Hacksaw Ridge

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by The Hermit, Aug 2, 2016.

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  1. The Hermit

    The Hermit Wavin' that magick glowstick since 1976 Thread Starter

    I'm surprised no-one's mentioned this yet, so I will;



    Say what you want about Mel Gibson - and the guy has more than paid his share of penance this last decade, time for people to forgive and forget - but he can most assuredly direct the hell out of a film, and that trailer is pretty damned impressive by any measure.

    At last, a film not featuring costumed superheroes, based on a video game, not a sequel/prequel/reboot/remake, or an attempted franchise-starter... what a novelty!
     
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  2. Scott222C

    Scott222C Loner, Rebel & Family Man

    Location:
    here

    Hollywood movies about US Heroes in WWII ain't exactly a novelty, now if somebody made a big Hollywood movie about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, that would be a novelty ................. still it looks promising enough
     
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  3. Scotian

    Scotian Amnesia Hazed

    I think that trailer gave a little too much of the movie away (not exactly a novelty these days either). I still like Mel Gibson & wish him nothing but the best.
     
  4. tommy-thewho

    tommy-thewho Senior Member

    Location:
    detroit, mi
    Always was a fan of his movies.

    Will go see this.
     
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  5. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    Oscar consideration talk from the critic here for best actor and maybe best director.

    As usual with Mel, lots of violent stuff, sounds like the opening is brutal to the extreme.
     
  6. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    So, Saving Private Ryan but without the guns? Or at least one guy doesn't have a gun? I think I'm going to pass on this one.
     
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  7. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    seems that way, he's a C objecter, and all around him is madness and into the violent scene at the start he is thrown and saves multiple lives with almost crazy bravery amidst withering gunfire.
     
  8. Mel directs action scenes on a large scale better than most directors. I'll probably catch this one.
     
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  9. neo123

    neo123 Senior Member

    Location:
    Northern Kentucky
    Seeing this tomorrow. Saw Doctor Strange today.

    I will give my opinion after I see it.
     
  10. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    High hopes for this one.
    Though Mel seems to have lost his mojo after Apocalypto.
     
  11. The Hermit

    The Hermit Wavin' that magick glowstick since 1976 Thread Starter

    Just for the record, I've already started a thread - Hacksaw Ridge ยป - so if the mod's want to merge both, it would probably be best for future discussion.

    Mel hasn't directed a film since Apocalypto, so if the reviews for Hacksaw Ridge are accurate, it sounds like he hasn't missed a beat...
     
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  12. Jerry

    Jerry Grateful Gort Staff

    Location:
    New England
    My local paper said today that the opening scene in this movie makes "...the first 30 minutes of Saving Private Ryan look like a folk music concert."
     
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  13. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    'Meh'

    As technology advances so does the realism of what is depicted.
     
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  14. Jerry

    Jerry Grateful Gort Staff

    Location:
    New England
    Meh.
     
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  15. The Battle of Okinawa took 20,195 US dead and over 55,000 wounded in 83 days.

    Think about that for a moment.

    The Vietnam war took 58,315 US dead and over 300,000 wounded from 1961-1975: 14 years. That puts it in perspective.

    That's an average of 235 GIs, Marines, Sailors and Airmen KIA per day on Okinawa.

    I wrote a book about a Marine who was a rifleman on both Peleliu and Okinawa, who barely got out of the latter when a Japanese shell landed only about 40ft from him.

    Man, we've got it good.
     
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  16. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    Maybe not for long.
     
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  17. townsend

    townsend Senior Member

    Location:
    Ridgway, CO
    My father (deceased in 1992, after 72 years on earth) rose to the rank of Master Sargent in the U.S. Army, served four years (without coming back to the States), and fought in the Pacific theater of WW2. He had a whole trunk of war souvenirs (e.g., silk Japanese flag he took off an enemy combatant, etc.) at one time. He never spoke much about war, other than rare comments intended to serve as a mild corrective to the PR version about freedom and the glory of warfare. I do recall he once spoke about landing on an island in the Gulf of Leyte. He said that the Navy heavily bombarded and bombed the island before amphibious landing and assault by the army. He said that most were of the impression that, considering the extensive "softening" up, that resistant would be moderate or less. But they were wrong. The Japanese were deeply dug in, and after the bombardment and bombings, they came up and reset their defense. The army encountered stiff resistance. Even after the Japanese were clearly defeated, they refused to surrender or come out of the caves and bunkers. The army had no choice but to roast them with flame throwers.

