Hacksaw Ridge
DVD
Review
by Kam Williams
Best Picture
Nominated WWII Biopic Arriving on DVD
Desmond
Doss (Andrew Garfield) was born in the Blue Ridge Mountains where he
was raised as a Seventh-day Adventist. Devoutly religious, he
followed his faith's literal interpretation of the 10 Commandments,
including the 5th's dictate that "Thou shalt not kill." So,
when he rushed to enlisted in the Army right after the Japanese sneak
attack on Pearl Harbor, he did so as a Conscientious Objector.
But because
he was unwilling to touch, let alone carry a weapon, Desmond was
teased mercilessly by other members of his platoon. In fact, he was
not only beaten to a pulp by a bully (Luke Bracey), but
court-martialed for failing to complete the weapons part of basic
training.
However,
the military tribunal ruled in Desmond's favor after his World War I
veteran father (Hugo Weaving) showed up to testify on his behalf.
Still, his fellow G.I.s remained reluctant to embrace a comrade they
suspected to be a coward, since they had just been taught by
hard-nosed Sergeant Howell (Vince Vaughn) that a unit was no stronger
than its weakest link.
Nevertheless,
Desmond was commissioned as a medic with the 307th Infantry with whom
he would more than prove his mettle on the island of Okinawa in the
bloodiest battle of World War II. For, he exhibited extraordinary
courage over the course of a month spent dodging bullets and bombs to
attend to the wounded during the siege of Hacksaw Ridge.
Desmond
would save the lives of 75 grateful soldiers, and his selfless
exploits would be appreciated by both grateful buddies and the
Pentagon. And the heroic medic eventually became the first
Conscientious Objector to be awarded the Congressional Medal of
Honor.
All of the
above is recounted in riveting fashion in Hacksaw Ridge, a gripping
biopic directed by Mel Gibson. The critically-acclaimed docudrama was
nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Director
and Lead Actor (Andrew Garfield). The action-oriented flick features
very graphic battlefield tableaux reminiscent of the gory D-Day
reenactments found in Saving Private Ryan (1998).
When not
devoting its attention to recreating gruesome war scenes, the
flashback flick focuses on Desmond's formative years , as well as to
his whirlwind romance with Dorothy Schutte (Teresa Palmer), the
pretty nurse he fell in love with at first sight and married shortly
before shipping out for the Pacific Theater of Operations. The film
fittingly brings down the curtain with archival newsreels and stills
of the real-life Desmond and Dorothy to ensure there won't be a dry
eye in the house following the closing credits.
A moving
portrait of an unorthodox war hero who contributed considerably to
the effort without ever wielding a weapon against the enemy.
Excellent (4
stars)
Rated R for
graphic violence, gruesome images and ethnic slurs
Running time: 131 minutes
Distributor: Lionsgate Home
Entertainment
Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Extras:
Deleted scenes, Veterans Day greeting from director Mel Gibson; and
The Soul of War: Making Hacksaw Ridge
documentary.
To see a trailer for Hacksaw
Ridge, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2-1hz1juBI
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