EVERYDAY HEROES WAR IS STILL HELL AS DIRECTOR CLINT EASTWOOD EXPLODES THE MYTHS OF HEROISM AND THE SELLING OF WARFARE IN HIS LATEST FILM, `FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS.'.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Writer When you think of Clint Eastwood, images of Dirty Harry and poncho-wearing cowboys come to mind, but actor Jesse Bradford's description of the Hollywood icon comes much closer to the truth. ``He's like a jazz musician from 45 years ago,'' says Bradford, who stars in Eastwood's latest movie, ``Flags of Our Fathers.'' ``That's the aura and energy he puts out. He's mellow and soft-spoken. I picture him wearing a turtleneck and beret, you know, snapping his fingers.'' Eastwood, 76, today is wearing an elegant suit, not a beret, but he does project a calm, measured wisdom and a thoughtful curiosity about the world around him. His new directorial effort, ``Flags of Our Fathers,'' is a war movie that examines the mythology of war and its so-called heroes by focusing on the men pictured in a famous flag-raising photo during the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima The Battle of Iwo Jima was fought between the United States and Japan in February and March 1945, during the Pacific Campaign of World War II. The U.S. invasion, known as Operation Detachment, was aimed at capturing the airfields on Iwo Jima. . He will follow ``Flags'' next year with a companion piece, ``Letters From Iwo Jima Letters from Iwo Jima (Japanese: 硫黄島からの手紙, Iwo jima kara no tegami) is a 2006 Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning critically-acclaimed[1][2][3] ,'' which will look at Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (ē`wō jē`mə, ē`wô), Jap. Io-jima, volcanic island, c.8 sq mi (21 sq km), W Pacific, largest and most important of the Volcano Islands. Mt. from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers. The movie, due in February, will be in Japanese with English subtitles sub·ti·tle n. 1. A secondary, usually explanatory title, as of a literary work. 2. A printed translation of the dialogue of a foreign-language film shown at the bottom of the screen. tr.v. . ``Acting is acting, regardless of what language it is,'' Eastwood says. ``The same goes for the experience of war -- it is brutal no matter what side you're on. The old thing was good guys and bad guys. But they're all people with the same fears, the same dreams, the same desire to live.'' In a wide-ranging interview, Eastwood spoke to us about his new films, how war movies have changed and how the selling of wars remains mostly the same. Q: You would have been 15 when Joe Rosenthal's famous Iwo Jima flag-raising photo hit newspapers. What do you remember about it? A: Mostly I remember it being used to sell bonds. That photograph was interesting because a lot of the photos were about the mayhem of war, the explosions, the tanks. But here was a war picture of everyone working together in unison. I don't think I appreciated the art of it. But when I see it now, it really is an accidental work of art. Q: Your movie is quite different from the World War II pictures you made when you were starting out as a film actor -- ``Kelly's Heroes'' and ``Where Eagles Dare.'' A: The emphasis used to be on heroics, sure. All of our movies at that time and before with John Wayne or Randolph Scott Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American motion picture actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. Cinematic legacy As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of genres, or ``Bataan'' with Robert Taylor Robert Taylor or Bob Taylor may refer to:
Q: Do you think people these days buy into the idea of heroes as much? A: I think we buy into them more. Or, if we're not buying into them, we're busy creating them. We're calling everyone heroes. The girl (Jessica Lynch Jessica Dawn Lynch (born April 26, 1983 in Palestine, West Virginia) is a former Quartermaster Corps Private First Class (PFC) in the United States Army. Lynch became famous after her widely publicized recovery by U.S. special operations forces. ) who was caught in that ambush in Iraq who supposedly emptied her rifle fighting off her attackers. She never fired the rifle. She was scared to death. But whoever started the lore, they wanted this Wonder Woman with a machine gun mowing mow 1 n. 1. The place in a barn where hay, grain, or other feed is stored. 