BLU-RAY REVIEW

Letters From Iwo Jima

Featured In Issue 122, July/August 2007

Picture	4
Sound	NR
WSR Score	4

Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.

(Studio/Distributor):

Warner Home Video

(Catalog Number):

111299

(MPAA Rating):

R

(Rating Reason):

(Retail Price):

$39.99

(Disc Type):

Dual Side/Dual Layer (HD DVD30/DVD9)

(Widescreen Edition):

Yes

(Full Screen Edition):

No

(Running Time In Minutes):

140

(Color Type):

Color

(Chaptered/Scene Access):

Yes

(Closed Captioned):

Yes

(Regional Coding):

(Theatrical Year):

2006

(Theatrical Release):

Yes

(Direct-To-Video Release):

No

(Disc Release Date):

05/22/07

(THX® Digitally Mastered):

No

(Director):

Clint Eastwood

(Screenplay/Written By):

(Story):

(Music):

(Director Of Photography):

(Production Designer):

(Visual Effects):

(Costume Designer):

(Editor):

(Supervising Sound Editors):

(Re-Recording Mixers):

(Executive Producers):

(Co-Producers):

(Producers):

(Academy Awards):

Subscribe Now!

(Principal Photography):

(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):

(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):

(Disc Soundtrack):

Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Dolby Digital+ 5.1

(Theatrical Sound):

(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):

(DTS Bit Rate):

(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):

(Additional Languages):

(French Language):

(Spanish Language):

(Chinese Language):

(Subtitles):

(Cantonese Language):

(Mandarin Language):

(Japanese Language):

(Italian Language):

(German Language):

(Portuguese Language):

As "Flags Of Our Fathers" told the battle for Iwo Jima from the American perspective, "Letters From Iwo Jima" tells us the story from the side of the Japanese. Under the strict command of Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Watanabe), Japanese soldiers defended their position on this now-famous island for 36 days, most of them knowing from a battle in which they would not return. From deep within the foxholes and tunnels they had dug, these men wrote letters to their family and loved, many of which were finally received long after their deaths. Based on "Picture Letters From Commander In Chief" by Tadamichi Kuribayashi. (Jack Kelley)

Special features include a 21-minute making-of featurette (Red Sun, Black Sand), 19 minutes about the cast (The Faces Of Combat), a three-minute image montage (Images From The Frontlines), footage from the world premiere at Budo-kan in Tokyo and from a press conference at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo, and the theatrical trailer.

The VC-1-encoded HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases look identical, with good image depth and good resolution. Fine details are not defined as well as on the best high-definition releases, looking slightly soft, but this could have been intentional to better fit the time frame. Compression artifacts and edge enhancement are not noticeable. (Danny Richelieu)

The HD DVD's Dolby Digital Plus encoding provides a very subtle improvement over the Blu-ray Disc's Dolby Digital encoding in overall fluidity, with tighter, more natural bass. Both the HD DVD version and the Blu-ray Disc version also include a lossless Dolby TrueHD encoding, which provides an even greater sense of realism, with better fidelity, tighter bass, and better dynamic range. (Danny Richelieu)

Reason #125 Why Readers Love Widescreen Review:

I read Widescreen Review for the up-to-date info on HDTV, HDTV recording, projector reviews, HDTV receiver reviews (though those are few!), amplifier, and pre-amp reviews, and, of course, DVD/D-VHS movie reviews! I respect most about your writing the total honesty in your reviews. Supplying the most truthful opinions and facts mark you as one of the best in your field!
Roy Shane Hayley

26864 Mandelieu Drive, Murrieta, CA 92562 • Phone: 951 676 4914 • Fax: 951 693 2960
Copyright © Information • All Rights Reserved • www.widescreenreview.com • Web Site Established In 1995 • Privacy Policy • Partners