15 Most Underrated War Movies Of All Time

11. Letters From Iwo Jima

Jarhead Jake Gyllenhaal
Warner Bros.

Shot back to back with the more jingoistic Flags of Our Fathers, Clint Eastwood’s other 2006 war film Letters From Iwo Jima is a Japanese language film depicting the same conflict from the other, losing side—the Japanese generals and their rank and file soldiers.

It’s a daring experiment and one the Western legend should be commended for even attempting, as the two films work in tandem to illustrate the harsh reality that there are no inhuman bad guys in real war but rather genuine human lives lost on both sides. Letters From Iwo Jima does an incredible job of leading audiences to sympathise with characters who are usually only seen as stereotypes or unseen enemies, and deserves serious kudos for its effective handling of a conflict more complicated than even some historians are willing to concede.

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