Hacksaw Ridge (2016) (1 Viewer)

[Aaron Silverman]

I loved Letters from Iwo Jima. It may not have depicted every atrocity known to have occurred, but that wasn't really the point. I don't remember it soft-pedaling the brutality.

Flags of our Fathers was just OK. On a related note, I read the book's author's follow-up, Flyboys, and found it not only bad, but offensive. (In a nutshell, he tied himself in knots trying to blame Japanese barbarism on American imperialism.)

Sands of Iwo Jima was one of my all-time faves when I was growing up. It was on TV all the time.

 

[Tino]

Don't wanna derail this thread with all the things I think are wrong with LFI (which despite my issues with it I still liked it).

Suffice it to say to me it's mostly whitewashed Hollywoodized fiction.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Don't wanna derail this thread with all the things I think are wrong with LFI (which despite my issues with it I still liked it).

Suffice it to say to me it's mostly whitewashed Hollywoodized fiction.

Well, I disagree with you there as I think the point of this film's story was from the perspective of the Japanese solider as Aaron indicated in his post.

 

[Tino]

Well, I disagree with you there as I think the point of this film's story was from the perspective of the Japanese solider as Aaron indicated in his post.

I get that and I enjoyed that aspect of the film. I just couldn't get past the other parts that I have mentioned.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I get that and I enjoyed that aspect of the film. I just couldn't get past the other parts that I have mentioned.

I think Eastwood and screen writers made a conscience decision to do so in order to humanize the Japanese soldier that frankly hasn't been displayed in prior WWII films as they told that story of their brutality in Flags of Our Fathers.

 

[Tino]

I think Eastwood and screen writers made a conscience decision to do so in order to humanize the Japanese soldier that frankly hasn't been displayed in prior WWII films as they told that story of their brutality in Flags of Our Fathers.

I get that too. But in my opinion there's a reason it hasn't been displayed in previous films. Because there was very little of it (humanity) displayed by the Japanese at that time.

 

[Tino]

Box office update.

Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $43,560,205 100.0%
+ Foreign: n/a 0.0%
= Worldwide: $43,560,205

 

[Robert Crawford]

I get that too. But in my opinion there's a reason it hasn't been displayed in previous films. Because there was very little of it (humanity) displayed by the Japanese at that time.

Perhaps, but that has been shown in prior WWII films. Eastwood took a different side of their story as it pertains to their closed, class society that brainwashed their soldiers and civilians.

 

[Tino]

Mel Gibson On The Fierce Battle To Bring ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ To The Screen

http://deadline.com/2016/11/mel-gibson-hacksaw-ridge-history-the-contenders-video-1201859011/

 

[Edwin-S]

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[Edwin-S]

I don't know how my comment ended up in a thread about Hacksaw Ridge. I deleted it.

 

[RobertMG]

[

NY Post mentions sequel back in 2020 so Gibson has been on it BUT I hope he does Lethal Weapon 5 first

 

[Citizen87645]

Late to the discussion, but I watched Hacksaw Ridge after revisiting We Were Soldiers.

The main thing on my mind about the former is I think the childhood experiences that influenced Doss's convictions could have been laid out better. Early in the film we see his experience almost killing his brother with a brick and then it's not until later we are told what really led to his decision to not touch a firearm. I think allusions to deeper trauma could have been better established. His foxhole confession late in the film is not exactly out of the blue, but the backstory and his relationship with his father feels disjointed and incomplete, when it is such a deciding factor in the man he becomes and the decisions he makes about how he chooses to "fight."

Nevertheless, it's an inspiring story and one filled with lessons for all ages.