Based on an obscure but pivotal piece of World War II history, this violent drama follows a battle-scarred Marine (Cage) ordered to protect a Navajo soldier (Beach), whose tribal language is the basis of an unbreakable military code. The secrets he carries are so valuable that Cage has orders to kill him rather than let him fall into enemy hands. As the two men fight together in the Battle of Saipan, a fragile friendship unfolds amid the chaos. During shooting in Hawaii, "John Woo had about 15 cameras going at one time to cover the vastness of everything," says Slater, who plays another bodyguard. "Instead of one explosion going off, there were 40. I was running my ass off, literally trying not to get blown up." Originally scheduled for last November, the film's release date was postponed after the September 11 attack. "We became extremely concerned [another] tragic event could happen," says Robert Levin, MGM's president of worldwide marketing and distribution, who planned the $110 million film's launch. "[TV ads would] be off the air, and we'd have a very stunted opening." The film will now be released on Flag Day, and Woo says that a fund-raiser and a possible ceremonial event for the Navajo vets are planned out West. "We'd like to invite a lot of Navajo people to watch it," he says. "The movie will make them proud."
ASSAULT ON THE SENSES: Woo (who has final cut) haggled with MGM about the movie's length, specifically its extended battle sequences. He delivered a shorter version, then used the delay in release to reinstate some scenes. The final two hour, 14 minute running time, he says, "was a compromise."
|
 |
Windtalkers
Starring: NICOLAS CAGE, ADAM BEACH, CHRISTIAN SLATER, AND MARK RUFFALO
Directed by: JOHN WOO
(MGM, June 14)
|
Copyright © 2008 Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc.