Big deal in 2006. Saw on netflix.
Still bent out of shape by Dirty Harry, but I'm impressed with this. Still, negative comments on Wikipedia entry make sense. Wish I knew more about the response in Japan.
I wish I thought people who see this had a more accurate understanding of the battle than provided by the film. Wikipedia helps -- the film offers no clue that there were 22,000+ Japanese and that only 1083 were taken prisoner. The Japanese were outnumbered 5:1 and had no air support. Yet the cost to the US was staggering: 6,821 dead and 19,189 wounded.
With numbers like these, its easy to see why the atom bomb made sense to so many. Looking at a map of the Pacific, its hard to see why the islands were really necessary for anything. I'd like to know more about the dispute between Nimitz and MacArthur over strategy in the Pacific.
Whatever else, its cool to see the most respectful film I've seen on WWII in the Pacific.
