Letters from Iwo Jima (硫黄島からの手紙, Iōjima Kara no Tegami) is a 2006 Japanese-language American war film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood, starring Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya.

Letters from Iwo Jima is almost entirely in Japanese with a few English sequences, despite being co-produced by American companies DreamWorks Pictures, Malpaso Productions and Amblin Entertainment.

Upon release, the film received critical acclaim and although it only grossed slightly better at the box office than its companion, it was much more successful compared to its budget.

In 1944 Iwo Jima, Private First Class Saigo, a conscripted baker who misses his wife and newly-born daughter, is digging beach trenches with his platoon when Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi arrives to take command of the garrison.

He saves Saigo from a beating by Captain Tanida for being "unpatriotic", and orders the garrison to tunnel underground defenses throughout the island.

Kuribayashi learns that Japan cannot send reinforcements and thus believes that the tunnels and mountain bunkers stand a better chance of holding out than relying entirely on the beach defenses.

Replacement troops arrive, including Superior Private Shimizu, whom Saigo suspects is a spy from the Kempeitai sent to report on disloyal soldiers.

A few days later, U.S. Marines land and suffer heavy casualties, but they overcome the beach defenses and attack Mount Suribachi.

[citation needed] Filming in California wrapped on April 8, and the cast and crew then headed back to the studio in Los Angeles for more scenes.

[6] The filmmakers had to be given special permission from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to film on Iwo Jima, because the remains of more than 10,000 missing Japanese soldiers are there.

The battleship USS Texas (BB-35), which was used in closeup shots of the fleet (for both movies), also participated in the actual attack on Iwo Jima for five days.

The only character to appear in both Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima is Charles W. Lindberg, played by Alessandro Mastrobuono.

The film is based on the non-fiction books "Gyokusai sōshikikan" no etegami ("Picture letters from the Commander in Chief")[10] by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (portrayed on screen by Ken Watanabe) and So Sad To Fall In Battle: An Account of War[11] by Kumiko Kakehashi about the Battle of Iwo Jima.

The site's consensus states: "A powerfully humanistic portrayal of the perils of war, this companion piece to Flags of Our Fathers is potent and thought-provoking, and it demonstrates Clint Eastwood's maturity as a director.

[14][15][16] In addition, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone and Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune both gave it four stars, and Todd McCarthy of Variety praised the film, assigning it a rare 'A' rating.

[21] It was also named Best Film in a Foreign Language on January 15 during the 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards, while Clint Eastwood held a nomination for Best Director.

[22][23][24] CNN's Tom Charity in his review described Letters from Iwo Jima as "the only American movie of the year I won't hesitate to call a masterpiece.

James Berardinelli awarded a three out of four-star review, concluding that although both 'Letters' and 'Flags' were imperfect but interesting, 'Letters from Iwo Jima' was more focused, strong and straightforward than its companion piece.

[29][30] The film was far more commercially successful in Japan than in the U.S., ranking number 1 for five weeks, and receiving a warm reception from both Japanese audiences and critics.

The Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition DVD is also available in a Five-Disc Commemorative Set, which also includes the Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition of Flags of Our Fathers and a bonus fifth disc containing History Channel's "Heroes of Iwo Jima" documentary and To the Shores of Iwo Jima, a documentary produced by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.