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:

Honor Was Their Code.

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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, Wide Release

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

Naval Air Weapons Station, Point Mugu, was used to film the Camp Tarawa portion of the film, the Marines pre-battle embarkation point.

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Goofs

Just before the convoy is hit by the friendly artillery, the ground charge used to simulate the first shell impact can be seen as the truck drives past it.

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Quotes

Ben Yahzee: He wondered about cowboys watching Indians' backs. Something about it didn't seem right.

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Alternate Versions

A few scenes and lines of dialouge were either altered or missing from the finished film. An early scene of Joe and a nurse in their car on the beach has them two talking about the world being a pretty place and joe says it's not. Another scene of Joe and Yazi talking. Joe asks "seen any combat?" Yazi answers "No, but i am looking forward to getting into some" There are a few other small lines of dialouge that was left out. These were most likely cut because of pacing.

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Connections

Featured in Windtalkers: Fly-On-the-Set Scene Diaries (2003)

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Soundtracks

The Marine's Hymn
Music by Jacques Offenbach
Sung at the embarkation party

User Reviews

Another Decent Modern-Day WWII Movie

It's nice to see World War II films making a comeback, as they have seemed to do since the arrival of "Saving Private Ryan" in 1997. This is another of them and with modern technology the viewers get to experience some very realistic action scenes. The main thing is that the story is interesting.

With a John Woo-directed film, you know are going to get tons of action, almost always too much, and that's the case here. However, some of the scenes are fantastic. You also get some beautiful cinematography.

Still on the positive, the acting was good in here with Nicholas Cage in the lead role and a lesser-name-but-good supporting cast. The story, although fairly long at 134 minutes, was never boring.

On the negative side, as mentioned, Woo tends to overkill and this movie must have a set record for number of people killed. It also leans on the politically correct side, of course, with Native American spirituality given complete reverence as usual and the Catholic (Cage) looking like a very weak in his beliefs. In modern-days, you'll never see the opposite shown on film.

Anyway, it's a good action movie that certainly entertains. The intense and long action makes it almost too much to watch in one viewing!