A Special Veteran’s Day review: “Hacksaw Ridge” (2016)

Veteran’s Day is coming up and just like last year, I wanted to work on a couple special reviews for Veteran’s Day. For this review, I will be discussing the 2016 film “Hacksaw Ridge.”

“Hacksaw Ridge” tells the true story of Pfc. Desmond T. Doss, who won the Congressional Medal of Honor despite refusing to bear arms during World War II on religious grounds.

Doss was drafted and ostracized by fellow soldiers for his pacifist stance but went on to earn respect and adoration for his bravery, selflessness and compassion after he risked his life - without firing a shot - to save 75 men in the Battle of Okinawa.

“Hacksaw Ridge” is a compelling and inspirational true story that is not only emotionally powerful, but also fairly gripping. The combination of Desmond Doss’ faith with the brutality of war also created a harrowing, yet heart-wrenching viewing experience.

The 2016 film effectively shows Doss’ struggle to stay true to his beliefs despite facing ridicule, bullying and immense pressure during his training. Throughout his training, we see Doss being brutally hazed and the torment he experiences from his fellow soldiers and superiors, which highlighted the hostility he faced for his beliefs.

This incredibly empowering film delivers an infamous, effective sequence that portrays the brutal and extremely chaotic battle for the ridge, where Doss works tirelessly to save the wounded. After the initial battle, Doss defies overwhelming odds by single-handedly rescuing 75 soldiers by lowering them down the cliff face, one by one. Seeing him saving the soldiers really highlights his bravery and is probably the most

empowering moment in the entire film.

“Hacksaw Ridge” is widely considered one of the best war films of the 2010s and a powerful tribute to a true American hero. It also successfully brought the incredible, real life story of Desmond Doss to a broad audience. The film also earned six Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture; Best Director - Mel Gibson; Best Actor - Andrew Garfield) and won two (Best Sound Mixing; Best Film Editing).

Trivia: The battle scenes featured throughout the film took nineteen days to shoot. The film was in development limbo for roughly fourteen years.

The world premiere of “Hacksaw Ridge” occurred on September 4, 2016 at the 73rd Venice Film Festival, where it received a ten minute standing ovation.

MPA: Rated R for intense prolonged realistically graphic sequences of war violence, including grisly bloody images   (runtime 139 minutes)

You can currently stream “Hacksaw Ridge” on Netflix or rent it through various PVOD services. For the next edition for Veteran’s Day, I will be taking a look at the 2017 film “Thank You For Your Service” and the Oliver Stone classic “Platoon.”

• According to director Mel Gibson, Desmond T. Doss's son, Desmond Jr, attended the screening and was moved to tears by Andrew Garfield's accurate portrayal of his dad.

• With the exception of Vince Vaughn, the rest of the major actors and the supporting cast were born or raised in England or Australia. The film had a relatively low budget, and the production needed a majority-Australian cast to qualify for Australian government subsidies.

• Hal B. Wallis had previously tried to buy this story from Desmond T. Doss in the 1950s, and hoped that Audie Murphy would star. Doss didn't want his story turned into a typical Hollywood movie.

• In 2004, Terry Benedict directed The Conscientious Objector (2004), a documentary on the life of Desmond T. Doss. The film was produced mostly before Doss died, and it reveals many small details that were changed for the Hollywood release. In the documentary, Doss reveals that his nonviolence was inspired by a drunken fight between his father and his uncle in which a gun was involved. If his mother hadn't gotten between them, taken the gun, given it to Desmond and told him to hide it, his father may have killed his own brother-in-law. Desmond said that was the defining moment in which he swore to never carry a gun.

• Mel Gibson was originally meant to play Sergeant Howell, but passed on the role to Vince Vaughn in order to stay focused on directing the film.

• Teresa Palmer wanted a role in the film so badly that she auditioned via her iPhone and sent the recording to Mel Gibson. She heard nothing back for three months, until Gibson called Palmer to tell her in a Skype chat that she landed the role of Dorothy, Doss' wife.

• The knot Doss accidentally ties during training and uses later to lower the wounded soldier is a Spanish bowline. It is also known as a 'bowline on a bight' and is taught as a rescue knot since it can be used for exactly the way Doss does, as a harness for raising/lowering someone.

• Desmond Doss' nickname was "Preacher."

• The battle scenes took nineteen days to shoot.

• The film received a standing ovation lasting nine minutes and forty-eight seconds at the Venice Film Festival in September 2016. Mel Gibson timed it.

• Desmond T. Doss was a member of the U.S. Army's 77th Infantry Division, nown as the "Liberty Division" for its distinctive insignia of a gold Statue of Liberty on a blue isosceles-trapezoid background. The 77th fought at Guam, Leyte (Philippines), and Okinawa. One of its units, Company C of the 306th Infantry Regiment, left the U.S. in 1944 with 203 officers and men. By war's end in August 1945, just 13 of the original members were left. The 77th fought alongside the Marines, and a newspaper article during the war described how the division's soldiers fought so well at Guam that they earned the ultimate compliment - the Leathernecks nicknamed their Army counterparts the "77th Marine Division." Famed War Correspondent Ernie Pyle was killed by an enemy sniper while covering the 77th on Ie Shima, a small island off the west coast of Okinawa. The 77th was part of the Allied force that occupied Japan after hostilities ceased, and was deactivated on March 15, 1946. However, the lineage of the 77th Infantry Division has since been 'inherited' and continued by the 77th Sustainment Brigade, a unit of the U.S. Army Reserve raised in 1963, which remains in service and uses the same insignia as the 77th Infantry Division.

• Desmond Doss's son, Desmond Doss Jr., served as a military consultant during the film's production to ensure the accurate portrayal of his father's experiences.

• In 2004, Doss was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the highest civilian honors in the United States, in recognition of his contributions and heroism during World War II.