Flags of Our Fathers poster

Two-time Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood explores the story behind the most memorable photograph of World War II – and not since “Saving Private Ryan” has a historical wartime epic packed this kind of powerful emotional wallop.

On February 23, 1945, Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal snapped a picture of five Marines and one Navy Corpsman raising the U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi after a bloody, horrific 35-day battle in which 6,821 American soldiers were killed and 20,000 more were wounded. “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima” made instant heroes of the random men in the picture. So, manipulated by the military, the three surviving flag-raisers (Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach) became an integral part of the government’s War Bond Tour. Trapped in the exploitive spotlight of symbolic adulation, they soon realized that the glory of celebrity fades fast, followed by disappointment and disillusionment.

Based on the best-seller by James Bradley with Ron Powers, the screenplay by William Broyles Jr. (“Apollo 13”) and Paul Haggis (“Crash”) reveals the fighting that led up to the photograph and what happened to the men after they returned home. Within their psychological conflict is justifiable skepticism of the mythology of hero-worship.

Produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Clint Eastwood (who also composed the musical score), there’s a spectacular visual scope although the complex, non-linear structure presents a challenge for the audience. Cinematographer Tom Stern fades out colors, often moving monochromatically between chaos and coherence – and the actors, particularly Adam Beach (“Windtalkers”), acquit themselves admirably.

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, Flags of Our Fathers is a compelling 10 – to be followed in February, 2007, by Eastwood’s “Letters from Iwo Jima,” delving into the battle from the Japanese perspective.