Windtalkers (2002)

Two U.S. Marines in World War II are assigned to protect Navajo Marines, who use their native language as an unbreakable radio cypher.

Director:

John Woo

Writers:

John Rice, Joe Batteer

Stars:

Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach, Peter Stormare

3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicolas Cage	...	Joe Enders
Adam Beach	...	Ben Yahzee
Peter Stormare	...	Hjelmstad
Noah Emmerich	...	Chick
Mark Ruffalo	...	Pappas
Brian Van Holt	...	Harrigan
Martin Henderson	...	Nellie
Roger Willie	...	Charlie Whitehorse
Frances O'Connor	...	Rita
Christian Slater	...	Ox Henderson
Jason Isaacs	...	Major Mellitz
William Morts	...	Fortino
Cameron Thor	...	Mertens
Kevin Cooney	...	Ear Doctor
Holmes Osborne	...	Colonel Hollings

Storyline

During World War II when the Americans needed to find a secure method of communicating they devised a code using the Navajo language. So Navajos were recruited to become what they call code talkers. They would be assigned to a unit and would communicate with other units using the code so that even though the enemy could listen they couldn't understand what they were saying. And to insure that the code is protected men are assigned to protect it at all costs. One of these men is Joe Enders, a man who sustained an injury that can make him unfit for duty but he manages to avoid it and is told of his duty and that the man he is suppose to protect is Ben Yahzee. Initially there is tension but the two men learn to get along.

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Plot Keywords:

japanese army | japanese soldier | navajo indian | u.s. soldier | code | 

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Taglines:

The Navajo Has the Code. Protect the Code at All Costs.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive graphic war violence, and for language

Details

Official Sites:

MGM Official site [South Korea]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Navajo Japanese

Release Date:

14 June 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wind Talkers

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$115,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,520,412, 16 June 2002

Gross USA:

$40,914,068

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$77,628,265

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Lion Rock Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min 153 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fleming Begaye Sr. one of the 400 Navajo code talkers in the Marines, born in Red Valley, in 1921, died in Chinle, Arizona on May 10th, 2019. Now only seven code talkers remain.

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Goofs

At the end of the film, a back-shot of Ben Yahzee's little boy shows a dog-tag chain around his collar, before Ben ever places the dog-tags around his neck.

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Quotes

Joe Enders: What a magical heap of Navajo horseshit!

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Alternate Versions

Due to restrictions/limitations in the German retail market at the time, MGM also released a cut version on DVD which misses ca. 12 minutes of footage. This version is rated "Not under 16" (uncut version has a "Not under 18" rating).

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Connections

Referenced in American Heroes: A Tribute to Navajo Code Talkers (2003)

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Soundtracks

Little Jug
Written by Ib Glindemann
Provided by APM

User Reviews

I was disappointed

Just a brief review. I expected more of this film, and I fault Woo's direction for not giving us more. There is such a story to tell about the Windtalkers, and he hardly told anything. The action was convincing enough but I wondered about some of the characterizations. Actually this was just an ordinary action film under the guise of telling the story of the Windtalkers. I guess I was just expecting more of a story, and a little less of the noisy action.