First Look
Spike Lee’s ‘Miracle at St. Anna’ Trailer Reminds Us of What He Does Best, Make Movies
Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on June 13, 2008
For the past week and a half, all of the Spike Lee talk around the industry has been about his back and forth with Clint Eastwood over the lack of black soldiers depicted in Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. It was all just a not-so subtle reminder that Spike is a talker, a man of constant words who won’t hesitate to make himself heard. In the end, the whole thing was rather annoying and unnecessary, with two great directors just mouthing off to the media about each other.
Thankfully the Spike v. Clint bout seems to have come to an end and a new trailer has been released for Lee’s upcoming WWII film Miracle at St. Anna. The trailer, which can be seen below, looks extremely solid, as you would expect from Spike Lee, the director.
I can tell you, after having a chance to speak with Spike at a press event on the campus of Ohio State University a few months back, that this is a project for which he has a lot of passion. And as a filmmaker, Lee has always been able to deliver engaging material onto the screen without being overly preachy. Many people, myself included, were greatly impressed by his work with Inside Man, his 2006 release that starred Denzel Washington and Clive Owen. Since then Spike has gone back to the world of non-fiction and activism, delivering the TV mini-series documentary “When the Levees Broke” about the effects of Hurricane Katrina.
With Miracle at St. Anna, he tells the story of four black American soldiers who get trapped behind Nazi lines in a Tuscan village in Italy in 1944. The film stars Laz Alonso, Derek Luke, John Turturro, D.B. Sweeney and Michael K. Williams. It will hit theaters on September 26, 2008.
Sound Off: What do you think of the first trailer for Miracle at St. Anna?
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13 Comments
June 13th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Yo what is this BS? I didn’t see a single Hispanic or Asian in this trailer? WTF is up with that? I call BULL all over this man. Spike Lee is a racist, man. ;)
Trailer looks pretty good, but I still maintain what Spike Lee does best is be a prick, not make movies.
June 14th, 2008 at 10:56 am
This is beautiful, I can’t wait for the movie this fall. Robert grow up and then maybe someone can hold a conversation with you. You know that thing ADULTS DO.
June 15th, 2008 at 12:20 am
If I ever grow up, how can I justify writing such snarky comments and an entire column based only around my anger? No thanks!
BTW, Jackie, please check out some of our other Spike Lee stories to see just why my opinion of him is so low, these days.
June 15th, 2008 at 9:58 am
I have read the book, which is poorly written and full of ridiculous historical errors. The event in question took place on August 12, 1944, when troops from the 16th SS Panzer Grenadier Division killed 560 people, including 116 children. No US soldiers, let alone African-Americans from the 92nd Division, were involved. One villager said “It’s a false reconstruction that does not take account of the historical reality,” adding”This sort of fiction should be banned, otherwise the damage to the memory and historical truth will be very serious.” I do not advocate banning films, and plan to see this one. That said, Spike Lee needs to get his own glass house in order instead of hurling stones at Clint Eastwood.
June 15th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Thats very interesting, Gothic.
So it looks like Clint Eastwood crafts his stories around meticulous research and historical accuracy and that is that.
Spike Lee will warp and distort and take what he can to send the message he wants under the false veil of truth.
June 15th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Funny, I didn’t see any “based on a true story” flashes in the trailer.
June 16th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Wait a minute - Spike Lee throws himself into the news cycle by intentionally saying something controversial and then the trailer for his new movie comes out?
That’s so uncharacteristic of him.
Say what you will about his filmmaking skills, but believe that an attack on two year old war movies over not having enough minorities in them when you’ve got a new war movie coming out that heavily features minorities isn’t bald-faced PR and nothing else, and you’re just naive.
Don’t believe the hype.
June 16th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Robert, you’re assertion about the lack of ‘Hispanics or Asians’ in the trailer is patently wrong. One of the two pivotal characters in the novel and the movie is Hector Negron, the Puerto Rican Buffalo soldier, who, ironically, is played by Laz Alonzo, a bilingual Afro-Cuban. Or there is no such thing as black Hispanics?
June 16th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Well, I’m glad Scott W read the book. Speaking of black Hispanics, or in this case Afro-Brazilians, here is a quote from page 262 of the novel: “….. Stamps couldn’t stand the Brazilians. He’d visited their camp once. It was filthy. No latrines. They didn’t even bother to bury their shit.” As for Asians, “The Gurkhas were even worse. They were psychotic, with their long robes and swords and screaming death cries. He heard they died by the dozens from tuberculosis because their bodies weren’t used to the cold….” For the record, Gurkhas do not wear robes, carry knives (kukris), not swords, and come from the mountains of Nepal, where it can get quite cold.
June 30th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
I dont really care how accurate this movie is, or even that its based on a true story. I love that its different from all the other world war II movies I seen. I love the action, the romance, the intensity, sometimes its just nice knowing the tragic movies arent reality, that way you cant walk out the theaters and not feel bad for what happened decades ago…Its just a movie that speaks the truth as far as black soldiers during the war..
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:53 pm
I’d like to see Tyler Perry do a World War II film. And have we forgotten, there’s suppose to be another movie about black participation in World War II. It’s about the 761st Tank Battalion and Morgan Freeman is supposed to be producing it. My father served in the 761st so I hope it’s done well. I may be an extra in it. Who knows.
August 12th, 2008 at 6:56 am
What the heck……..German Marked Halftrack…..a US M3??????…and a 105 Howitzer firing with no recoil? Come on Spike……spend some money and get up to speed……there is no excuse for that…….I hope the movie is better, but those major errors and some guy carrying a 50 lb hunk of marble hanging off his belt is any indication of what is to come…..I will save my money.
Spike, do a movie about the 761st tank Battalion…..if you want to honor Blacks in the service during WWII.
GNJ, The 761st reunion is later this month in Chicago…..I will be there!
September 9th, 2008 at 7:54 am
[Robert Fure says:
June 13th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Yo what is this BS? I didn’t see a single Hispanic or Asian in this trailer? WTF is up with that? I call BULL all over this man. Spike Lee is a racist, man. ;)
Trailer looks pretty good, but I still maintain what Spike Lee does best is be a prick, not make movies.]
Laz Alonso is Cuban (hispanic). Maybe his last name, and NOT his skin color, should’ve been a tip-off Robert Fure. So superficial. You only consider olive skinned people to possibly be hispanic? Tsk tsk tsk. Go ahead and say “no” to save face.
Of course Spike Lee is an arse for still referring to him as black and not hispanic in his movie description. Unless that’s the doing of producers, marketers, etc. Which I doubt.
Nobody will notice that detail (Alonso being Cuban) ….not whites,blacks,and asians at least. “Is his skin dark? Then he’s black.”