Sands of Iwo Jima

Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)

  • 100% of critics liked it
    (10 reviews)

  • 42% want to see it
    (6,234 ratings)

From director Allan Dwan, Sands of Iwo Jima is a drama set during the Second World War and follows John Stryker (John Wayne), a relentlessly tough Marine sergeant as he trains a squad of naïve, rebellious recruits at a New Zealand military station in 1943. Recently left by his wife, Stryker has… More

Play Trailer

Unrated,
Directed By
Written By
Harry Brown, James Edward Grant
Genres
Drama, Action & Adventure, Classics
Republic Pictures Home Video

Critic Reviews

  • Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com

    One of John Wayne's best performances, and an entertainment above average on its own.

  • Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

    In one of his best roles, Wayne's Stryker is a sergeant disliked by his recruits due to his ruthless training and rigid code of ethics. The film established the two-generational plot as a Wayne staple, here contrasted with John Agar's "soft" soldier.

  • James Plath, Movie Metropolis

    Solid patriotic WWII vehicle for Wayne.

  • Tony Medley, Tolucan Times

    A rip-snorting 1940s style war movie

  • Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    Tailor-made for John Wayne.

Read all 6 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Conner R


    Probably the most influential WW2 movie ever made, you can see ever other movie proceeding it to have similar scenes and characters. Maybe it's because this uses stock footage from the real war, was made so close to the war and has The Duke playing the lead; this is one of the… More

  • danny d


    im not usually big on john wayne, but this is one of his four or five performances that i really enjoyed, and as a film this one is phenomenal. some absolutely great story telling for a war fillm nearly 60 years old. although storytelling in older films is usually better than in… More

  • Dean M


    Superb war film. The Duke was never better than as the haunted Sergeant Stryker, a man hated by his men (with a few exceptions) for his unyielding toughness, but it is by that attitude that he hopes to keep them alive in combat. Watch it and see how good John Wayne really was.

  • Cindy I


    A good war film with John Wayne, set in the Pacific Theatre of WWII. Wayne plays a tough sargeant trying to whip a bunch of new soldiers into shape to fight the Japanese. Exciting battle sequences, and a moving shot of the American flag going up on Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima. The only… More

  • xGary X


    Let's face it, no-one watches John Wayne films with the expectation of sensitive soul-searching, so this is the usual kind of rugged, macho flag waving you'd expect from the duke. But it is done with intelligence and heart, and is a pretty solid war story on the whole.

Read all 7 featured audience ratings

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