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WINDTALKERS
The spiritual power of the film is seen in the struggle to find
redemption. We see it most plainly in Enders. When his unit invades
Saipan, he fights like a berserk -- a flat out killing machine.
He is trying to atone for the death of all the men under him earlier.
This is why he struggled so hard to return to duty. He has to find
his redemption.
Reviews by Darrel Manson and Betty Hamm
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WINDTALKERS
(2002)
This page was created on June 15, 2002
This page was last updated on
August 21, 2003
Review -click here
Trailers, Photos -click here
About this Film -click here
Spiritual Connections -click
here
Forum -click
here
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CREDITS
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Directed
by John Woo
Writing
credits:
Screnplay by John Rice & Joe Batteer
Nicolas Cage .... Sergeant Joe Enders
Adam Beach .... Private Ben Yahzee
Peter Stormare .... Sergeant Eric 'Gunny' Hjelmstad
Noah Emmerich .... Corporal Charles 'Chick' Rogers
Mark Ruffalo .... Pappas
Brian Van Holt .... Harrigan
Martin Henderson .... Nellie
Roger Willie .... Private Charles Whitehorse
Frances O'Connor .... Nurse Rita Swelton
Christian Slater .... Sergeant Peter 'Ox' Henderson
Jason Isaacs .... Major Mellitz
Billy Morts .... Sgt. Fortino
Cameron Thor .... Mertens
Kevin Cooney .... Ear Doctor
Holmes Osborne .... Colonel Hollings
Keith Campbell .... Kittring
Clayton J. Barber .... Hasby
Scott Atkinson .... Camp Tarawa Staff Sergeant
Jeremy Davidson .... Marine
Brian Maynard .... Corpsman
Albert Smith .... Navajo Man
James D. Dever .... Raider Lieutenant Colonel
Vincent Whipple .... Navajo Instructor
James Morse .... Marine Recruit
Chris Devlin .... Sgt. Code Instructor
Jeff Davis .... Tech Sgt.
Glen Begay .... Radio Codetalker
Ross Lasi Tanoai .... Eddie the Bartender
Brian Kasai .... Japanese Intelligence Officer
Hiroshi Mori .... Japanese Radio Officer
John Takeshi Ichikawa .... Japanese Bunker Commander
Christopher T. Yamamoto .... Japanese Bunker Gunner
Marc McClellan .... Marine Artillery Commander
Steve Tanizaki .... Japanese Artillery Officer
Malcolm Dohi .... Battleship Codetalker
Darrel Guilbeau .... Battleship Petty Officer
Aaron Yamagata .... Tanapag Boy
Victoria Chen .... Tanapag Mother
Jon Michael Souza .... N.C.O. Officer
Carissa Jung .... Tanapag Girl
Wataru Yoshida .... Japanese Artillery
Junya Oishi .... Japanese Artillery Sighter
Jiro Koga .... Japanese Artillery Gunner
Lynn Kawailele Allen .... Hula Dancer
Tina Leialoha Gube .... Hula Dancer
Alewa T. Olotoa .... Hula Dancer
Ilima Pumphrey .... Hula Dancer
Lena Savalinaea .... Hula Dancer
Kaliko Scott .... Hula Dancer
rest of cast listed alphabetically
James Carretta .... Platoon Sgt.
David L. Hall .... Soldier in Convoy
Christopher Illing
Keii Johnston .... Marine
Robert Leighton .... Core Marine (Pvt. Povovich)
Denney Pierce
Dixon White .... Hospital Room Patient
Reese Williams .... Platoon Sergeant
Produced by
Arthur Anderson .... co-producer
Terence Chang .... producer
C.O. Erickson .... executive producer
Tracie Graham .... producer
Caroline Macaulay .... co-producer
Alison R. Rosenzweig .... producer
John J. Smith .... line producer
Richard Stenta .... line producer
Stephen Traxler .... associate producer
John Woo .... producer
Original music by
James Horner
Cinematography by
Jeffrey L. Kimball
Film Editing by
Jeff Gullo
Steven Kemper
Tom Rolf
MPAA:
Rated R for pervasive graphic war violence, and for language.
Runtime: 133
For rating reasons, go to FILMRATINGS.COM,
and MPAA.ORG.
