Spike Lee and Clint Eastwood. Photograph: Alberto Rodriguez/Aaron Harris/Getty/AP

OK, here's what's happened so far: Spike has accused Clint of misrepresentation; Clint has accused Spike of misrepresenting his representation and encouraged him to shut his mouth; Spike has observed that Clint is not his father, and that he is pulling a Dirty Harry impression. Who is right in the battle of the Battle of Iwo Jima?

First, the quotes. While at Cannes promoting his new movie about the African-American soldiers who fought at the battle of Iwo Jima, Spike Lee criticised the absence of African-American actors in - Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima - Clint Eastwood's two films about the subject.

This is what he said:

'Clint Eastwood made two films about Iwo Jima that ran for more than four hours total, and there was not one negro actor on the screen. If you reporters had any balls you'd ask him why. There's no way I know why he did that ... But I know it was pointed out to him and that he could have changed it. It's not like he didn't know.

'He did two films about Iwo Jima back to back and there was not one black soldier in both of those films. Many veterans, African-Americans, who survived that war are upset at Clint Eastwood. In his vision of Iwo Jima, Negro soldiers did not exist. Simple as that. I have a different version.'

Ok. Clear enough? Last Friday, in the Guardian, Clint hit back with a specific and, it should be said, fierce rebuke:

'Has he ever studied the history? They [African-American soldiers] didn't raise the flag.

'The story is Flags of Our Fathers, the famous flag-raising picture, and they didn't do that.

'If I go ahead and put an African-American actor in there, people'd go 'This guy's lost his mind'.

'I mean, it's not accurate. A guy like him should shut his face.'

Of course, Spike Lee has not earned a reputation for being one of the world's most outspoken directors by keeping his face shut and so, this weekend, he spoke again, to ABCnews.com:

'First of all, the man is not my father and we're not on a plantation either. He's a great director. He makes his films, I make my films ... A comment like 'A guy like that should shut his face' - come on Clint, come on.

'If he wishes, I could assemble African-American men who fought at Iwo Jima and I'd like him to tell these guys that what they did was insignificant and they did not exist.

'I'm not making this up. I know history. I'm a student of history. And I know the history of Hollywood and it's omission of the one million African-American men and women who contributed to world war II. Not everything was John Wayne, baby.

'Even though he's trying to have a Dirty Harry flashback, I'm going to take the Obama high road and end it right here. Peace and love.'

Which is all very gallant, but unfortunately for Spike and his pacifism, we now open the floor to you.