Unbroken
Short description
Unbroken tells the true story of Louis Zamperini, an American distance runner who competed at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Although he did not win a medal, his performance in the final race drew enough attention that Adolf Hitler asked to meet him. With the next Games planned for Tokyo and then cancelled as war broke out, Zamperini enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces as a bombardier. During a mission over the Pacific, his aircraft went down, leaving him and two other men adrift on a raft. After a long ordeal at sea they were picked up by the Japanese navy and sent to prisoner-of-war camps, where Zamperini endured sustained brutality at the hands of a guard known as "The Bird."
The film was directed by Angelina Jolie, the first feature she directed, followed by By the Sea, First They Killed My Father and Without Blood. William Nicholson wrote the screenplay with Joel and Ethan Coen, and Clayton Townsend, Erwin Stoff and Jolie produced. Jack O'Connell plays Zamperini, with Alex Russell, Domhnall Gleeson, Garrett Hedlund, MIYAVI and Finn Wittrock among the cast.
Made for 65 million dollars, it took about 161 million dollars worldwide, a solid return. On IMDb it holds 7.2/10 from roughly 198,000 votes and on TMDB 7.4/10 from about 4,450 votes, while the critics' rating stands at 6/10 from 230 reviews, so audiences rated it somewhat more warmly than reviewers did.
What's left behind the scenes
- The shadow of the aircraft moves across the ground much slower than the aircraft itself flying overhead.
- Despite Louis, Phil, and Mac spending a considerable amount of time at sea, they remain cleanly shaven.
- The aircraft crew is flying in uniforms, when they should be in flight suits.
- Miyavi (Watanabe) had to keep his distance from Jack O’Connell (Zamperini) to make it easier for him to play his character in scenes where Watanabe displayed particular cruelty towards Zamperini.
- In the opening scene, none of the bomber crew are equipped with a parachute harness.
- Clay Zamperini, Louis Zamperini’s grandson, played an extra role as a person carrying the Olympic torch.
- The national markings on the American transport plane shown at the end of the film (1945) have a red dot in the center of the star. This red dot was removed from American aircraft in 1942 to avoid possible confusion with the red Hinomaru circle used in the markings of Japanese aircraft.
- In reality, steam-powered trains never operated regular passenger service to Torrance, California. Such services were provided by Pacific Electric, but they built electric railways, and in that case, electric wires above the train should have been visible in the shot.
- When Zamperini and Phil are floating at sea on a raft, Phil looks at a photograph of a woman. This is a real photograph of his sweetheart, who would later become his wife. Angelina Jolie was provided with this photograph by his daughter.
- Universal Studios acquired the rights to the story of Louis Zamperini in 1957, hoping to make a film starring Tony Curtis. Later, Nicolas Cage became interested in the project. Ultimately, the film received the green light only after the book about Zamperini became a bestseller.
- The film was shown on January 8, 2015, at Casina Pio IV, the main building of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences in the Vatican. Pope Francis did not attend the screening, but later met with Angelina Jolie and Luke Zamperini, the son of the late athlete Louis Zamperini.
- The script is based on Laura Hillenbrand’s book "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption," published in 2010.
- When the Olympic flame is carried in Japan at the end of the film, Louis Zamperini runs past the prisoner-of-war camp in Naoetsu. In reality, Zamperini was held in this camp for the longest time.
- Louis Zamperini passed away on July 2, 2014. Before his death, while in the hospital, he managed to watch a rough cut of the film on Angelina Jolie’s laptop.
- Dane DeHaan was one of the main contenders for the role of Louis Zamperini.
- The American plane that carries Zamperini at the end of the film is a Lockheed Electra with markings of Australian civil transport. Additionally, the nose of the plane features an inscription not authorized by regulations – Army Air Corp, while the Army Air Corp was renamed Army Air Forces in 1941.
- Jack O’Connell dyed his auburn hair black to more closely resemble the character of Italian descent.
- In the scene at the train station, you can notice a 50-star US flag hanging on the depot building. At that time, there should have been a flag from 1912 (48 stars – 8 rows, 6 columns), but the film shows a flag from 1959, which has 50 stars arranged in an offset pattern.
- A modern white dress with an 'invisible' back zipper can be spotted in the film. A girl in such a dress can be seen behind Louis while he is dining downtown in Japan. Long zippers appeared only in the 1950s, and 'invisible' zippers came into use even later.
- An American of Italian descent, Louis Zamperini grew up in a difficult environment in 1920s America. As a teenager, he was caught stealing and participated in paid fistfights. However, he ended up not in jail, but on a stadium track, where he amazed coaches with outstanding running results. He soon entered the elite of American sports, and in 1936, as part of the American team, he competed at the Berlin Olympics, where he met Hitler and couldn't resist a prank: he stole a German flag from the Reich Chancellery.
- No parachutes are visible in any of the scenes on board the B-24 aircraft.
- When the prisoners of war are bathing in the river, a B-29 bomber flies overhead, and the shadow of a B-24 bomber is cast on the water.
- Due to chickenpox, Angelina Jolie was unable to attend the film premiere.
- As stated in the end credits, the real Mutsuhiro Watanabe refused to meet with Louis Zamperini, but he agreed to give an interview for a television program on the occasion of Zamperini’s participation in the Olympic torch relay in Tokyo in 1998. During the interview, Watanabe did not express remorse for beating prisoners, but admitted that he followed not official orders, but personal feelings towards the enemy.
- The prisoners of war mostly look disheveled, but are nevertheless cleanly shaved and neatly groomed.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
