- Actors: Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Pierfrancesco Favino
- Directors: Spike Lee
- Writers: James McBride
- Producers: Butch Robinson, David Pomier, Jon Kilik, Luigi Musini, Marco Valerio Pugini
- Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Number of discs: 1
- MPAA Rating:
- Studio: Buena Vista
- Release Date: Feb 10 2009
- Run Time: 160 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- ASIN: B001LLH8S4
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#27,922 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)
- #38 in DVD > Military & War > International
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Product Details |
Product Description
Amazon.ca
Every major American filmmaker has a war movie inside them. After the twin triumphs of When the Levees Broke and Inside Man, his biggest box office hit, Spike Lee puts his distinctive stamp on World War II. Though Miracle at St. Anna begins and ends in 1983, most of the action takes place in 1944. The segregation of the time leads to the Army's African-American 92nd Infantry Division. In Italy, four of these Buffalo Soldiers, Sergeants Stamps (Antwone Fisher's Derek Luke) and Bishop (Barbershop's Michael Ealy), Corporal Hector (Jarhead's Laz Alonso), and sweet, superstitious Private Train (The Express's Omar Benson Miller), get separated from their unit while fighting the Germans. On the way to higher ground, Train rescues a boy from the rubble. With nine-year-old Angelo (newcomer Matteo Sciabordi) in tow, the soldiers secure shelter in a Tuscan town, where they band together with the villagers, including lovely English speaker Renata (Artemisia's Valentina Cervi), nurse the delusional boy back to health (he has an imaginary playmate named Arturo), and prepare for the next attack. Like Inside Man, Miracle marks one of the few times Lee has drafted an outsider to write the script, in this case bestselling author James McBride, who adapts from his novel. The combination of sensibilities results in a film that alternates, sometimes awkwardly, between cynicism and sentimentality. Tonal irregularities aside, Miracle at St. Anna pays overdue tribute to the 15,000 men who fought for freedom in a country that showed them greater respect than their nation of origin. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
interesting historical background on blu,
By
This review is from: Miracle at St. Anna [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
Miracle at St. Anna depicts a much neglected aspect of history, namely the all-black Army Infantry division of WWII, and specifically their time spent in Tuscany Italy. The film runs a bit long at 140min., but is well directed (especially the battle sequences), by Spike Lee. Though I wish the overall thin narrative was more fact-based, the background is realistic enough, and this film is definitely worth viewing. The bluray offers great visual quality, but the audio is compressed with over-amplified gunfire and explosions. The bonus features include deleted scenes, along with 2 featurettes (approx. 15-20min. each) which contain archival footage and a round table with original soldiers, making both perhaps more interesting than the film itself. Highly recommended for those interested in war, history, or African American culture.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.3 out of 5 stars (144 customer reviews) 115 of 153 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
High hopes for St. Anna,
By zx2781 "zx2781" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Miracle at St. Anna (DVD)
I had wanted to like this movie so much. As much as I wanted to like Windtalkers. Both had potential to be really great but were unable to rise above an absolutely juvenile and cheesy script. I am an avid WWII buff and I give alot of license to war movies and don't pick them apart for their accuracy or lack there of but this one not only insults the viewer but the legacy of the 92nd/Buffalo.The Good : Absolutely beautiful cinematography. If you could mute the sound (dialogue) one might think they were watching a pretty decent WWII era movie. Battle scenes were shot well. Uniforms were pretty dead on accurate and the weapons were accurate although Thompson SMGs and 1911 .45 caliber HGs did not have 100 round clips...... The Bad : Awful and embarrassing dialogue embellished with overacting which made it almost comical. Obligatory nudity. Soldiers using language and phrases that would be used only today. A German louspeaker that blares Axis Sally's propaganda for several square miles over the battlefield and is audible to all. Fragmented story with a total lack of cohesion (like this review). My favorite is the commanding white officer (Nokes?) stating that the Germans were going to cause a race riot by piping in the propaganda. I think that those valiant soldiers were more interested in staying alive and protecting their comrades than starting a race riot in Italy under fire. But then again this shows the mentality of Spike Lee and the writer. The Ugly : All white officers and soldiers portrayed as bigoted haters. In one instance the commanding officer refuses to believe members of the 92nd crossed the river so does not send supporting artillery strikes. His reasoning for this is "He is lying". This same commanding officer condescendingly orders a black soldier to get him water. The black soldier spits into the canteen before giving it to white officer. Not only does this lower the mentality of the movie several notches but also slanders the memory of those brave men of the 92nd/Buffalo that fought for their country. This movie had potential, unfortunately it was executed by someone who was unable to deliver. It is filled with contemporary language, modern topics of discussion, poor acting, and endless preaching about the evils of America. Spike Lee had scolded Clint Eastwood for not having any African Americans in Iwo Jima and had wanted him to rewrite history. Well, Spike has done that with this movie. 14 of 17 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Let The Sleeping Man Sleep.,
By Uncle Chino "Johnny" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Miracle at St. Anna (DVD)
Spoilers in this review:This movie just stunk. The whole 'Sleeping Man' and 'Chocolate Giant' thing was corney and stupid. I got tired of the whole Train character in about two seconds. And the Italian woman with the glorious breasts was nice but then they have her say that she is married and then develop some kind of emotional thing with one guy then turn around and have sex with the other guy and then right before she dies she redeems her virtue by looking at the 'good guy' and saying his name as if to say, "it was you that I wanted... but the other guy was just so damned smooth that I couldn't stop myself'. This movie was ridiculous up to the very end when SPOILER ALERT 'Seat Belts' becomes a great revelation.That big stupid 100 pound bowling ball of a statue head that the big stupid idiot carries around for the entire movie was just that SToOpId. And so were other things like the newspaper fling out the window when John Leguizamo (who is in the movie for no other reason)is having his morning coffee and sex to land on just the right guys table at just the right time. This stupid junk was also seen when the mail man just happens to have just that one guy come up to his window and he just happens to have that gun. The only part I liked was the part of the Italian partisan 'The Butterfly' and I wish they would have done more with him. This movie was just plain bad. I expect much better from Spike. 14 of 18 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
A missed opportunity,
By Keith Schur - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Miracle at St. Anna (DVD)
This picture was a big dissapointment. There was a great opportunity to tell the struggles and triumphs of members of the Buffalo Soldiers in WWII. He could have told the story of a couple of soldiers as they progress through bootcamp and enter combat. But instead Spike Lee produces a ridiculous, heavy handed, grossly fictional account. The film fails on several levels:1) All the white officers are vicous racist. The protagonist are sterotypes. There is the obligatory over-sexed African American, the big simple guy, the quite reflective wise one, etc. The Italian peasants seem to be only interested in jumping into bed and showing off their breast. In reality, they were starving and caught in terrible cross fires. 2) The story is absolutely predictable 3) A group of African American soldier pull their weapons on racist civilians in town during boot camp. They would be instantly identified, court marshalled, and put in the slammer. 4) The CO drives in a Jeep to the supposedly encircled hilltop town thick with Germans to curse out the protagonists. Shortly thereafter the Germans blitz through the town. 5) An enlisted character assaults an officer during a combat situation. He would be restrained and quite possibly shot on the spot. I could go on, but you get my drift. One of the top worst war movies I have seen. It could have been great. |
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