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. Armys allblack division are stationed in the tuscany region of italy. Anna is a 2008 americanitalian epic war film adapted by james mcbride from his 2003 novel of the same name. Cast information crew information company information news box office. Directed by spike lee, it stars derek luke, michael ealy, laz alonso, omar benson miller, pierfrancesco favino and valentina cervi. Anna starring derek luke in this militarywar on directv. Anna goes out of its way to illustrate the anguish and heartlessness of war. For instance you had a black man with a gold tooth. There is too much, too many characters, too many subplots. The movie caves in by the middle under the weight of. Anna chronicles the story of four africanamerican soldiers who are members of the u. Anna, lees hand is evident in all the details, but he loses control of the overall structure. The four soldiers find themselves standing in a river, with a nazi loudspeaker blasting the sultry voice of axis sally, who promises them sexy women and racial equality in germany.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Set primarily in italy during germanoccupied europe in world war ii, the film 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. Sure, spike lee wrongly and probably strategically went after clint eastwood for not depicting as many black soldiers at iwo jima in his two films, but that whole controversy led me to discover things i had not originally thought of about segregated units. 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. Anna contentsshow history angelo was a survivor of the st anna massacre thanks to the help of a german corporal. Newark starledger the miracles of survival, of love born in extremity, and of inexplicable luck are. Spike lee has left me confused after viewing his new wwii epic miracle at st.
She is the daughter of director tonino cervi and granddaughter of the famous italian actor gino cervi. There were so many typical blacks in film stereotypes in the movie that i just shook my head most of the time. Anna chronicles the story of four black american soldiers who are members of the us army as part of the allblack 92nd buffalo soldier divi. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies.
Anna contains scenes of brilliance, interrupted by scenes that meander. Anna 2008 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. On 12 august 1944 the waffenss, with the help of the brigate nere, murdered about 560 local villagers and refugees. Anna powerfully examines the horrors of history and finds an unexpected wealth of goodness and compassion in the human soul. Angelo tornacelli was a survivor of the st anna massacre, and a central character of miracle at st. Based on james macbrides novel about buffalo soldiers black regiments in wwii and directed by spike lee. Its available to watch on tv, online, tablets, phone. Its an ambitious goal, and not entirely successful. It demonstrably points out how leaders on both the german and american side disregard human life. Look out for mcbrides new book, fivecarat soul from the new york times bestselling author of the good lord bird, winner of the 20 national book award for fiction, and kill em and leave, a james brown biography. Anna nude scenes images and 3 videos including appearances from laila petrone valentina cervi. 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. Anna 2008 chronicles the world war ii adventures of the 92nd infantry division, an allafricanamerican squadron that gets cornered in tuscany by nazis in 1944. Anna, an elderly black man with a purple heart on his shelf watches a boilerplate john wayne war movie, in which wayne, the noble sergeant, commands his brave.
Who does hector negron shoot in the post office in miracle at st. From touchstone pictures comes the powerful and uplifting world war ii epic miracle at st. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing miracle at st. Anna brings up a very interesting point about black soldiers during world war 2, primarily that they were actually there. Anna, directed by acclaimed filmmaker spike lee the inside man.
Sure, spike lee wrongly and probably strategically went after clint eastwood for not depicting as many black soldiers at iwo jima in his two films, but that whole controversy led me to discover things i had not originally thought of. In this sixth year of the iraq war, socalled war pictures are generally ill received. Spike lee explores fighting evil and living with it the. Valentina cervi born april 1976 is an italian film and television actress. Derek luke, laz alonso, michael ealy, omar benson miller. In st mark and st luke, it is the healing of the demoniac in the synagogue that was the first miracle. Anna an old man sits in his apartment watching a movie on his blackandwhite television set. By jim castagnera special to the history place 92908. 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. Armys allblack 92nd infantry division, the buffalo soldiers, that are trapped behind enemy lines after one of them risks his life to save a traumatized italian boy.
Ask ten people whove seen this movie what the titles miracle is referring to, and youll get a couple of different guesses. Its a shame because spike lee generates attention and i felt if anyone could get this story to the screen effectively it would have been him. James mcbrides powerful memoir, the color of water, was a groundbreaking literary phenomenon that transcended racial and. Anna set in 1944 italy, the story of four black american soldiers who get trapped in a tuscan village during wwii. Spike lees miracle at st anna denounced by italian war. 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. Anna and other popular tv shows and movies including new releases, classics, hulu originals, and more. There is a variety of deadly violence displayed throughout, but four dominant war scenes more than earn the movie s r rating all by themselves. 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. Derek luke, michael ealy, laz alonso, omar benson miller, pierfrancesco favino, valentina cervi, matteo sciabordi, john. 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. Spike lees miracle at st anna denounced by italian war veterans as insulting director spike lee is at the centre of controversy after italian war veterans claimed his new film, miracle at st. But there is so much here that is powerful that it should be seen no matter its imperfections. Miracle is inspired by the factual sant anna di stazzema massacre, in which the waffenss sought to crush italian insurrection.
Armys allblack 92nd infantry division, the buffalo soldiers, that are trapped behind enemy lines after one of them. The movie is good nonetheless i just which there was more focused of the. Four of the soldiers derek luke, michael ealy, laz. Stationed in tuscany, italy, four members of the u. This is the first theatrical trailer for spike lees miracle at st. Anna is a mess of miscommunicated messages that still leaves room for a proper film based on the buffalo soldiers to be told, preferably a true one. Newark starledger the miracles of survival, of love born in extremity, and of inexplicable luck are the subjects of this first novel. Armys allblack 92nd infantry division, the buffalo soldiers, are trapped behind enemy lines after one of them risks his life to save.