2. A stack of hay or other feed stored in a barn. everybody down. Visions of John Wayne in a dress. Q: Pat Tillman Patrick Daniel Tillman (November 6 1976 – April 22 2004) was an American football player who left his professional sports career and enlisted in the United States Army in May 2002, along with his brother Kevin Tillman. He was killed in action in Afghanistan. , too, the football player who enlisted and was killed by friendly fire. Except that wasn't what we -- or his family -- were told at the time. A: Sure. People are killed that way in every war. It's tragic. It isn't quite like you see in the movies. And we tried to get that across, that these are regular guys and some of them do heroic things, but they do them because it's their job. Really all they want to do is live and get home to their families. Q: Which runs counter to the mythology. What's the last line of your movie -- ``Remember them as they were.'' A: That pretty much sums it up. Q: And these soldiers never thought of themselves as heroes. Never wanted the title. It reminds me of talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to the Port Authority officers, whose lives were dramatized in Oliver Stone's ``World Trade Center.'' To them, the real heroes were their comrades who died and the people who rescued them. A: Being called a hero is a lot to put on a young guy. Guilt comes with it. Ira Hayes Ira Hamilton Hayes (January 12, 1923 – January 24, 1955) was a Akimel O’odham, or Pima Indian, and an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Community. A veteran of World War II's Battle of Iwo Jima, Hayes was trained as a Paramarine in the United States Marine Corps has that one speech: ``The things I've done, the things I've seen, aren't necessarily things to be proud of.'' You talk to a lot of vets and they've seen things that are tough on the eyes, tough on the soul. Q: Did you talk to some vets preparing for the film? A: Yes, and the ones I talked to have only recently started to talk -- 55, 60 years after the fact. I talked to a corpsman corps·man n. 1. An enlisted person in the U.S. Navy or Marines who has been trained to give first aid and basic medical treatment, especially in combat situations. 2. , like Bradley, and he said he found it somewhat cathartic cathartic (kəthär`tĭk): see laxative. to talk about it after all these years. But he'd get terribly emotional revisiting it, the thought of it all -- the mayhem, the smell of death, people you've known and liked blown up right beside you. It's a tough thing for a young person or any person. Q: When you say any person, you're right. And you've flipped the perspective in your other Iwo Jima film, ``Letters From Iwo Jima.'' A: As we were preparing ``Flags,'' I developed a great curiosity about this Gen. Kuribayashi and I wondered what would happen if we told this story when they're the good guys and the other team is the bad guys. Q: Because, obviously, the Japanese wanted to live and get home to their families, too. A: And that wasn't really an option for these men. There were 22,000 Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima. Nearly 21,000 of them were killed or they killed themselves. They had the same desire not to die. Many of the men fighting each other probably could have been friends. Q: Much of ``Flags'' focuses on the flag-raisers going on a bond-raising tour and how the U.S. government suppressed the truth about the photo in order to sell their heroism, sell bonds and sell the war. It's not a huge leap to see some current relevance, given that all wars have their public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most battles. A: All wars have to be sold. It's just easier to justify the hypocrisy sometimes. The day after 9/11, it wasn't hard to sell any idea. The day after Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor, land-locked harbor, on the southern coast of Oahu island, Hawaii, W of Honolulu; one of the largest and best natural harbors in the E Pacific Ocean. In the vicinity are many U.S. military installations, including the chief U.S. , it wasn't hard to sell it. The war we're in now is different. It's smaller. It's far off. There's less agreement on it. I must say, I was probably not one of those people who was excited about going into Iraq. I love democracy. But I'm not sure that you can sell it to just anybody. Q: The fact that we still have numerous wars to sell doesn't speak highly of us, does it? A: That they're still happening makes you think we haven't learned much. Every war is supposed to be the war to end all wars. Only an idealist i·de·al·ist n. 1. One whose conduct is influenced by ideals that often conflict with practical considerations. 2. One who is unrealistic and impractical; a visionary. 3. can still believe that. Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672. glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com ADAM BEACH Adam Ruebin Beach (born November 11, 1972 in Ashern, Manitoba) is a Canadian actor of Saulteaux descent. He is best known for his roles as Marine Private First Class Ira Hayes in Flags of Our Fathers, Private Ben Yahzee in Windtalkers and Dr. The flag-raiser: Ira Hayes, Pima Indian and decorated Marine who had a troubled life after the war. Subject of a Peter LeFarge folk song folk song, music of anonymous composition, transmitted orally. The theory that folk songs were originally group compositions has been modified in recent studies. , ``The Ballad of Ira Hayes'' (made famous by Johnny Cash Noun 1. Johnny Cash - United States country music singer and songwriter (1932-2003) John Cash, Cash ), and a movie, ``The Outsider,'' starring Tony Curtis. You might know Beach from: John Woo's World War II movie, ``Windtalkers'' (2002); critically acclaimed indie hit ``Smoke Signals'' (1998). On heroism: ``We want to imagine there's a Capt. America out there who can block bullets with his shield and save the day. It's nice to see the people who won the war are human.'' On playing Hayes: ``You know the lyrics to the song, they say `drunken Ira Hayes.' It's not who he really was. It's unfortunate he sometimes carried himself that way. But now we really get to see the emotion and strength of the man. Now I think Ira is going to be laid to rest in a different way as opposed to the one who succumbed to alcohol.'' JESSE BRADFORD Jesse Bradford Watrouse (born May 28, 1979), better known as Jesse Bradford, is an American actor. Biography Early life Jesse Bradford was born in Norwalk, Connecticut. He is the only child of two commercial actors. The flag-raiser: Rene Gagnon Rene Arthur Gagnon (March 7, 1925 – October 12, 1979) was one of the U.S. Marines immortalized by Joe Rosenthal's famous World War II photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima. , movie-star handsome Marine, the lone flag-raiser who tried to cash in on his celebrity status. You might know Bradford from: Playing Kirsten Dunst's love interest in ``Bring It On'' (2000), roles in indie films ``Heights'' (2004) and ``Happy Endings'' (2005) On heroism: ``What those guys said over and over again was: `I was trying not to get shot. I was looking out for the guys who were looking out for me. Whatever actions follow from that, you can print up any way you want.' Loyalty and self-preservation make for a powerful combination, though.'' On playing Gagnon: ``Take being in the right place at the right time - or wrong place at the wrong time, depending how you look at the photo - and the way this man ended up is not that uncommon. We've all seen the guy sitting out on the street with the Vietnam vet sign and the dog, begging for change. Just because you make the ultimate sacrifice for this country does not guarantee this country is going to make any sacrifices for you.'' RYAN PHILLIPPE Ryan Phillippe (IPA pronunciation: [ˈfɪlɪpi]) (born September 10, 1974) is an American actor. After appearing on the soap opera One Life to Live The flag-raiser: John ``Doc'' Bradley, Navy corpsman, father of James Bradley
James Bradley (March 1693 – July 13, 1762) was an English astronomer, Astronomer Royal from 1742. , co-author of the best-selling book ``Flags of Our Fathers.'' You might know Phillippe from: Playing Matt Dillon's police partner in ``Crash'' (2005); escorting wife Reese Witherspoon to various award shows (2006). On heroism: ``These guys were doing what they were trained to do. It was their job. They didn't think of themselves as heroes. But I think it's fair if we look at them that way.'' On playing Bradley: ``I talked to James and read the book. But there was something in the photographs, something in his eyes, that spoke to me. I just got this impression - the idea of a mother and the idea of a Will Rogers-type guy. A mother because when a young boy is on the battlefield, wounded, and screams out `corpsman,' you could easily put `Mommy' in its place. It's primal. The Will Rogers thing was just the idea of a guy, straight-shooter, decent, simple, quiet. That's Bradley.'' -- G.W. CAPTION(S): 6 photos Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) Red, white & TRUE Eastwood pays tribute with `Flags of Our Fathers' (2) Director Clint Eastwood, on the set of ``Flags of Our Fathers,'' examines the mythology of war and its so-called heroes by focusing on the men pictured in a famous flag-raising photo during the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima. (3) The men pictured in the famous flag-raising photo during the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima went on to sell war bonds. (4) ADAM BEACH (5) JESSE BRADFORD (6) RYAN PHILLIPPE |
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