World War II American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, serving during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor wit... Read allWorld War II American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, serving during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot.World War II American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, serving during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot.
- Won 2 Oscars
- 57 wins & 115 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording 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.
- GoofsNone of the trainees in Basic Training have the proper haircut.
- Quotes
Desmond Doss: Maybe I am prideful... but I don't know how I'm going to live with myself if I don't stay true to what I believe... much less how you could live with me. I'd never be the man that I wanna be in YOUR eyes.
- Crazy creditsThe real Desmond T. Doss is interviewed during the end credits and briefly describes his experiences during World War II, some of which have already been dramatized in the film.
- Alternate versionsA&E and History Channel versions mute the curse words with background noise or cut away from it. They also remove most of the graphic violence by either digitally editing or cutting out. When includes but is not limited to:
- Vito being shot twice in the chest.
- The screaming soldier's face being shot off is cut, it cuts to the blood hitting the other soldier's face. Then the other soldier being shot is cut out.
- The man in the beginning who injured his leg, his leg bleeding is sped up, only shown on screen for a part second.
- The Japanese ritual suicide scene is cut to remove the man who was decapitated's head being cut off.
- ConnectionsEdited from Oba: The Last Samurai (2011)
- SoundtracksTo God be the Glory
(Traditional Song)
Written by Fanny Crosby
Music by Howard Doane (as William Doane)
It has been said about 'Hacksaw Ridge' that the second half is better than the first half, something that is agreed with by me. Not that the family/character study stuff is bad, far from it, it's beautifully filmed, even better acted and paints Doss as a very fascinating character that it's easy from the get go to identify with his wants to succeed against all catastrophic odds.
Just that the first third does take time to get going with a pedestrian pace, the dialogue is corny (in fact, to me the dialogue is the least good thing about 'Hacksaw Ridge' in general and the element that rings true the least) and the sentimentality is laid too thick (this is also particularly true in the slightly underdeveloped romance).
However this is made up for by the entertaining yet hard-hitting training scenes and in particular the truly jaw-droppingly brutal war/battle scenes that soar in nerve-shredding intensity and raw emotion, giving the first 30 minutes of 'Saving Private Ryan' a run for its money and perhaps making it tame in comparison (high praise for a film with one of the most gut-wrenching first 30 minutes on film, though to me the rest of the film isn't quite as good).
Throughout 'Hacksaw Ridge' has exceptional production values, in particular the cinematography in the battle scenes, and Gibson directs like his life was depending on it. Rupert Gregson-Williams' score has the right amount of pulsating energy and nuance, and the sound effects in the war/battle scenes have a terrifying authenticity.
For a vast majority of the time, the story is very compelling and makes the most of mature and very easy to relate with themes. It has a wide range of emotional impact, being for the second half intensely powerful, much of the film being poignant, some of it sardonically amusing (without it being out of place) and also all of it inspirational. Rather than straying from the facts for dramatic license, Gibson is surprisingly respectful this time round.
Andrew Garfield has yet to give a better performance than his astonishing turn here (though he is splendid too in Martin Scorsese's 'Silence'), and Gibson similarly brings the best out of Sam Worthington (often a charisma-free actor but here doubts were cast aside) and Vince Vaughn (at his sardonic best while also touchingly subdued, proof that he can be good if the material serves him all which too often in his career it hasn't but it does brilliantly here). Hugo Weaving is terrific, also giving some of his best work in some time. Teresa Palmer makes the most of her role.
In conclusion, a near-triumphant come-back. 8/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Feb 3, 2017
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
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- Also known as
- Hasta el último hombre
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $40,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $67,209,615
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $15,190,758
- Nov 6, 2016
- Gross worldwide
- $180,563,636
- Runtime2 hours 19 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1