Search - Kyle Eastwood & Michael Stevens :: Letters from Iwo Jima [Music from the Motion Picture]

A touching soundtrack

Kurt A. Johnson | North-Central Illinois, USA | 03/20/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In 2006, director Clint Eastwood released his critically acclaimed movie, Flags of Our Fathers, which presented the horrors of the World War 2 battle of Iwo Jima from the American perspective. That same year he released Letters From Iwo Jima, which presented the horrors of that battle from the Japanese perspective. This is the soundtrack to that wonderful, heartbreaking movie.



Most of the tracks are slow and introspective, relying on a solitary piano, or bugle with drums and strings to give a more military sound. Yet, always with the slow sound of a funeral dirge. There are, however, two divergent tracks - track #7, Dinner Party, which sounds almost unreal amongst the other tracks; and of course, track #10, Song For The Defense of Iwo Jima, which features Japanese children singing a rather jaunty tune, as they prepare for what the listener realizes is their death.



Overall, I found this to be a touching soundtrack. Admittedly short at 37 minutes, but nonetheless excellent to listen to. I highly recommend this CD."

Haunting...

Mike Cunha | Boston | 03/11/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The soundtrack to this film is as haunting as the film itself. The score for the film is heart-achingly beautiful, but tragic and almost painful as it recalls the haunting images from the stunningly excellent film.



The piano notes stay with you...and makes you think of the characters portrayed in the film. The main score is hard to let go of once you here it. (The film itself is the same way. It is one of the most heartbreaking and painful films I've ever seen. I was stunned for several days afterwards by it.)



Track #7, as described by the Amazon reviewer, is indeed ghostly. The bugle score, Track #12, adds a martial feel to the score.



The CD, while indeed short, is sparse and in keeping with the theme of the film. Kudos to Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens for creating a classic and beautiful score that truly defines and complements its picture and reaches its audience's hearts.



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