done. Actual scenes from combat are used. There are realistic combat scenes. Lives are spent to destroy enemy machine gun nests and take their objective. A few men are pinned down and short of ammunition. One returns for bandoliers, but tarries for a cup of coffee. The delay costs lives. "What kept you?" The marines must hold their position in spite of reduced strength. Tarawa was secured after four days of battle. The survivors leave the island for retraining in Hawaii. When mistakes are made, men die needlessly.

Sgt. Stryker learns about civilian life in Honolulu. Civilians also have a hard life. The unit has been trained and tested in battle. They are shipped out to another Pacific island with three airfields. "War is trading lives for real estate." When the naval bombardment ends, the men move out to attack. They can advance only so far. A tank arrives to spread napalm. Rocket launchers are used as well. In the morning they advance on Mount Suribachi. They will raise a flag when they reach the top. Sgt. Stryker will not make it to the top. "Things just turned out that way." The famous flag raising is recreated, a symbol of the coming victory.

This film recreates history and provides lessons that are educational. I think the screenplay of Harry Brown and his advisors made this the best WW II film if not the most successful.