As a kid, Clint Eastwood watched his share of war movies. Later on, he'd star in them. But now, as he puts the finishing touches on a pair of films about the bloody World War II battle for Iwo Jima, he says he has a changed perspective.
"It was always one-sided. There were good guys on one side," he said in a news conference yesterday. "Life isn't like that."
To get both sides of the Iwo Jima story, Eastwood has spent the past year working on two films.
The first, Flags of Our Fathers, follows the story of the US troops famously photographed raising the US flag at Iwo Jima. The second, in Japanese and with a predominantly Japanese cast, focuses on the general who lost the battle, and the young Japanese soldiers who died following his orders.
"I think those soldiers deserve a certain amount of respect," the Oscar-winning director said in his first ever news conference in Japan.
"I feel terrible for both sides in that war, and in all wars. A lot of innocent people get sacrificed," he said.
Flags of Our Fathers, based on the bestselling book by James Bradley, is due for release in October. Red Sun, Black Sand, starring Ken Watanabe, comes out in December.
Eastwood traveled to the tiny, remote island last April to get a first-hand view of the former battlesite. Sixty years after Japan's surrender, Iwo Jima remains uninhabited, except for a few scattered military bases.
"It was a very moving experience to walk around Iwo Jima," he said.
Any activity on the island is potentially controversial because Iwo Jima is considered by many to be hallowed ground -- nearly 7,000 US troops and more than 20,000 Japanese died in the battle from February to March 1945, and the bodies of thousands of soldiers remain unaccounted for.
But Eastwood's project obtained the blessing of veterans groups and of the Tokyo government, which has jurisdiction of the island.
"I want it to be a tribute to those people who gave their lives," he said of the project.
Eastwood said he researched the historical record thoroughly before filming, but stressed that his movies are not about the battle, but about the people.
"It's not about winning or losing, but mostly about the interrupted lives of young people, and losing their lives before their prime," he said.
Iwo Jima symbolizes the Pacific war to many Americans because of the photograph of the raising of the US flag atop Mount Suribachi.
Eastwood said he enjoyed the novel experience of working with the Japanese cast, who spoke virtually no English.
"It was a pleasure to do, even though I didn't understand a word they were saying," he said.
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