A great human story... makes a mighty motion picture!
Haunted by personal demons, Marine Sgt. John Stryker is hated and feared by his men, who see him as a cold-hearted sadist. But when their boots hit the beaches, they begin to understand the reason for Stryker's rigid form of discipline.
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Character
Earnest, grave, classical in form and resolved.
- earnestironic
- gravecomic
- classical in formformally daring
- resolvedopen-ended
- intimateepic
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“Is John Wayne the best thing in Sands of Iwo Jima?”
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“Is Sands of Iwo Jima better than its reputation?”
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“Would Sands of Iwo Jima hit harder if it came out today rather than in 1950?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- John Chardon TMDB · May 20158/10
Life is tough, but it's tougher if you're stupid. Sgt John M. Stryker is a battle hardened Marine who's job it is to prepare his new charges for the realities of war. With no care for making friends, Stryker does what ever it takes to make these men tough and ready for the Pacific conflicts to come. Sands Of Iwo Jima is unashamedly proud in its jingoistic fervour, and rightly so. Iwo Jima, and the now immortal portrait of weary American soldiers hoisting the flag atop Mt. Suribachi, has become a bastion of bravery, a beacon of triumph if you will. So it's no surprise to find Allan Dwan's film has no intention if deviating from boasting its colours, and hooray to that. Here as Stryker we find John Wayne giving a bit more to his character portrayal than merely some beefcake winning the war. Wayne puts depth and sincerity into Stryker, an air of believability shines through as he shows vulnerability, we believe he can win this war with his men, but we also see tenderness and it lifts Sands higher than your average war picture. Wise old director Dwan (432 directing credits to his name), weaves the picture together with admirable restraint. Fusing actual newsreel footage with his own ti
Read the whole review on TMDB - Wuchakon TMDB · May 20266/10
**_Wayne leads a squad of men to fight the battles of Tarawa and Iwo Jima_** This was filmed just 4½ years after the actual events of Iwo Jima. John Wayne was 42 years-old during shooting, a decade past his breakout with “Stagecoach,” and still lean. While the flick is hampered by the B&W photography and expected quaint elements, plus it lacks the extreme gore of more modern war movies like “The Thin Red Line” and “Letters from Iwo Jima,” it nevertheless gives you a good idea what it was like to fight in the Pacific Theater of WW2. It’s also interesting going back to the 40s to observe how people talked and interacted back then. It runs 1h 49m and was shot Jul-Aug 1949 in several locations of SoCal (too many to cite). GRADE: B-
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Cast
- John WayneSgt. John M. Stryker
- John AgarPFC Peter T. 'Pete' Conway
- Adele MaraAllison Bromley
- Forrest TuckerPFC Al J. Thomas
- Wally CassellPFC Benny A. Regazzi
- James BrownPFC Charlie Bass
- Richard WebbPFC Dan 'Handsome' Shipley
- Arthur FranzCpl. Robert C. Dunne / Narrator
- Julie BishopMary
- James HoldenPFC 'Farmer' Soames
Crew
- Allan DwanDirector
- Harry BrownScreenplay
- James Edward GrantScreenplay
- Reggie LanningDirector of Photography
- Victor YoungOriginal Music Composer
- Richard L. Van EngerEditor
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Pairings
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