Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)

John Wayne earned a 1949 Best Actor Academy Award nomination for one of his most iconic roles, as the battle-hardened leader of a squad of recruits, in Allan Dwan's SANDS OF IWO JIMA. Haunted by his personal demons, Marine Sgt. John Stryker is both hated and feared by his men, who see him as a cold-hearted sadist. But when their boots hit the beaches, they begin to understand the reason for Stryker's rigid form of discipline, as he leads them into one of the most treacherous battles in the Pacific. Emotionally gripping, punctuated with intense battle scenes, all bound together by Wayne's larger-than-life performance, Sands of Iwo Jima is the quintessential WWII film.