Unbroken
(2014)
PG-13 | Drama | 25 December 2014
Cast:
Jack O`Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Miyavi [ More ]Director:
Angelina JolieWriters:
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Richard LaGravenese, William NicholsonProducers:
Angelina Jolie, Clayton Townsend, Matthew Baer, Erwin StoffCinematographer:
Roger DeakinsEditors:
Tim Squyres, William GoldenbergProduction Designer:
Jon HutmanProduction Company:
Legendary PicturesThe final shot of the film replicates an actual stock photograph of Louie Zamperini, reunited with his family, and the image fades into the real picture. End credits are preceded by other authentic photographs of the film’s characters, superimposed with the following written epilogues: “In 1946, Louie Zamperini met and married his beloved Cynthia Applewhite. They had a daughter, Cissy, and a son, Luke”; “Lt. Russell “Phil” Phillips survived the war and married his sweetheart, Cecy. He and Louie remained friends long after the war”; “Mutsuhiro Watanabe, ‘the Bird,’ remained in hiding for several years as a war criminal until he was granted amnesty the U.S. in its efforts to reconcile with Japan”; “After years of sever post-traumatic stress, Louie made good on his promise to serve God, a decision he credited to saving his life”; “Motivated by his faith, Louie came to see that the way forward was not revenge, but forgiveness”; “He returned to Japan, where he found and made peace with his former captors. Only the Bird refused to meet him”; “Louie finally realized his dream and ran again in the Olympics”; “At age 80”; “In Japan.” The final section of the epilogue is transposed over stock footage of Zamperini running with the Olympic torch. A memorial photograph of the aged war hero notes: “Louie Zamperini, 1917-2014.”
End credits include the following acknowledgements: “The Major League Baseball trademarks depicted in this motion picture were licensed by Major League Baseball Properties, Inc.; B-24 replica by Digital Design LLC/Arizona Aircraft Replicas LLC; Stock photography courtesy of Getty Images; Stock footage provided by CBS and Draggan Mihailovich; Mutsuhiro Watanabe photo courtesy of National ...
The final shot of the film replicates an actual stock photograph of Louie Zamperini, reunited with his family, and the image fades into the real picture. End credits are preceded by other authentic photographs of the film’s characters, superimposed with the following written epilogues: “In 1946, Louie Zamperini met and married his beloved Cynthia Applewhite. They had a daughter, Cissy, and a son, Luke”; “Lt. Russell “Phil” Phillips survived the war and married his sweetheart, Cecy. He and Louie remained friends long after the war”; “Mutsuhiro Watanabe, ‘the Bird,’ remained in hiding for several years as a war criminal until he was granted amnesty the U.S. in its efforts to reconcile with Japan”; “After years of sever post-traumatic stress, Louie made good on his promise to serve God, a decision he credited to saving his life”; “Motivated by his faith, Louie came to see that the way forward was not revenge, but forgiveness”; “He returned to Japan, where he found and made peace with his former captors. Only the Bird refused to meet him”; “Louie finally realized his dream and ran again in the Olympics”; “At age 80”; “In Japan.” The final section of the epilogue is transposed over stock footage of Zamperini running with the Olympic torch. A memorial photograph of the aged war hero notes: “Louie Zamperini, 1917-2014.”
End credits include the following acknowledgements: “The Major League Baseball trademarks depicted in this motion picture were licensed by Major League Baseball Properties, Inc.; B-24 replica by Digital Design LLC/Arizona Aircraft Replicas LLC; Stock photography courtesy of Getty Images; Stock footage provided by CBS and Draggan Mihailovich; Mutsuhiro Watanabe photo courtesy of National Archives; Photos of Russell ‘Phil’ Phillips provided by Karen Loomis; Louie Zamperini ‘In Memoriam’ photo courtesy of Sally Peterson; Photo restoration by David Mackintosh.”
Also included in end credits is: “The Filmmakers Gratefully Thank”: “Australian Department of Defense; Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sports and Racing; Australian Rail Track Corporation; Greenland Group; Torrance Historical Society Museum,” as well as, “The filmmakers gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Joe Hobbs in the making of this film. He will forever live in our memories.” Hobbs was the film’s military costumer.
