Letters from Iwo Jima / Flags of Our Fathers (Five-Disc Commemorative Edition) [DVD] [DVD]

5 Disc Commemorative Collector's Edition includes "Flags of Our Fathers" 2-Disc Special Edition; "Letters From Iwo Jima" 2-Disc Special Edition and bonus disc including "Heroes of Iwo Jima" (History Channel documentary hosted by Gene Hackman) and "To the Shores of Iwo Jima" (Academy Award nominated 1945 UA short). "Flags Of Our Fathers" - February 1945. Even as victory in Europe was finally within reach, the war in the Pacific raged on. One of the most crucial and bloodiest battles of the war was the struggle for the island of Iwo Jima, which culminated with what would become one of the most iconic images in history: five Marines and a Navy corpsman raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi. The inspiring photo capturing that moment became a symbol of victory to a nation that had grown weary of war and made instant heroes of the six American soldiers at the base of the flag, some of whom would die soon after, never knowing that they had been immortalized. But the surviving flag raisers had no interest in being held up as symbols and did not consider themselves heroes; they wanted only to stay on the front with their brothers in arms who were fighting in some of their brothers in Easy Company. Bradley's father, John "Doc" Bradley, was one of the soldiers pictured raising the flag, although James never knew the full extent of his father's experiences until after the elder Bradley's death in 1994. "Letters From Iwo Jima" - Sixty-one years ago, US and Japanese armies met on Iwo Jima. Decades later, several hundred letters are unearthed from that stark island's soil. The letters give faces and voices to the men who fought there, as well as the extraordinary general who led them. The Japanese soldiers are sent to Iwo Jima knowing that in all probability they will not come back. Among them are Saigo, a baker who wants only to live to see the face of his newborn daughter; Baron Nishi, an Olympic equestrian champion known around the world for his skill and his honor; Shimizu, a young former military policeman whose idealism has not yet been tested by war; and Lieutenant Ito, a strict military man who would rather accept suicide than surrender. Leading the defense is Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, whose travels have revealed to him the hopeless nature of the war but also given him strategic insight into how to take on the vast American armada streaming in from across the Pacific. With little defense other than sheer will and the volcanic rock of the island itself, Gen. Kuribayashi's unprecedented tactics transform what was predicted to be a quick and bloody defeat into nearly 40 days of heroic and resourceful combat. Almost 7,000 American soldiers were killed on Iwo Jima; more than 20,000 Japanese troops perished. The black sands of Iwo Jima are stained with their blood, but their sacrifices, their struggles, their courage and their compassion live on in the letters they sent home. From Academy Award winner Clint Eastwood comes the untold story of the Japanese soldiers and their General who defended against the invading American forces on the island of Iwo Jima. Also includes "Heroes Of Iwo Jima".

Behind The Scenes Featurette, Featurette, Photo Gallery, Trailers.

Introduction by Clint Eastwood, "Words on the Page", "Six Brave Men", "The Making of an Epic", "Raising the Flag", Visual effects, "Looking into the Past", "Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of 'Letters From Iwo Jima'", "The Faces of Combat: the Cast of 'Letters From Iwo Jima'", "Images From the Frontlines: the Photography of 'Letters From Iwo Jima'", November 2006 World Premiere at Budo-kan, Tokyo, November 2006 Press Conference; "Letters From Iwo Jima" is Presented in Japanese with English, French and Spanish Subtitles; "Flags Of Our Fathers" is Presented in English and French with English and Spanish Subtitles.