SPWaW and "Flags of Our Fathers"
Posted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 8:45 pm
Got the DVD, and was glad I did. The combat scenes are actually quite good, and offer more inspiration to continuing my Marine battles.
The co-ordinated use of air and naval assets to support the ground troops is portrayed well, but a bit "Hollywoodized" as the battleships are way too close to shore.
As for tank support, often it seemed that at least on the beach, the tanks had a tough time of it. The riflemen were portrayed as usually having to do the bunker-busting job on their own. In-game , the tanks are vital to keeping the advance going. In this case, the movie doesn't show the importance of the tank-infantry team in the latter part of the Pacific War.
With the notable exceptions of the 75mm halftracks and 37mm AT guns (I guess the production team couldn't find any), I DID catch a glimpse of a 75mm pack howitzer and a couple of 30 cal air-cooled MGs. I'm glad they were included, but if you blink you might miss them.
So, it comes down to the foot-slogging Gyrenes, aided by a flamethrower here and there.
Overall, I think the movie gives a reasonable impression of Pacific combat, as seen from the point-of-view of the principle characters, but there's plenty of actual combat footage available.
That being said, the role played by real-life combat cameramen should not be under-emphasized. Bill Genaust, who filmed the second flag-raising as Joe Rosenthal took that famous photo, was killed on Iwo and never got to see the footage. His remains are still entombed inside a sealed cave.
The co-ordinated use of air and naval assets to support the ground troops is portrayed well, but a bit "Hollywoodized" as the battleships are way too close to shore.
As for tank support, often it seemed that at least on the beach, the tanks had a tough time of it. The riflemen were portrayed as usually having to do the bunker-busting job on their own. In-game , the tanks are vital to keeping the advance going. In this case, the movie doesn't show the importance of the tank-infantry team in the latter part of the Pacific War.
With the notable exceptions of the 75mm halftracks and 37mm AT guns (I guess the production team couldn't find any), I DID catch a glimpse of a 75mm pack howitzer and a couple of 30 cal air-cooled MGs. I'm glad they were included, but if you blink you might miss them.
So, it comes down to the foot-slogging Gyrenes, aided by a flamethrower here and there.
Overall, I think the movie gives a reasonable impression of Pacific combat, as seen from the point-of-view of the principle characters, but there's plenty of actual combat footage available.
That being said, the role played by real-life combat cameramen should not be under-emphasized. Bill Genaust, who filmed the second flag-raising as Joe Rosenthal took that famous photo, was killed on Iwo and never got to see the footage. His remains are still entombed inside a sealed cave.