As stated in end credits, the picture was: “Filmed in Australia with the assistance of the Australian Government; Filmed in Queensland, Australia with the assistance of Screen Queensland; Filmed in New South Wales, Australia with the assistance of the New South Wales Government; Filmed at Village Roadshow Studios, Gold Coast Australia.” End credits also acknowledge Quebec Production Services Tax Credit, and include the disclaimer: “While this picture is based upon a true story, some of the characters have been composited or invented, and a number of incidents fictionalized.”
Louis “Louie” Zamperini first wrote about his life as an Olympian and World War II prisoner of war in Devil at My Heels, an autobiography co-written by Helen Itria. Shortly before the book was set to be published on 15 Feb 1956, a 28 Nov 1955 DV item announced that independent producer Harry Tateman was in talks to purchase film rights. However, according to a 20-26 Apr 1998 Var item, the book was optioned by Universal Pictures in 1956, with Tony Curtis in talks to star as “Louie Zamperini.”
The project failed to move forward with Curtis, but a Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) documentary about Zamperini, which aired during the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, reignited interest the story forty years later. As noted in a 20 Apr 2014 LAT article, Zamperini’s son-in-law, television writer-director Mick Garris, sent the CBS documentary to Brillstein-Grey Films’ Matthew Baer. At the time, Brillstein-Grey had a deal at Universal Pictures, and the studio still controlled screen rights to Zamperini’s book. Universal and Brillstein-Grey teamed up to make a new deal with Zamperini, optioning his life rights for an unspecified six-figure sum, and Nicolas Cage came aboard to star and produce with his company, Saturn Films, as announced in a 13 Apr 1998 DV article.
The project went dormant again, but Baer, Garris, and Cage remained attached. More than ten years later, in 1999, playwright Robert Schenkkan was hired to write the screenplay, then called Iron Man. Universal took the script to several directors, including Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Mel Gibson, Robert Zemeckis, and Ridley Scott, but none expressed interest. As of 22 Feb 2001, Cage was still expected to star, according to a DV item of the same date. Later, in 2002, Antoine Fuqua was briefly attached to direct. Following Fuqua’s departure, Tom Shadyac signed on to the project, but left to direct Bruce Almighty (2003, see entry). The 19 Nov 2002 DV announced that Neil Tolkin would rewrite the script, still titled Iron Man. While Tolkin’s script received mention on the “Black List,” a list of the best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood, Universal continued to struggle with finding a director. Nicolas Cage was no longer considered age-appropriate for the lead, as stated in the 20 Apr 2014 LAT, and Ashton Kutcher was considered to replace him.
Meanwhile, writer Laura Hillenbrand became interested in Zamperini’s story while researching her book, Seabiscuit: An American Legend (New York, 2001), and set out to write her own version, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, published in 2010. Hillenbrand’s book became a bestseller and, again, fanned up interest in the film project. With producer Baer and executive producer Garris still attached, Universal purchased film rights to Hillenbrand’s book, as announced in a 5 Jan 2011 DV item. Francis Lawrence was hired to direct, and Richard LaGravanese to adapt the script, according to a 15 Apr 2011 HR brief. Lawrence ultimately left the project to direct The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013, see entry), and William Nicholson was brought in for another rewrite.
In late 2012, while searching for her second directing project, Angelina Jolie came across a logline for Unbroken at her talent agency. She read the screenplay and determined that it needed work, but signed on to direct and produce, as announced in a 20 Dec 2012 LAT brief. The project was set to be Jolie’s first-ever studio film as a director after her independent film, In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011, see entry), which had been a box-office failure. Although Universal and co-financier Walden Media previously planned to spend $120 million on the picture, the budget was scaled back to $65 million due to the financial risk of hiring an “unproven director,” as stated in the 20 Apr 2014 LAT. The 26 Feb 2013 HR reported that Joel and Ethan Coen had been hired to rework the script by LaGravenese and Nicholson, and by summer 2013, the project was ready for production despite the sudden departure of Walden Media. Legendary Pictures, which had just signed a five-year co-financing and production partnership with Universal, took the place of Walden.
