Tension simmers between a tough-as-nails sergeant and the soldiers who he eventually leads into battle at Iwo Jima in this iconic World War II drama. John Wayne is very good as the moody sergeant with a beating human heart behind his tough exterior and John Agar is excellent as the private who clashes personalities with him the most. The son of a legendary military leader, Agar has to wrestle with the fact that he feels obliged to fight regardless of personal preference. He also has a touching scene in which he waxes poetic about marriage and fatherhood as ways to prove that one's life meant something. None of the other characters or performances are on the same level as Wayne and Agar (though Forrest Tucker has the occasional strong moment) and considering how blatantly flag-waving a film it is, it is understandable that 'Sands of Iwo Jima' might not appeal to some viewers. The two main characters have more dimension than the typical patriotic soldiers out there though, and the film is technically well produced. There are some great montages and gradual dissolves and the film seamlessly incorporates actual battle footage into the filmed action. With lots of zooms and tracking shots, the film is hardly static either. Some of the special effects (backdrops as Wayne drives along) show their age, but this stacks up rather well all things considered.

In The Dukes top three movies along with "The Searchers" and "The Quiet Man". John Wayne was one of Hollywood's finest actors. He made the role one you could identify with. In "Sands of Iwo Jima" Sgt. Striker is a MARINE! He makes men out of boys. The Oscar should have been his. He is a man haunted by his past but it doesn't affect his duty to his men. Some may hate him but in the end they all come to respect him.

. . . Iwo Jima's iconic raising of the Stars & Stripes by U.S. Marines was the only thing which kept America from negotiating an early spring 1945 cease-fire with Japan (most likely such a capitulation on our part would have required us to give the Land of the Rising Sun a 50% market share of our automobile and personal electronics business in 1945; this horrific outcome was delayed three decades by our victory on Iwo Jima and Japan's Unconditional Surrender in the face of Nuclear Holocaust). Clint's hypothesis is impossible to prove one way or the other, but what IS a known fact is that John Wayne's SANDS OF IWO JIMA is the main thing that kept cost-cutting Congressional Republicans from DISBANDING the U.S. Marine Corps by 1950. Without SANDS, we could not have experienced FULL METAL JACKET, Charles Whitman, the barracks in Beirut, Lee Harvey Oswald, or Gomer Pyle. "Hoo-Rah" would not have become the catch-phrase of W.'s presidency, and we would have had to think twice about invading Iraq (or Grenada, for that matter). SANDS features the "Marine Hymn" sung or played off-and-on throughout its duration. The key phrase of this verse is "To keep our Honor clean." Thanks to SANDS, the USMC has remained on the job these past 65 years, just like those Tidy Bowl ad "scrubber bubbles," keeping America's Honor as clean as possible. It's sort of frightening to think of what our Honor would look like today if not for SANDS and our still-in-business Marines!

Sgt John M. Stryker is a battle hardened Marine who's job it is to prepare his new charges for the realities of war. With no care for making friends, Stryker does what ever it takes to make these men tough and ready for the Pacific conflicts to come. Sands Of Iwo Jima is unashamedly proud in its jingoistic fervour, and rightly so. Iwo Jima, and the now immortal portrait of weary American soldiers hoisting the flag atop Mt. Suribachi, has become a bastion of bravery, a beacon of triumph if you will. So it's no surprise to find Allan Dwan's film has no intention if deviating from boasting its colours, and hooray to that. Here as Stryker we find John Wayne giving a bit more to his character portrayal than merely some beefcake winning the war. Wayne puts depth and sincerity into Stryker, an air of believability shines through as he shows vulnerability, we believe he can win this war with his men, but we also see tenderness and it lifts Sands higher than your average war picture. Wise old director Dwan (432 directing credits to his name), weaves the picture together with admirable restraint. Fusing actual newsreel footage with his own tightly handled action sequences, Sands plays out as the tribute and rally call that it has every right to be, even finding place in the film for three of the soldiers who hoisted that now famous flag. Ira Hayes, Rene Gagnon and John Bradley are the three gentlemen to look out for. The rest of the cast don't really have to do much outside of respond to Wayne's two fold performance, but keep an eye out for a fresh faced Richard Jaeckel as Pfc. Frank Flynn, while I personally enjoyed the brief, but important contribution from Julie Bishop as Mary. Wayne received a nomination for Best Actor at the Academy Awards (too bad for him that 49 contained brilliant shows from the winner Broderick Crawford & a blunderbuss turn from Gregory Peck), with other nominations going to the Best Story, Editing and Sound categories. Ironically it was a role Wayne didn't fancy doing, but some encouragements from war veterans humbled him into starring. Lock and load and saddle up for a top entry in the WWII pantheon. 8/10