Anna is a 2008 americanitalian epic war film adapted by james mcbride from. The sant anna di stazzema massacre was a nazi german war crime committed in the hill village of sant anna di stazzema in tuscany, italy, in the course of an operation against the italian resistance movement during the italian campaign of world war ii. James also wrote the script for the film, which is scheduled for dvd release on feb. Lee was in cannes promoting his own wwii movie entitled miracle at st. Anna contains scenes of brilliance, interrupted by scenes that meander. At a new york post office, an employee, hector negron, pulls out a german gun and shoots a customer at point blank range with no explanation. Sep 26, 2008 the sad thing is, theres a perfectly fine, sam fullerish, 90minute war movie on a worthy subject trapped somewhere in the selfindulgences of miracle at st. Four of the soldiers derek luke, michael ealy, laz. Its a little too long and drags in spots, but its a lovely war film. Anna is a gripping world war ii epic that chronicles the story of four african american soldiers who are members of the us army. Anna is a 2008 americanitalian epic war film adapted by james mcbride from his 2003 novel of the same name. Now, in his first novel, he broadens his scope from personal history to the.
On 12 august 1944 the waffenss, with the help of the brigate nere, murdered about 560 local villagers and refugees, including more than a. Directed by spike lee from a screenplay written by james mcbride, the author of the acclaimed novel of the same name, the film explores a deeply inspiring, powerful story drawn from true history, that transcends national boundaries, race, and class to touch the goodness within us all. It is the story of four american negro soldiers, a band of partisans, and an italian boy who encounter a miraclethough perhaps the true miracle lies in themselves. Spike lee explores fighting evil and living with it the new. The story of four black american soldiers stationed in tuscany, italy during word war ii. Anna continued to perform poorly in international markets. The shortest version is that its a story about four africanamerican soldiers in italy in 1944, and what they found there. Anna is part devastating world war ii movie, part political film exposing the notorious racism of much of white america during that time, and part fairy tale in which a child becomes one with his rescuers as his spirit transcends the evil around him. Spike lee explores fighting evil and living with it the. The story itself is great and kept me interested until the end, but its execution could have been much better.
This film is a jumbled mess of great sequences, surreal moments, and short bridge scenes thrown in to advanced a contrived plot and then left on the floor to possibly come back to at the end. Anna was fairly clearly directed by the bad spike lee, its the best bad film hes ever directed. Anna powerfully examines the horrors of history and finds an unexpected wealth of goodness and compassion in the human soul. Spike has taken his productions to the next level in this portrayal of war, friendship and the human element.
Spike lees miracle at st anna denounced by italian war. According to the official web site, spike lees new work miracle at st. Armys allblack division known as the buffalo soldiers become trapped behind enemy lines in tuscany, italy. Hector sells stamps and lives in an apartment strewn with war memorabilia. With a view of the war that is both panoramic in its sweep and deeply personal in its exploration of the human spirit, miracle at st. Anna brings to life a largely overlooked historical moment and extends the reach of james mcbrides considerable storytelling powers. The four soldiers find themselves standing in a river, with a nazi loudspeaker blasting the sultry voice of axis sally, who promises them sexy. I had just been to that area of italy tuscany north of lucca and i wanted to learn more. Anna is a television movie thats far below the capabilities of one of the most talented living. Anna stars derek luke, michael ealy, laz alonso, omar miller the r movie has a runtime of about 2 hr 40 min, and received a score of 37 out of 100. Full of cliches and the very stereotypes against which director spike lee rails, miracle at st.
Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the films opening 3day weekend box office friday to sunday, without going under, will also win a copy of the hills season four on dvd, as well as miracle at st. The ending is the surprise as the heartbreak at st. Provided to youtube by entertainment one distribution us miracle at st. You must be a registered user to use the imdb rating.
But the real life story is so fascinating that i was slightly disappointed that the film did not offer more despite bringing into it the st anna. Your editor barry brown told me a lot about this movie, i said, finding spike comfortably slouched in. Released by hollywood records in 2008 containing music from miracle at st. In the end, negron is saved from life in prison by a powerful executive attorney hired. Anna is a wellintentioned but overlong, disjointed affair. The film is the longest day, the sprawling 1962 world. By jim castagnera special to the history place 92908.
