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

Miracle at St. Anna

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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  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Gothic Liner
    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.
  • 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.
  • Shane
    Funny, I didn't see any "based on a true story" flashes in the trailer.
  • 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.
  • Scott W
    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?
  • Gothic Liner
    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.
  • Becky!
    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..
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