Product Description

Produced and directed by Oscar? and Emmy? Award winner Bill Couturi (HBO's Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam), this one-hour documentary is an intimate, deeply moving tribute to American soldiers recently killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Produced in association with LIFE books and the New York Times. HBO Video's net proceeds from this program will benefit the families of soldiers who have died in military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere since September 11, 2001.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #56385 in DVD
• Brand: HBO HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2005-05-24
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 60 minutes

Amazon.com
Touching and powerful, Last Letters Home is an emotional documentary that features 10 families reading aloud the last letters they received from loved ones who lost their lives in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Presented in a suitably straightforward, unembellished style by director Bill Couturié (director of HBO's Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam), the film displays close-up pictures of the soldiers in military and civilian life as family members read and reminisce (of the 10 soldiers profiled, the oldest was 51 years old; the youngest was only 19). In the end, this film, which premiered on HBO, is really about the families left behind to mourn and honor the lives of the fallen. In one typically poignant piece, the mother of fallen SPC Robert Allen Wise relates the moment when she received the dreaded news. It was her birthday. She had been expecting to hear from her son but, as she says, "I got a knock on the door instead.... When you open the door and you see two uniforms and a chaplain... nobody has to say anything." To their credit, the families are admirably open in sharing their experiences; there are outpourings of profound grief and sadness, but there is also immense pride and joy in the memories of their loved ones who served. It may be difficult to watch at times, but seeing the personal cost of war, unfiltered by network news and unstained by political agendas, makes Letters an intensely intimate and human experience. --Dan Vancini

Customer Reviews

The consequences of war, up close and very personal
Last Letters Home is as close as anyone wants to come to experiencing the death of a loved one in wartime. Filmmaker Bill Couturie takes a back seat in this powerful documentary, allowing mourning families to tell their own stories about those they loved and lost in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Each family reads aloud their last letter, then recounts in their own words the day that changed their lives forever. It is at times difficult to watch as family members struggle to hold onto all that they have left - letters, photographs and memories of happier times.

Pain and pride redraw the lines on the faces of the survivors as they read the precious letters aloud. Watching Lloyd Byers read his son Josh's letter is like watching a proud father's dreams being cruelly snuffed out. Over and and over, the viewer's heart is broken as another family bravely recounts their very personal struggles.

Last Letters honors all fallen soldiers, but the film is largely about the families' attempts to go on in the face of nearly unbearable sadness: A mother's only son. A young wife, pregnant with her husband's third child, whom he'll never see. A woman sharing a Mother's Day card she received from her fallen son after his death. It is hard to imagine that these are only 10 of more than 1,500 dead as of this writing, that 1400 other stories of heartache and loss go untold; the emotional toll seems too great.

Last Letters, then, is a sober document that honors all those personally affected by war, those gone but not forgotton and those who are left to remember.

I knew her
I found this video to be very moving. I attended the premiere, due to serving with one of the soldiers on the documentary. It was a very emotional moment for me and my fellow soldiers as we watched it. Soldiers are our own family for one another. These are true emotions, there is no acting, it's as real as it gets. I highly recommend watching this dvd, it brings a whole new meaning to Veterans Day and what it stands for. You realize all the good that came from the bad in the world.

A must for ANY American - young and old alike
I saw this when it aired on TV and was lucky enough that I Tivo'd it. I then replayed it again with my 8 year old son in the room. I prefaced that these are the heros we pray for, these are the people we remember on Verteran's Day, these are the men and women that we are most thankful for. Yes, I fought tears more times during this show than any I've ever watched. But it's real. It brings the reality of sacrifice to bear. Yes, it's dificult to see these families missing their husbands, wives, sons, and daughters - but it allowed me to teach my son about pride, commitment, honor, duty, and most importantly respect. I didn't realize the value of this lesson until about two weeks later. We were in the mall and he saw a new naval enlistee. Proactively he walked up to the young man, offered up his small hand, and said "Thanks". Folks, I've never been more proud in my life. This DVD helps us all remember and is a phenomenal tribute to the brave men and women who gave all when their country asked them to. It is inspiring to see the pride that remains in their families for what they have done. This is indeed the greatest country in the world. I'm proud to be an American!