Parents, please refer to PARENTALGUIDE.ORG
RELEASE
DATES:
USA - June 14th 2002, UK - August 16th 2002, Argentina - September
5th 2002, Australia - August 8th 2002, Belgium - September 4th 2002,
Denmark - August 16th 2002, France - September 4th 2002, Germany
- August 1st 2002, Iceland - August 23rd 2002, Netherlands - August
1st 2002, Norway - August 9th 2002, Russia - August 8th 2002,
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TRAILERS
AND CLIPS
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CD
SOUNDTRACK
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 Windtalkers
(Score) Soundtrack
James Horner
During World War II, American forces needed a foolproof way to keep
their radio communications secure from enemy code breakers. The elegantly
simple solution is the subject of this unusual John Woo film: Navajo
Americans were recruited and utilized their native language as a code
that was never broken. Veteran James Horner turns in a score that
interweaves the Navajo's ancient mysticism amid more somber and brooding
orchestral writing that occasionally evokes Copland during his introspective,
American pastoral prime. Horner has oft been knocked for repeating
himself, and the occasional nod to Enemy at the Gates is both obvious
and dramatically pragmatic. The brass, strings, and driving percussion
that power much of "Marine Assault" and the final, musically
jagged third of the score draw on some welcome postmodernism, helping
to reinvent and bolster what could have been standard action cues.
Though the score lacks the strong central melodic themes to make it
a war-film classic, the power of Horner's moody music to evoke the
sheer physical terror and mental anguish of battle is undeniable.
--Jerry McCulley
1. Navajo DawnMusic
2. A New AssignmentMusic
3. An Act of Heroism
4. Taking the BeachheadMusic
5. ''First Blood'' CeremonyMusic
6. The Night BeforeMusic
7. Marine AssaultMusic
8. Losses MountingMusic
9. Friends In WarMusic
10. A Sacrifice Never ForgottenMusic
11. Calling to the WindMusic
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POSTER
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Windtalkers
27 in x 40 in
Buy Original Poster plain, or
Framed | Mounted |
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BOOK
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 Windtalkers
by Max Allan Collins
In the brutal fires of war, two men come together from different worlds.
Joe Enders is a haunted warrior plagued by guilt, the only man to
survive a terrifying bloodbath on the Tarawa Atoll. Ben Yahzee is
a "codetalker," a gentle, proud Navajo who transmits secret
military code created from his Native American tongue -- a language
the Japanese enemy cannot decipher. One Marine fighting his demons
and another battling prejudice and his own inner fears, their lives
are joined in the most horrific hell of the war-torn Pacific.
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 Windtalkers:
The Making of the John Woo Film about the Navajo Code Talkers of World
War II
(Newmarket Pictorial Movebooks)
by Antonia Felix (Editor), Stephen Vaughan (Photographer), Jeff Bingaman
(Introduction)
With more than 100 dramatic movie and historical photos, the official
tie-in to the film starring Nicolas Cage, based on real events about
the Navajo Marine code talkers, who developed the only American code
the Japanese never cracked—from MGM in June 2002. In the first
movie made on the subject, director John Woo (Mission: Impossible
2, Face/Off) reveals the invaluable actions of the Navajo code talkers
during the war in the Pacific, heroes whose bravery earned them the
Congressional Medal of Honor. The code talkers transmitted radio messages
using a secret, efficient, unbreakable code based on their native
language. The film's gripping climax takes place during the Battle
of Saipan, when the Marines, fighting off the Japanese, must risk
their lives to safeguard the code. This full-color companion book
tells the fascinating story behind the movie—from facts about
the code's creation to historical background of the Navajo nation;
from a glimpse into the rigorous code talker training program to production
details about transforming a Hawaiian landscape into a Saipan battlefront.
The pages are filled with captivating color images from the film and
historic photographs from the U.S. Marines and the National Archives,
as well personal reflections by Woo and Senator Jeff Bingaman, screenwriters,
producers, and actors—plus samples and translations of the Navajo
code. Approx. 100 color photos.
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ON VIDEO AND DVD
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SYNOPSIS
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 In
war, there are secrets that need to be kept - and heroes that need
to keep them.
On December 8, 1941, the United States declared war on Japan.
For the next several years, U.S. forces were fully engaged in battle
throughout the Pacific, taking over islands one by one in a slow
progression towards mainland Japan. During this brutal campaign,
the Japanese were continually able to break coded military transmissions,
dramatically slowing U.S. progress.
In 1942, several hundred Navajo Americans were recruited as Marines
and trained to use their language as code. In John Woo's Windtalkers,
written by John Rice & Joe Batteer, Marine Joe Enders (Nicolas Cage)
is assigned to protect Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach) - a Navajo Code TalkerTM,
the Marines' new secret weapon. Enders' orders are to protect his
code talker, but if Yahzee should fall into enemy hands, he's to
"protect the code at all costs." Against the backdrop of the horrific
Battle of Saipan, when capture is imminent, Enders is forced to
make a decision: if he can't protect his fellow Marine, can he bring
himself to kill him to protect the code? The Navajo code was the
only one never broken by the Japanese, and is considered to have
been key in winning the war.
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BACKGROUND
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 "The
Navajo has the code. Protect the code at all costs."