A 2 Oct 2013 LAT item stated that principal photography was underway in Australia. Locations included Tamworth, Blacktown, Mission Beach, Cockatoo Island and the Gold Coast, as noted in a 10 Dec 2014 Rockhampton Morning Bulletin brief.
The film had its world premiere on 17 Nov 2014 at the State Theatre in Sydney, Australia, according to a 10 Oct 2014 HR item. A pre-release screening was scheduled for 16 Dec 2014 in Zamperini’s hometown of Torrance, CA, as noted in the 20 Nov 2014 Torrance Daily Breeze, with tickets available only to members of the Torrance Historical Society, and partial proceeds going to the Louis Zamperini Trust Collection. U.S. theatrical release followed on 25 Dec 2014. After less than two weeks in theaters, the film had taken in $87.8 million at the box-office, as stated in the 5 Jan 2015 LAT.
According to a 9 Dec 2014 London Express item, an online petition was created by Japanese nationalists to ban Unbroken in Japan. Protestors stated that the film’s depiction of abuse committed by Japanese soldiers during World War II was unfair and immoral. As of 5 Jan 2015, the film did not yet have a Japanese release date.
Unbroken was named one of AFI’s Movies of the Year, and one of the Top Ten Films of 2014 by the National Board of Review, which also gave Jack O’Connell its “Breakthrough Performance” award. The film was nominated for Academy Awards in the following categories: Cinematography (Roger Deakins), Sound Mixing (John Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, and David Lee), Sound Editing (Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro).
During a 1943 World War II firefight, United States Air Force second lieutenant Louie Zamperini remembers his childhood in Torrance, California. Although he was a juvenile delinquent, his brother, Pete, coached him to become the fastest high school runner in U.S. history. Since Louie’s parents were Italian immigrants, he was often bullied, but Pete inspired him to endure the struggle, teaching him the phrase: “If I can take it, I can make it.” Louie was also influenced by his church priest, who told the congregation to forgive each others’ sins, and “love thy neighbor.” When Louie was elected to run in Germany’s 1936 Olympics, Pete saw him off at the train station, reminding the boy that personal suffering leads to a “lifetime of glory.” At the Berlin Olympics, Louie set a world record, running his final lap in fifty-six seconds. Back in 1943, Louie’s bomber crash-lands at a Pacific Island Air Force base. Louie and his colleagues soon learn about another mission. Later, flying the same rickety plane, lieutenant Russell “Phil” Phillips guides the aircraft into the ocean after a Japanese attack. The three survivors, Phil, Louie, and Francis “Mac” McNamara, board two inflatable rafts and fire flare guns at an airplane, but signals are not seen. Losing hope, Mac admits he ate their rations, and the men survive on raw fish and shark meat for forty-five days. Louie promises to serve God if he survives. Mac dies, and Phil and Louie are rescued by the Japanese army, becoming prisoners of war (POWs). Although beaten and tortured, Louie fails to provide his captors with blueprints for a Norden bombsight, a machine that gives the U.S. Air Force an advantage ...
