John Marion Stryker is the ultimate Marine, a tough rifle squad leader who in 1943 is assigned a squad of new recruits saddled with three veterans and an old enemy of Stryker's from previous duties in the Far East. One recruit in particlar is a source of friction with Stryker, Peter Conway, whose father was Stryker's CO at Guadalcanal and who felt his son was too soft and cowardly to be a Marine. The squad grows more and more resentful at Stryker's increasingly brutal training regimen and his lack of sympathy for the varied personal problems of the recruits, but his determination to mold them into fighting men helps save their lives when the squad is landed at Tarawa in November 1943 and Stryker risks his life to blow up a Japanese bunker that has slaughtered Marines trapped at a log wall. The now battle-tested squad becomes more closely-knit and Stryker's relationship with the men warms as the squad eventually finds itself in the bloodiest island battle of the war, at Iwo Jima. Marine sergeant John Stryker seems a martinet and a bully as he trains young Marines for combat in the Pacific war. In the end, as survival in the bloody battle of Iwo Jima depends on the lessons Stryker has drilled into them, his troops discover why he was so hard on them. Sgt John M. Stryker is a battle hardened Marine who's job it is to prepare his new charges for the realities of war. With no care for making friends, Stryker does what ever it takes to make these men tough and ready for the Pacific conflicts to come. <br/><br/>Sands Of Iwo Jima is unashamedly proud in its jingoistic fervour, and rightly so. Iwo Jima, and the now immortal portrait of weary American soldiers hoisting the flag atop Mt. Suribachi, has become a bastion of bravery, a beacon of triumph if you will. So it's no surprise to find Allan Dwan's film has no intention if deviating from boasting its colours, and hooray to that. Here as Stryker we find John Wayne giving a bit more to his character portrayal than merely some beefcake winning the war. Wayne puts depth and sincerity into Stryker, an air of believability shines through as he shows vulnerability, we believe he can win this war with his men, but we also see tenderness and it lifts Sands higher than your average war picture. <br/><br/>Wise old director Dwan (432 directing credits to his name), weaves the picture together with admirable restraint. Fusing actual newsreel footage with his own tightly handled action sequences, Sands plays out as the tribute and rally call that it has every right to be, even finding place in the film for three of the soldiers who hoisted that now famous flag. Ira Hayes, Rene Gagnon and John Bradley are the three gentlemen to look out for. The rest of the cast don't really have to do much outside of respond to Wayne's two fold performance, but keep an eye out for a fresh faced Richard Jaeckel as Pfc. Frank Flynn, while I personally enjoyed the brief, but important contribution from Julie Bishop as Mary. <br/><br/>Wayne received a nomination for Best Actor at the Academy Awards (too bad for him that 49 contained brilliant shows from the winner Broderick Crawford & a blunderbuss turn from Gregory Peck), with other nominations going to the Best Story, Editing and Sound categories. Ironically it was a role Wayne didn't fancy doing, but some encouragements from war veterans humbled him into starring. <br/><br/>Lock and load and saddle up for a top entry in the WWII pantheon. 8/10 This is a fantastic World War II film from Hollywood's golden era. While the movie would have been amazing without him, the Duke really makes this movie stellar. His brilliant performance as Stryker won him an Academy Award nomination, one of only two during his entire career.<br/><br/>Whether you're a John Wayne fan, or just want to see an exciting, touching, and often humorous movie, this is a great one. I fully recommend "Sands of Iwo Jima" to everyone. This is a definite must-see! Watch and enjoy!
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