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
Average Rating:
Rating: - 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 ... Read More
Rating: - 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.
Rating: - 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 ... Read More
Rating: - A Realistic Portrayal of WWII Pacific Combat
Sergeant Stryker (John Wayne) must prepare his men for combat. He does! He subjects his men to rough bayonet drills and other forms of combat.
Many modern war movies are sanitized of the realities ... Read More
Rating: - War is Hell
John Wayne is at his best as Sargeant Striker, the veteran Marine who must whip his young marines into a fighting unit. The tough wayne never lets up and is the leader to the end. One of the few films that Wayne ... Read More
- An admirable tribute to the U.S. Marines
- GREAT MOVIE