Letters from Iwo Jima Movie Cast, Plot and Everything to Know

The story of the Battle of Iwo Jima, which took place in the winter of 1945, from the Japanese perspective.

Plot

What's the story about?

Plot

Sixty-one years ago, U.S. 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, Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe). 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.

In an effort to explore an event that continues to resonate with both cultures, Clint Eastwood was haunted by the sense that making only one film, "Flags of Our Fathers", would be telling only half the story. With this unprecedented dual film project, shot back-to-back to be released in sequence, Eastwood seeks to reveal the battle of Iwo Jima--and, by implication, the war in the Pacific--as a clash not only of arms but of cultures.

Action Adventure Drama War

Top Cast

The lead cast starring in Letters from Iwo Jima.

• K
  Ken Watanabe

  Transformers 4: Age of Extinction, Inception

• K
  Kazunari Ninomiya

• T
  Tsuyoshi Ihara

  Yakuza Princess, Ramen Shop

• R
  Ryo Kase

  Restless, Like Someone In Love

• S
  Shido Nakamura

• Y
  Yuki Matsuzaki

  Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

• H
  Hiroshi Watanabe

• N
  Nobumasa Sakagami

• T
  Takashi Yamaguchi

  Sophie and the Rising Sun

• N
  Nae Yuuki

Crew Behind the Film

The Letters from Iwo Jima behind-the-scenes crew and production team.

The film's director Clint Eastwood last directed Juror No. 2 and Cry Macho.

Director

Clint Eastwood

Screenwriters

Iris Yamashita
Paul Haggis

Producers

Clint Eastwood
Robert Lorenz
Steven Spielberg

Production Details

What we know about the Letters from Iwo Jima movie production.

Key Facts

• This is a companion film to Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers.

Production Updates for Letters from Iwo Jima

Dec 2004

Completed

Changed Letters from Iwo Jima movie production status. The movie is ready for release.

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Additional Information

All Trailers

Watch official Letters from Iwo Jima movie trailers and clips.

Questions

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