Mcbride also wrote the screenplay, which is probably the biggest mistake lee made. There are scenes that could have been lost to more decisive editing, but i found after a few days that my mind did the editing for me, and i. Finally, one additional entrant will be chosen at random to win a third copy of the hills season four on dvd. Following its release in north america, miracle at st. Set primarily in italy during germanoccupied europe in world war ii, the book tells the story of four buffalo soldiers of the 92nd infantry division who seek refuge in a small tuscan village, where they form a bond with the residents. Oct 16, 2008 spike lee has left me confused after viewing his new wwii epic miracle at st. Anna 2009, dvd i couldnt believe that this was a spike lee movie. Anna after a wwii veteran murders a man, we flash back to his days with the buffalo soldiers to learn why he became a murderer forty years later. Anna is a tale of courage and redemption inspired by the famed buffalo soldiers of the 92nd division and a littleknown historic event in a small tuscan village at the end of world war iithe massacre at st. While trapped in a village, train rescues the eight yearold boy, angelo torancelli, who survived a massacre in st. Discover more music, concerts, videos, and pictures with the largest catalogue online at.
The drama, the action and heart felt finale was top notch. Anna soundtrack from 2008, composed by terence blanchard. Armys allblack division are stationed in the tuscany region of italy. Anna original soundtrack opening credits, main theme and more. Anna chronicles the story of four africanamerican soldiers who are members of the u.
A music video based on spike lees movie miracle at st. Anna was released as a major motion picture in sept. You are browsing the website, which contains photos and videos of nude celebrities. Its an ambitious goal, and not entirely successful. As times go on, the platoon interacts with the villagers and hector discloses a story of prejudice and betrayal in times of war. But there is so much here that is powerful that it should be seen no matter its imperfections. Its a little too long and drags in spots, but its a lovely war film depicting a different side of battle than were normally accustomed to seeing on screen. Traversing class, race, and geography, miracle at st. Who does hector negron shoot in the post office in miracle at st.
Anna has one of the best battle scenes i can remember, on a par with saving private ryan but more tightly focused in a specific situation rather than encompassing a huge panorama. James mc brides, miracle at st anna is so compelling and moving it is hard to know if you should be marvelling at his emotive words or weeping at the empathy and raw emotion that jumps from each and every page. Spike lee has left me confused after viewing his new wwii epic miracle at st. Miracle at st anna joseph gordonlevitts parts youtube. The santanna di stazzema massacre was a nazi german war crime committed in the hill village of santanna di stazzema in tuscany, italy, in the course of an operation against the italian resistance movement during the italian campaign of world war ii.
There is too much, too many characters, too many subplots. Anna yesterday, to a handful of italian journalists in a huge nearempty theater. Anna village, and they become connected to each other. With his bestselling memoir the color of water, james mcbride created a fascinating story of growing up in the projects of red hook, brooklyn and a vivid portrait of his indomitable mother. Anna chronicles the story of four american soldiers who are members of the allblack 92nd buffalo soldier division stationed in tuscany, italy during world war ii. Nearing the end of his life, hector negron reflects on the events he witnessed. Anna is above all a hymn to the brotherhood of man and the power to do good that lives in each of us. Miracolo a sant anna scena commovente e piena di emozioni complimenti per il film.
Anna follows four black soldiers of the allblack 92nd infantry division who get trapped near a small tuscan village on the gothic line during the italian campaign of world war ii after one of them risks his life to save an italian boy. Anna is based on james mcbrides novel of the same name. Anna was pulled out of theatres on november 25, 2008 after 61 days 8. Miracle in santanna is not as bad as they say, but surely its a minor film by lee, and the constant balance between war realism and epicromantic. Miracle at st anna joseph gordonlevitts parts 2008 more about joseph gordonlevitt. However his company is destroyed by the german soldiers. Anna movie trailers, exclusive videos, interviews from the cast, movie clips and more at. Throughout the movie, some of the acting ranged from good to bad to. Anna is reasonably wellacted and wellmade, but in the end, its one of director spike lees lesser joints and arguably his most disappointing given the vast amount of potential it had at its disposal, with an overbloated runtime, subpar dialogue, dull characters, a needlessly muddled story, and painfully artificial sentimentality.
Spike lee presented an eight minute clip of his upcoming movie miracle at st. In the scene in the prologue, it appears that hector is shooting an innocent. It leaves the film a messy patchwork of ideas spinning off every which way, and increasingly absurd mysteries and coincidences that get piled one on top of the other, but which all end up tied together tightly. Anna an old man sits in his apartment watching a movie on his blackandwhite television set.
Anna is a deeply inspiring, powerful story drawn from true history. The sad thing is, theres a perfectly fine, sam fullerish, 90minute war movie on a worthy subject trapped somewhere in the selfindulgences of miracle at st. One of the items is a statues head, which an appraiser tells police investigating the shooting its potentially worth millions. Anna ends up with a 160 minute running time despite an aplot which requires, at best, twothirds of that length.