During a 1943 World War II firefight, United States Air Force second lieutenant Louie Zamperini remembers his childhood in Torrance, California. Although he was a juvenile delinquent, his brother, Pete, coached him to become the fastest high school runner in U.S. history. Since Louie’s parents were Italian immigrants, he was often bullied, but Pete inspired him to endure the struggle, teaching him the phrase: “If I can take it, I can make it.” Louie was also influenced by his church priest, who told the congregation to forgive each others’ sins, and “love thy neighbor.” When Louie was elected to run in Germany’s 1936 Olympics, Pete saw him off at the train station, reminding the boy that personal suffering leads to a “lifetime of glory.” At the Berlin Olympics, Louie set a world record, running his final lap in fifty-six seconds. Back in 1943, Louie’s bomber crash-lands at a Pacific Island Air Force base. Louie and his colleagues soon learn about another mission. Later, flying the same rickety plane, lieutenant Russell “Phil” Phillips guides the aircraft into the ocean after a Japanese attack. The three survivors, Phil, Louie, and Francis “Mac” McNamara, board two inflatable rafts and fire flare guns at an airplane, but signals are not seen. Losing hope, Mac admits he ate their rations, and the men survive on raw fish and shark meat for forty-five days. Louie promises to serve God if he survives. Mac dies, and Phil and Louie are rescued by the Japanese army, becoming prisoners of war (POWs). Although beaten and tortured, Louie fails to provide his captors with blueprints for a Norden bombsight, a machine that gives the U.S. Air Force an advantage by compensating for airspeed and distance. He and Phil, both emaciated, believe they will be executed, but they are blindfolded and sent to different POW camps. Standing at attention with his eyes uncovered, Louie captures the interest of the detention center’s sadistic leader, Mutsuhiro “The Bird” Watanabe, who failed to become an officer and uses violence as an outlet for his humiliation. He orders Louie to look him in the eye, then beats him with his trademark bamboo cane. Sometime later, Watanabe learns that Louie is a former Olympian and orchestrates a rigged race with a Japanese guard, knowing that Louie will lose. As the boy struggles to the finish line, Watanabe canes him and calls him a failure. Back in the barracks, Louie learns the Allies are making progress and have a blueprint for victory. As time passes, however, he loses hope but remembers his brother Pete’s words – “If I can take it, I can make it.” On another evening, Louie is caned by Watanabe, who declares the Olympian has been pronounced dead in the U.S. However, he sends Louie to Tokyo with two men from a radio station to deliver a propaganda speech, claiming that he is alive and well. After the broadcast, Louie is asked to read an anti-American script, but refuses to do so and is sent back to Watanabe. In revenge for Louie’s defiance, Watanabe orders the other POWs to punch Louie in the face, but they refuse. Watanabe procures Louie’s long-lost comrade, Phil, who is beaten and barely alive. To save his friend’s life, Louie begs his fellow prisoners to bash his face and he is punched until nightfall. Sometime later, Watanabe admits he sees Louie as a partial friend, since they share the same indelible spirit. He asks Louie to congratulate him on a new promotion, which will take him to a larger camp, but Louie remains mum. After Watanabe’s departure, the prisoners witness an attack by their own Air Force, and believe the war will soon be won. However, a fellow prisoner reports that all POWs will be executed if Japan loses the war. The men are led on chain gang through bombed out cities with few Japanese civilian survivors and are loaded onto a train. At the last stop, the POWs find themselves at a coal mine, and Louie is reunited with Watanabe. The man canes Louie when he refuses to look his nemesis in the eye. Watanabe announces that any man too weak to work will be executed, and, later, the blackened, coal-covered POWs are told that President Franklin D. Roosevelt is dead. One day, Louie is intentionally tripped and injures his ankle, but he continues to work to stay alive. When he momentarily stops to rest, Watanabe sees an opportunity to kill Louie and orders him to lift a wood plank over his head. Although Watanabe is convinced the former Olympian will fail, Louie musters his strength and astounds onlookers by raising the thick timber slab into the air. Watanabe makes good on his promise not to kill Louie, but beats him mercilessly. Overcome by his own malice, Watanabe falls to his knees and cries. In the coming days, Louie regains enough strength to stand in line with other POWs and a Japanese officer announces the end of the war. When the prisoners are invited to bathe in a nearby river, they believe they will be going on a death march, but an American bomber flies overhead, confirming the Japanese defeat. The men cheer and embrace in the river below. As the emancipated soldiers revel in new supplies of food, magazines, and cigarettes, Louie creeps into Watanabe’s deserted quarters. There, he finds the man’s sadistic cane and a photograph of the warden as a boy. The image shows young Watanabe standing next to his austere, highly ranked father – the man he could never live up to. Sometime later, Louie returns to Torrance, kisses the ground, and is reunited with his family.
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AFI Life Achievement Award