HistoryFilmBuff If one didn't know the actual history one might mistake this film for the truth. And that's a shame, since a story as important as this deserves absolute truth. Worse is that the film presents itself as absolutely true, and more than a few reviews here accept that at face value.FACT: Hayes had multiple friends in his platoon, was widely liked, was friendly and outspoken. He wasn't the shy, easily intimidated pushover surrounded by indifferent or even racist soldiers.FACT: Hayes's drinking problem was sporadic, and not as devastating as shown. He was in fact a very LIGHT drinker, and thus a few drinks could get him drunk far easier a severe alcoholic could. Ironically this film's stance against racism is undercut by perpetuating a racist stereotype about Natives.And just plain strange...the film shows the friendship between Hayes and the fictional Sorenson as a thinly veiled frustrated gay relationship. That's because the screenwriter was a closeted gay man back in the days when much of society wouldn't accept that. He projected his own struggles onto Hayes, which is really bad (and confusing) filmmaking.Almost as strange...the bizarre choice of Curtis as Hayes, done up in heavy pancake makeup that makes him look almost like a drag queen at Halloween. Coupled with his "poor little me" impression of Hayes, it comes off as about as realistic as a boy scout dressed in plastic feathers giving a speech about "us poor Indians." Hayes deserved far better than this, and so does the audience. Thank God for Flags of Our Fathers finally giving the world a far more decent (and more accurate) picture.

vitaleralphlouis Tony Curtis as a serious actor was pretty much a joke at the height of his career when he was the darling of the teenyboppers; but he finally delivered an AAA+ role in this gritty and unforgettable saga of "drunken Ira Hayes" --- perhaps the best known World War II soldier after super-hero Audie Murphy. Audie Murphy was the greatest and most decorated soldier of World War II; but all Ira Hayes really did was help a few other men erect the flag at Iwo Jima. How this single act bestowed undeserved and unwanted fame on this fine Puma Indian man, and how this destroyed his life, are the essence of this extraordinary film. This picture knocked me out 45 years ago, a film you never forget.

maxsmodels This is the true story of Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian who became a US Marine and was one of the famous flag raisers on Mt. Surabachi at Iwo Jima. The movie goes into Hayes life after the war as well but unlike many movies of the genre, the story and acting do not lose any steam. In fact, the emotional intensity seems to deepen.Tony Curtiss, who is a WW2 navy veteran {submariner}, gives what I feel is his best performance ever. This story of a simple and fundamentally good man, thrust into a big and dangerous world, is shown without compromise. The movie tells a very real and tragic story about friendship, loss, war and even the dangers of celebrity.In keeping with the authentic telling of this story, even the end is sadly accurate. If you ever visit the National military cemetery in Arlington, VA, you will see the United States Marine Corps War Memorial {often improperly called the Iwo Jima memorial}. The rearmost marine statue is Ira Hayes.

rvm-2 ***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** This is a solid study of a historical figure (one of the GIs who raised the flag on Iwo Jima) and how he struggled to deal with the title of "hero" after the photo of the flag raising became a patriotic icon. Curtis, as always, is superb. He was significantly older than Ira when he made the movie (the character of Ira was supposed to be a teenager, yet Curtis was 35), but Curtis is surprisingly youthful looking. Part of that is due to his ability to project youth through his acting, I think. Notice the theme music: sure enough, it's by the same composer of the theme music for the TV show "Combat!", which debuted a year after this movie. The movie uses the same ascending five note refrain.**** Spoiler ahead: ****My disappointment is the ending, which misrepresents the reason that Ira died: he did not die after being disapointed after a tribal election. He died of exposure after a card game ... but that would have spoiled the otherwise Hollywood story, I suppose (at least, that was obviously the decision).