In
World War II, the Japanese were continually able to break encrypted
military transmissions, dramatically slowing U.S. progress. Finally,
in 1942, several hundred Navajo Americans were recruited as Marines
and trained to use a secret military code based on their native
language. These Marines were called code talkers. Their code was
ultimately the only one never broken by the Japanese and is considered
to have been key in winning the war.
In
Windtalkers, during the Battle of Saipan, Marines Joe Enders (Nicolas
Cage) and Ox Anderson (Christian Slater) are assigned to protect
code talkers Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach) and Charlie Whitehorse (Roger
Willie). Their orders are to keep these men safe, but if a code
talker should fall into enemy hands they're to "protect the code
at all costs." As the men become reluctant friends and the bonds
of war are forged, each man is ultimately faced with a terrible
decision: if they can't protect their fellow Marines, how far will
they go to protect the code?
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THE
STORY
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 Windtalkers
is a character-driven, emotional action drama set in the Pacific
during World War II - a somewhat different setting than John Woo's
other American action films. This time, Woo's stage is the 1944
Battle of Saipan, recreated onscreen in stunning detail. At the
heart of the lightning-paced combat, the story centers on the incredible
friendship that develops between Marines in battle and the complex
relationship between the legendary Navajo American code talkers
and their designated Marine guards.
The
theme of friendship and the film's complex characterizations are
what drew Woo and his longtime producing partner Terence Chang to
the project. "I fell in love with the story the minute I heard it,"
Woo says. "It's so emotional, a celebration of the human spirit.
I had been looking for something different from a generic action
film, something our company could develop." The pair felt they'd
found the perfect material in Windtalkers.
Windtalkers
presented Woo with the opportunity to revisit ideas similar to those
in his celebrated Hong Kong films like The Killer (Woo and Chang's
first collaboration in 1989) and Hard-Boiled. "John is basically
known in the West as an action director, but some of his best films
in Hong Kong are largely based on the theme of friendship among
men," Chang says. "He's obviously very good with action, but he's
also incredible with actors and drama and telling a story in a way
that really affects an audience."
The
idea for Windtalkers began with producers Alison Rosenzweig and
Tracie Graham. About ten years ago, Rosenzweig was first told about
the code talkers by her brother Seth, a World War II aficionado.
He had long been fascinated by their heroic contribution to the
war in the Pacific and encouraged her to develop a movie about this
relatively unknown chapter in American and Marine history. "I was
absolutely compelled," she says, "but at first I felt their story
would make a great documentary and wasn't necessarily material for
a feature."
Eight
years later, while looking for projects to develop, Rosenzweig shared
her knowledge of the code talkers with producing partner Graham.
"I was immediately enthralled," says Graham, "but equally perplexed
as to how to turn the story of the code talkers into a feature narrative."
Determined, the two producers delved into history books, eventually
stumbling upon the dramatic key they'd been seeking.
"I
read that during the war code talkers were assigned Marine guards
for protection," says Rosenzweig. "They were to protect the code
talker and his code from falling into the hands of the Japanese."
According to Rosenzweig, her reading revealed that if a code talker
was in danger of being captured, the Marine guard was to prevent
the code from being compromised at all costs. After thorough research,
Marine Corps historians were unable to locate any evidence that
such orders ever took place - it would be illegal for a Marine to
be ordered to kill a fellow Marine. But the notion that a serviceman
might have had to kill one of his own, someone he'd fought alongside
and with whom he'd become friends, resonated with the producers.
Intrigued by the emotional implications of such orders, Rosenzweig
and Graham realized they had their story.
It
was also fascinating to them that the code talkers were virtually
unknown until fairly recently. "The existence of the code talkers
was not declassified until 1969," says Graham. "Even though the
code talkers were invaluable in winning World War II, the U.S. military
wanted their accomplishments to remain secret, precisely because
they'd been so successful. They were the military's secret weapon
in the war, and they felt they might need them again."
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REVIEW
By Darrel Manson
Pastor,
Artesia Christian Church, Artesia, CA
http://netministries.org/see/churches/ch01198
Darrel
has an incredible love and interest in the cinematic arts.
His reviews usually include independent and significantly important
film.
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Windtalkers
is a search for redemption.
 The
movie opens with Corporal Joe Enders (Nicolas Cage) leading the
Marines under him on Solomon Islands to their deaths -- only he
survives. Back in Hawaii as he recovers, the cries of the dying
fill his ears, even the one he has lost his hearing in. But even
though his injuries are severe and warrant his being able to go
home, he manages to pass (by cheating with the help of a nurse)
his hearing test to return to duty. The duty he is given is to
be the protector of a Navajo code talker, Private Ben Yahzee (Adam
Beach). Actually, his duty is not to protect Yahzee, but to protect
the code from falling into enemy hands, which means if capture
is imminent, to kill him. In accepting this duty, he is promoted
to Sergeant.
