Letters From Iwo Jima named film of the year (2006)
Story by Jack Foley
LETTERS From Iwo Jima, Clint Eastwood’s film about the World War Two battle of Iwo Jima as told from the Japanese perspective, has been named film of 2006 by the US National Board of Review (NBR).
The win marks the first major prize of the film awards season and is yet another feather in Eastwood’s cap following the critical acclaim surrounding the US version of the conflict, Flags Of Our Fathers.
NBR voters include teachers and historians as well as those who work in the film industry and they were impressed with Eastwood’s eye for detail and dedication to ensuring that both sides were represented in the landmark battle.
“Letters from Iwo Jima is probably Mr Eastwood’s masterpiece and perhaps one of the greatest films of our time,” said NBR president, Annie Schulhof, in a statement.
The film is due to be released in US cinemas on December 20 and will follow in the UK in February. It follows Eastwood’s earlier movie on the same subject, Flags Of Our Fathers, which was told through the eyes of the Americans and which opens in the UK on December 22.
Letters From Iwo Jima topped the NBR’s list of 10, which also included Babel, Blood Diamond, The Departed, The Devil Wears Prada, Flags of Our Fathers, The History Boys, Little Miss Sunshine, Notes On A Scandal and The Painted Veil.
In other awards, Helen Mirren was named best actress for The Queen and Forest Whitaker won best actor for his portrayal of Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland.
Martin Scorsese was named best director for The Departed, which also won the award for best ensemble cast (featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, Ray Winstone and Martin Sheen.
Djimon Hounsou was named best supporting actor for Blood Diamond and Catherine O’Hara was named best supporting actress for spoof comedy For Your Consideration.
Cars triumphed in the best animation category, Zach Helm took home the best original screenplay prize for Stranger Than Fiction and Volver was named best foreign language film.