    War is way too glorified in our society, so I can't say we have it good. It is hell, for the so-called victor as well as the defeated.

    Not trying to get the thread closed. I'm through . . .
     
  18. jdlaw

    jdlaw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan
    I definitely plan to see this sometime next week.

    A few years ago I read 'With the Old Breed' by Eugene Sledge. His depiction of Okinawa is what nightmares are made of.
     
  19. efraley

    efraley Forum Resident

    Location:
    Richmond Va USA
    Saw it yesterday. One of the best movies of the year. The battle scenes are very graphic (as they should be).
     
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  20. Coricama

    Coricama Classic Rocker

    Location:
    Marietta, GA
    Amen.
     
  21. Coricama

    Coricama Classic Rocker

    Location:
    Marietta, GA
    I read that and a couple others after watching HBO's 'The Pacific'. If I had been alive back then, I think I would rather have gone to Europe.
     
    Last edited: Nov 5, 2016
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  22. townsend

    townsend Senior Member

    Location:
    Ridgway, CO
    So would everybody else. It's never a picnic being a prisoner of war, but falling into the hands of the Japanese was almost tantamount to a death sentence . . .
     
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  23. Now imagine if Sledge had been a rifleman, instead of with a mortar squad, about 300-400 yards behind the riflemen. The movies depict the mortars right alongside the riflemen, which might have happened in isolated cases, but their training was that they needed to stay behind a good distance, otherwise their mortars would not be in effective range.

    Also, I'm not knocking Sledge, but it's well known that he "borrowed" stories, which isn't bad, because Sledge did site a lot of K/3/5 members in his book.

    Give some, take some. I know and/or knew a lot of men who fought in the Pacific, who said that they couldn't imagine fighting someone who looked just like them, as the Germans and Italians did.
     
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  24. neo123

    neo123 Senior Member

    Location:
    Northern Kentucky
    Yep. I just got back from seeing it and it is a very good/excellent movie.

    If you like war movies, you should like this. Unbelievable what this guy accomplished (true story) and I appreciated the real footage and interviews of the actual people at the end of the movie. Mel Gibson did an excellent directing job.

    Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn and Sam Worthingon did great in their parts too. Hugo Weaving had a supporting role and put in his usual excellent effort. (There is no imagining him as Agent Smith or Elrond in this role, unlike I do for most of his movies.)

    The first part of the movie was the slowest part with all the setup and background (how he got to be the way he was) with his family and girlfriend. But once he enlisted and went off to Basic Training, the pace picked up and was non-stop action once they went off to war. The Basic Training scenes reminded me a little of Full Metal Jacket's and the actual fighting scenes just might be one of the most realistic I've seen in a War movie.

    Fans of Full Metal Jacket, Saving Private Ryan or any of the other excellent war movies will like this.

    The 2 Hours and 20 minutes flew by once all the setup and background parts were over in the beginning.
     
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  25. townsend

    townsend Senior Member

    Location:
    Ridgway, CO
    A book that describes vividly the experience of a U.S. serviceman (in this case, Louis Zamperini) captured by the Japanese is the best seller by Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption: https://smile.amazon.com/Unbroken-W...=UTF8&qid=1478445809&sr=8-1&keywords=Unbroken

    It is an enthralling read, but it was a little bit too long for my interest. IIRC, she briefly contrasts the experience of U.S. servicemen in the European theater. I didn't go see it, but I got the impression from reviews that the Hollywood movie based on this book wasn't that good (directed by Angelina Jolie). YMMV.
     
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