Forthcoming film: Hacksaw Ridge, PTO, Okinawa

Discussions on WW2 and pre-WW2 related movies, games, military art and other fiction.
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Felix C
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Forthcoming film: Hacksaw Ridge, PTO, Okinawa

#1

Post by Felix C » 21 Oct 2016, 14:24

based on actual experiences of medic Desmond Doss. Mel Gibson directing.
Trailer available.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2119532/

Larso
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Re: Forthcoming film: Hacksaw Ridge, PTO, Okinawa

#2

Post by Larso » 13 Nov 2016, 09:58

Saw it last night and it is excellent.

The focus is on Doss who refused to carry a gun but wanted to serve as a combat medic. The army had procedures in place for this but typically of armies (with the help of fool officers), stuffed it up and Doss was treated terribly. He gets his wish in the end and through astonishing bravery rescues dozens of injured men after a Japanese attack threw his battalion off the Ameda Escarpment (Okinawa).

The reviews have focused on the graphic violence, which there certainly is - things are taken a step beyond SPR and The Pacific. It's horrific but that's the reality. There's also a commendable focus on heroism. Vince Vaughn and the character 'Smitty' with their weapons but obviously also that of Doss, roaming no-mans land, with Japanese patrols everywhere.

The battle scenes are stunning, and based on those US memoirs (and much else) I've been reading, I think very closely conveys the violence of combat with the Japanese. The view of hundreds of screaming, charging Japanese just sent a shiver through me. I've often wondered what that sort of thing really looked like and what it meant for those involved, now I know as clearly as I can without having been there.

I also liked the focus on Doss as a man of faith. I'm Lutheran personally and like I'm sure many US Christians of the time did, I see fighting the Nazies and Imperial, Pearl Harbor attacking Japan as a 'Just War'. Most wouldn't have needed to think so much about that even but some certainly did. I recently read about a very devout man on Iwo Jima (William Henderson), who related stabbing a Japanese to death without hesitation. I was actually very pleased to see a Christian man shown as so courageous. I suspect part of his troubles with his fellow soldiers was because he was a bit odd, more so than his faith.

There's a lot squeezed in overall and a lot to think about as a result. I thought it was extraordinary and I strongly recommend it.


Felix C
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Re: Forthcoming film: Hacksaw Ridge, PTO, Okinawa

#3

Post by Felix C » 13 Nov 2016, 23:46

Have a question about the war scenes. In the trailer you see a mass of men approaching presumably the summit of the hill. I thought of the empty battlefield and all that where it would be a handful and dispersed men picking their way from cover to cover. The scene in the trailer was more Nick Cage in John Woo's Codetalkers than what a WW2 battlefield looks like.

shamirnewell
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Re: Forthcoming film: Hacksaw Ridge, PTO, Okinawa

#4

Post by shamirnewell » 14 Nov 2016, 02:56

This is a much older documentary on Desmond Doss: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0302427/

I highly recommend and it is one of the few movies I personally own.

Larso
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Re: Forthcoming film: Hacksaw Ridge, PTO, Okinawa

#5

Post by Larso » 14 Nov 2016, 03:29

The escarpment is so steep - it's virtually a cliff, that cargo nets were strung for the soldiers to climb up. There are pictures that show the real Doss standing at the top, so it's a factual representation. There is a degree of clustering at the top as they reach it. The bottom of the cliff is out of direct Japanese sight, so men gathered there too. US artillery fire allowed the troops to gain the top and begin their assault. The Japanese were largely underground and emerged to resist attacks and launch counter-attacks. I too thought 'don't cluster' but it's a brief scene and the rest of the battle is pretty realistic.

PF
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Re: Forthcoming film: Hacksaw Ridge, PTO, Okinawa

#6

Post by PF » 29 Dec 2016, 21:02

see the Historical accuracy section
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacksaw_Ridge
http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelf ... saw-ridge/

Better than the Reagan era version of Pearl harbaar

LineDoggie
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Re: Forthcoming film: Hacksaw Ridge, PTO, Okinawa

#7

Post by LineDoggie » 03 Jan 2017, 23:51

PF wrote:see the Historical accuracy section
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacksaw_Ridge
http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelf ... saw-ridge/

Better than the Reagan era version of Pearl harbaar
IF you mean the Ben Affleck movie Pearl Harbor that was made in 2001

Reagan left Office in 1989, 12 years before
"There are two kinds of people who are staying on this beach: those who are dead and those who are going to die. Now let’s get the hell out of here".
Col. George Taylor, 16th Infantry Regiment, Omaha Beach

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kobold
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Re: Forthcoming film: Hacksaw Ridge, PTO, Okinawa

#8

Post by kobold » 18 Jan 2017, 19:49

Watched it last night. Really enjoyed it, though hollywood often seem to make those moments of great heroism appear cheesy, like those slow handclap moments in some films.

Felix C
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Re: Forthcoming film: Hacksaw Ridge, PTO, Okinawa

#9

Post by Felix C » 30 Jul 2017, 14:40

Watched it last night. Historical question on my part, U.S. Troops actually retreated back over the cliffs and left their wounded on top to the Japanese?

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Mile Jedinak
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Re: Forthcoming film: Hacksaw Ridge, PTO, Okinawa

#10

Post by Mile Jedinak » 15 Sep 2017, 09:20

When the order came to retreat, one man stayed... WWII American Army Medic Desmond Doss. He had infinite opportunities to escape the battlefield, but he didn't.
Yet I don't need to worry if I fall short of free chips at casinogames club com. I got a hunch about this. This time jackpot is mine.

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