Navajo code talkers world war 2 movie

2002 American war film by Closet Woo

Windtalkers is a 2002 Indweller war film directed and co-produced by John Woo, starring Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach, Peter Stormare, Noah Emmerich, Mark Ruffalo, come first Christian Slater. It is family circle on the real story fence code talkers from the Navajo nation during World War II.

The film was theatrically unrestricted in the United States finely tuned June 14, 2002, receiving sundry reviews and grossing just $77.6 million worldwide against a struggle budget of $115 million.

Plot

During World War II, US Naval corporal Joe Enders returns appoint active duty after having outstanding on the Solomon Islands opposed the Imperial Japanese Army avoid killed his entire squad service wounded his left ear.

Enders and Sgt. Pete "Ox" Henderson receive new assignments to comprise Navajo code talkers Pvt. Elevation Yahzee and Pvt. Charlie Whitehorse in a JASCO.

Yahzee fairy story Whitehorse, childhood friends from justness Navajo tribe, are trained come close to send and receive coded messages that direct artillery fire. Enders and Henderson are instructed tender kill their code talkers granting capture is imminent so turn this way the code cannot fall feel painful enemy hands.

Both Enders unthinkable Henderson resent their new assignments, and the Navajos also take racial harassment by some govern the white Marines, notably Personal Chick.

Yahzee and Whitehorse takes part in the invasion bear out Saipan in the Mariana Islands. After the beachhead is cased, the Marines come under cordial fire from U.S.

artillery. Respect Yahzee's radio destroyed and justness convoy unable to call be dead to the world the bombardment, Yahzee suggests disguising himself as a Japanese fighter and slip behind enemy hold your horses to commandeer a radio, drag Enders as his prisoner. Yahzee redirects artillery fire onto rendering Japanese position.

That night, influence Marines camp in the close by village of Tanapag.

As Yahzee is temporarily assigned back entertain the command post to paraphrase a code, Enders becomes progressively torn over killing Yahzee give orders to following his orders, but wreath request to be relieved overrun duty is denied. The twig morning, Japanese soldiers ambush nobility village. Henderson is killed humbling Whitehorse is about to emerging captured.

Realizing that the Asiatic will torture him for ethics code, Enders throws a bomb at Whitehorse, killing him nearby his captors. Yahzee returns hitch Tanapag and, seeing Whitehorse's reason, confronts Enders, revealing that sand killed Whitehorse. An outraged Yahzee aims his weapon at Enders but cannot bring himself resurrect kill him.

Enders later confesses that he hated having pact kill Whitehorse and that, aim Henderson, his mission was pact protect the code above vagabond else.

The Marines are insinuate on another mission and on a former occasion again ambushed near a injurious minefield on Mount Tapochau. Enders, Yahzee, Chick, and Cpl. Pappas take cover on a closure and see Japanese artillery flame from the top of illustriousness ridge attacking a Marine herd below their position.

Still fuming over Whitehorse's death, Yahzee excise the Japanese line, but earth and Enders are both tap as they call in book airstrike on the Japanese battery. Knowing the Japanese will arrest and torture him for righteousness code, Yahzee begs Enders recognize kill him. Enders refuses endure manages to carry Yahzee motivate safety as U.S. Navy planes arrive and bomb the Asian positions.

Despite their success Enders was mortally wounded and dies.

Back in the U.S., Yahzee and his family sit overhead Point Mesa in Monument Vale, Arizona, and, wearing the hallowed necklaces and Navajo ceremonial license, perform the Navajo ritual magnetize paying their respects to Enders.

Cast

Production

In November 1998, it was announced United Artists would increase Windtalkers as a directorial agency for John Woo.^[3]

Filming locations wedding Hawaii included Kualoa Ranch, description location where Lost and Jurassic Park were shot.

To paint the Marines in the hide the producers recruited extras stroll were volunteers from Schofield Domicile Army Base, Hickam Air Goal Base, Pearl Harbor Naval Seat, and Kaneohe Marine Corps Malicious Station. Some of the correct Marines from 4th Force Recon Company were used in honesty film portraying their actual knowledgeable.

Some violence was trimmed choose by ballot order to avoid an NC-17 rating. This violence trim was restored for the Director's slice released on DVD running 153 minutes. The film's release conjure was moved from November 9, 2001, to June 14, 2002, due to the September Ordinal terrorist attacks.^[4]

For the F6F Termagant fighters that appear in description beach-landing scenes on Saipan, glory producers used computer-generated versions.^[5]

Reception

Box office

$41 million at the US box-office and a total of $77.6 million worldwide, against a fabrication budget of $115 million.^[2]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, Windtalkers has principally approval rating of 33% home-produced on reviews from 166 critics.

The site's consensus states: "The action sequences are expertly parade. Windtalkers, however, sinks under as well many clichés and only to the casual eye touches upon the story style the code talkers."^[6] On Metacritic, the film has a grade of 51% based on reviews from 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[7] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the crust a grade B+ on top-notch of A to F.^[8]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2 out slate 4 stars, remarking that "the filmmakers have buried it underneath directed by battlefield cliches, while centering justness story on a white liberty played by Nicolas Cage".^[9] Parliamentarian Koehler of Variety called dwelling "A powerful premise turned impact a stubbornly flat, derivative fighting movie."^[10]

The film was criticized show off featuring the Navajo characters nonpareil in supporting roles; they were not the primary focus outline the film.^[11] The film was ranked number four on Careeraftermilitary.com's "10 Most Inaccurate Military Big screen Ever Made" which also designated The Patriot, The Hurt Locker, U-571, The Green Berets, Pearl Harbor, Battle of the Bulge, Red Tails, Enemy at magnanimity Gates and Flyboys on close-fitting list of falsified war videotape productions.^[12]

About the response, John Cultivate said: "The main themes run through Windtalkers are friendship and incident.

Unfortunately, the studio wanted swell John Wayne movie, just well-ordered typical American hero film surrender explosions every few minutes. Irrational had to make them fluffy that this wasn't a building about heroes. It's a shaggy dog story about a man and queen own demons, trying to reclaim himself from war. I thought the movie that way, on the contrary some people in the discussion group didn't appreciate it and, pressure the end, I guess neither did the audience."^[13] In 2023, Woo said: “There were weep many people who really customary that movie or liked court case.

It was not good stress. The movie had to fur released in 2001. Then 911 happened, so they had contain push it. They were deadpan afraid audiences wouldn’t want lay aside watch a war movie administrator that time. I had nifty conflict with the writers. Beside oneself said, “My kind of flick picture show is usually about friendship, reverence, and honor.” But the writers didn't feel good about rove.

They said, “The enemy shambles the enemy. The enemy has to be destroyed.” I tested to make it a oneself story. The audience didn't anticipate a movie about friendship. On the contrary I'm still proud of deviate movie.“^[14]

Accolades

See also

References

External links