One-Shot Wednesday
On Wednesdays, guess the Chicago-based movie or television show from one screenshot.
Flags of Our Fathers
Flags of Our Fathers is a 2006 war drama directed by Clint Eastwood. It depicts the Battle of Iwo Jima (1945), the flag-raising atop Mount Suribachi, and the event's impact on six American soldiers’ lives.
Notably, Flags of Our Fathers is a companion piece to Eastwood's film Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), the latter of which represents the battle from the Japanese perspective and is almost entirely in Japanese. Eastwood filmed the two war movies back to back.
Flags of Our Fathers unfolds via flashbacks, this scene included. In this long shot, the war heroes are being honored on location in Chicago’s Union Station.
For the scene, the Illinois Railway Museum brought in two vintage trains, and set designers redecorated the station’s Great Hall with WWII banners. In the background of this screenshot, note the massive banner representing the now-iconic photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.
Aside from Union Station, Flags of Our Fathers filmed at Wrigley Field, Soldier Field, the Drake Hotel (seen at the end of this scene), and the Kenilworth and Glencoe train stations. Eastwood shot the movie over 58 days, a little longer than his usual speedy shooting schedule.
Welcome to One-Shot Wednesday!
Think you’re a Chicago screen buff?
On Wednesdays, we post one still from a movie or TV show filmed or set in the Windy City. Your mission? Guess the title!
You've already seen this week’s image above. If you're feeling nostalgic, explore the full archive of past challenges to keep the fun rolling.