AllMovie

As produced by acclaimed PBS affiliate WGBH-Boston, the documentary Iwo Jima: Red Blood, Black Sand revisits the titular World War II battle, which erupted on a volcanic island some 1,200 km south of Tokyo, and justly culled a reputation as one of the most unflinchingly brutal conflicts of the Pacific theater. Via a combination of stunning archival footage and vivid recollections by historians, the program details how a remarkably small band of Allied soldiers managed to successfully defend the said island against a group of 21,000 Japanese military men willing to fight to the bitter, bloody end.