In an interview on Today with Nicolas
Cage, I heard him refer to the characters of Enders and Yahzee serving
as yin and yang. Enders is depressed, hardened and remote. Yahzee
is open, anxious to serve his country and his people, wanting to
be accepted by the other Marines and, by extension, society. As
the film progresses, they each pull the other toward a common ground.
 It
is in some ways, your basic realistic war movie with lots of blood
and heroics. Many of the battle scenes are as chaotic and disturbing
as Saving Private Ryan. There
is an aspect of the futility and terrible cost of war, but there
is a mixed message in saying such things in the midst of such hero
stories.
The spiritual power of the film is
seen in the struggle to find redemption. We see it most plainly
in Enders. When his unit invades Saipan, he fights like a berserk
-- a flat out killing machine. He is trying to atone for the death
of all the men under him earlier. This is why he struggled so hard
to return to duty. He has to find his redemption.
Indeed, he is awarded a Silver Star for bravery (even though Yahzee
was the main hero, but was not recognized for his bravery because
of race.) He is told, "You saved a lot of Marines today." But still,
there is no redemption. Still, the pain of his past continues.
 In
time, the Marines occupy a Japanese village. While there, Enders
finds a countertop covered in flour. He takes a stick and begins
drawing lines in the flour. When he is finished, we see that he
has drawn a church, and he and Yahzee share their memories of church.
At some level, Enders knows that the church is a place where redemption
can be found, but it is still far from him.
In the final battle, as Enders and
his men are seemingly doomed, he hears the Marines with him saying
the same things that the other Marines said in the battle on the
Solomons. Now is the time that Enders will show what he is made
of. He declares that no one else will die.
(Warning: spoiler
information below)
After being wounded rescuing Yahzee
rather than killing him, as Enders is dying, he recites a Hail Mary,
dying just before finishing the line, pray for us at the time of
our death. Now Enders finds the redemption he has sought -- not
in his death, or even in his return to faith, but in the connection
he has made with Yahzee. He has done his duty, and even gone beyond
his duty. More, he has let Yahzee?s humanity become real to him,
and in doing so, the distance that he has maintained falls away.
It would be wrong to say that in the
end Enders redeemed himself. Finally, our redemption is not in our
own hands. Rather it is a gift found in the lives and memories of
those we touch. Yet, certainly Joe Enders found redemption. We see
that in the closing scene, as Ben Yahzee tells his young son about
Enders. To tell stories of people and use their name honors them.
He tells him that Enders was a great warrior. And tells him "If
you tell stories about him, say that he was my friend."
To be a friend is, in Enders case,
the mark of redemption.
Spiritual
Connections -click here
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 REVIEW
BY
BETTY HAMM
bhamm@efcn.org
Movie Reviewer, Arts Director
Betty is happily married and serves as the Arts Director at the
Evangelical Free Church, in Naperville. IL. (630)983-3232.
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Windtalkers
was a disappointment to me. When we are disappointed it means
that our expectations were not fulfilled. So what were my expectations?
I expected a WWII film of the caliber of ?Saving Private Ryan.?
I expected a film that would feature the code talkers; who they
were; how they were picked, trained; what an impact they made
to the allies? success in WWII. My expectations were not fulfilled.
What
I got was a film about Nicholas Cage?s character, Sergeant Joe
Enders, struggling with following orders and being a good Marine,
and doing what is perhaps logical or humane. It is interesting
that not much has been said about the code talkers. The Smithsonian
magazine came out, a few years ago, with an extensive article
on the code talkers. That article was the first time I had heard
of them, and I believe the first time my father, a WWII veteran,
had heard of them. What an amazing job they did, a code that was
never broken. Windtalkers falls short of satisfactorily dealing
with this story. It does however bring you fabulous hand-to-hand
combat. You would expect that from John Woo.
Besides
the issue of following orders regardless of the outcome, there
are racial prejudice and faith issues. Private Ben Yahzee,
played by Adam Beach, displays remarkable constraint and honor
when dealing with prejudice and hatred. As Sergeant
Joe Enders struggles with the demons of his past,
he gives the impression that he has no time for God, no
faith. He says that he threw away the faith of his childhood.
And yet, we see him return to the faith he once
knew. Windtalkers shows us that when we have nothing, and can
turn to no one, God is still there to comfort,
to listen, to save, to carry home.
Then
Peter came and said to Him, ?Lord, how often shall my brother
sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven time?? Jesus said
to him, ?I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy
times seven.? Matthew 18:21
The
Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him
in truth. Psalm 145:18
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Review
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Trailers, Photos -click here
About this Film -click here
Spiritual Connections -click here
Forum -click
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COMMENT
ON THIS FILM
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