Windtalkers (Special Director's Edition)

Director John Woos sensibilities have always run to the pulpy, comic book side of the cinematic equation, resulting in the yin of visually gripping, eye candy action sequences--and the yang of less than believable emotional content. Thats been fine when the material hes tackling is the sort of intense but flight-of-fancy fluff such as Face/Off (1997) and Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), but here Woo is depicting a subject of enormous historical, social and political importance to the world. Despite a noticeable restraint compared to his other work (the filmmaker clearly realizes that hes in somewhat uncharted territory here), Windtalkers (2002) is simply the wrong script for him. He carefully builds a quartet of protagonists with real-life fears and inner lives, then proceeds to turn them into full-fledged killing machine warriors, capable of piling up literally hundreds of enemy bodies to a man, his vision of American soldiers so skewed that its as if the film wanders from Saving Private Ryan (1998) territory into the realm of science fiction. It also doesnt help that many of the second-half locations are clearly southern California and not the tropical island setting theyre doubling for, or that the windtalking of the Navajo heroes is really a sideline to the character arc of Joe Enders Nicolas Cage, only peripherally involved in the code language activities that are supposedly the subject of the film. From The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) through Steel Helmet (1951) to Ryan, the best images of WWII have always been stark, raw and uncomfortably, even brutally real, but Windtalkers forgets that, presenting a graphic and exciting but, at times, absurdly phony Rambo-level vision of war that does its veterans and victims no great service by amping up their heroics to superhero level. The audience is more than aware by now that the participants in these battles were all quite heroic enough without Woos help. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

ccPersonal on-camera introduction by the director
3 audio commentary tracks
Historical documentary
WWII tribute
Multi-view feature
Scene diaries
"Actors' Boot Camp" featurette
Photo gallery
English 5.1 Surround
French Stereo Surround
English, French, Spanish & Portuguese language subtitles
Special features subtitled in French, Spanish & Portuguese

Loosely based on a real-life operation during World War II, this action-adventure from director John Woo stars Nicolas Cage as Joe Enders, a Marine traumatized by the loss of his entire platoon in the Solomon Islands during an ambush he believes was deadlier than necessary due to his indecision. Suffering from eardrum damage in Hawaii, Joe manages to be declared fit for duty once again thanks to a sympathetic nurse (Frances O'Connor), but his new assignment isn't what he expects. Joe is ordered to safeguard a Navajo soldier named Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach) because the military has developed a new secret code based on the near-dead Navajo language that is proving unbreakable to the Japanese. Any soldier that speaks Navajo is an immediate asset, including Ben and his pal, Charlie Whitehorse (Roger Willie). Joe's orders are to "baby sit" Ben during the invasion of Saipan, protecting him if possible, but -- if the code-talker's capture becomes imminent -- to kill him before he falls into enemy hands. Meanwhile, Charlie is to be guarded by affable harmonica player Ox Henderson (Christian Slater). Joe reluctantly accepts this new duty as a way to get back into the war, and in the ensuing carnage, his nearly suicidal acts of bravery make him a hero while Ben becomes paralyzed by fear. Determined to live up to Joe's example, Ben musters up his courage, even in the face of racism from a fellow soldier (Noah Emmerich), and ends up rescuing his own protector behind enemy lines by briefly posing as a Japanese soldier. Despite their growing mutual respect, Joe is eventually forced to take an action that threatens to shatter his bond with Ben, as the war's tragic losses strike closer to home for both men. Windtalkers co-stars Peter Stormare, Jason Isaacs, and Mark Ruffalo. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

• Disc #1 -- Windtalkers
  • With John Woo Video Introduction: On
  • With John Woo Video Introduction: Off
  • Play Movie
  • Scene Selection
  • Special Features
    • Audio Commentary With Director John Woo and Producer Terrace Chang
    • Audio Commentary With Nicolas Cage and Christian Slater
    • Audio Commentary With Roger Willie and Navajo Codetalker Advisor Albert Smith
    • Domestic Theatrical Teaser Trailer
    • Domestic Theatrical Trailer
    • Other Great MGM Releases
      • MGM Means Great Features
      • Die Another Day Special Edition DVD Trailer
      • Dances With Wolves Special Edition DVD Trailer
      • Hannibal Special Edition DVD Trailer
      • More Great MGM Releases
  • Languages
    • Spoken Languages: English 5.1 Surround
    • Spoken Languages: Francais Stereo Surround
    • Subtitles: English
    • Subtitles: Espaol
    • Subtitles: Franais
    • Subtitles: Portugus
    • Subtitles: None
• Disc #2 -- Windtalkers
  • Special Features
    • The Code Talkers- A Secret Code of Honor
    • American Heroes: A Tribute To Navajo Code Talkers
    • The Music of "Windtalkers"
  • Languages
    • Subtitles: Espaol
    • Subtitles: Franais
    • Subtitles: Portugus
    • Subtitles: None
• Disc #3 -- Windtalkers
  • Special Features
    • Battle Sequence Multi-View
      • Saipan Landing
        • Play
      • Barbed Wire
        • Play
      • Radio the Coordinates
        • Play
      • Road Ambush
        • Play
    • Fly-On-The-Set Scene Diaries
      • Play Diary Only
        • Marine March on Saipan
        • Bazooka
        • Friendly Fire
        • Village Ambush
      • Play Scene From Film After
        • Marine March on Saipan
        • Bazooka
        • Friendly Fire
        • Village Ambush
    • Actors' Boot Camp
    • Behind-The-Scenes- Photo Gallery
    • John Woo Biography
  • Languages
    • Subtitles: Espaol
    • Subtitles: Franais
    • Subtitles: Portugus
    • Subtitles: None

Disc #1 -- Windtalkers
1. Main Title/Credits [4:31]
2. "Solomon Islands-1943" [5:22]
3. Ironic Honor [1:01]
4. "Many Big Guns" [1:31]
5. U.S. Naval Hospital [4:21]
6. "Protect the Code" [4:27]
7. Chitchat & Chow [6:11]
8. Gambling Away Time [3:09]
9. Marine Pep Talk [4:00]
10. "To War" [4:37]
11. Saipan- June 16, 1944 [1:01]
12. Battle Crazy [2:47]
13. Decoding Coordinates [6:50]
14. Man-To-Man Combat [2:38]
15. Reflections & Fear [4:49]
16. "Windtalkers" [2:53]
17. Savage Prejudice [2:10]
18. Ghostly Duo [3:33]
19. "Dear Joe" [3:12]
20. Under Friendly Fire [2:41]
21. Disguised as the Enemy [5:39]
22. First Kill/"Cease Fire!" [2:06]
23. Medal of Honor [3:40]
24. Out of Balance [3:06]
25. Smoking Out Demons [6:16]
26. Thinking About Home [1:51]
27. Pain Killers [2:53]
28. " A Soldier of Christ" [2:58]
29. "I Want Out" [3:52]
30. Sudden Ambush [1:25]
31. Senseless Death [7:05]
32. Mourning a Loss [4:30]
33. Just Follow Orders [2:20]
34. Caught In a Minefield [1:24]
35. Some Don't Make It [4:25]
36. Calling for Flyboys [3:34]
37. "No One Else Is Dying" [5:18]
38. A Hero In Battle [5:53]
39. Remembering a Warrior [3:23]
40. End Credits [2:14]