Hacksaw Ridge

"One of the greatest heroes in American history never fired a bullet."

2016 2h 19m EN

🙌

8.2

BANGER

★8.2TMDB · 15,377

DramaHistoryWar

Synopsis

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WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first Conscientious Objector in American history to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

“One of the greatest heroes in American history never fired a bullet.”

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Cast

Andrew Garfield
Desmond T. Doss
Sam Worthington
Captain Glover
Vince Vaughn
Sgt Howell
Teresa Palmer
Dorothy Schuttle
Luke Bracey
Smitty Ryker
Hugo Weaving
Tom Doss
Rachel Griffiths
Bertha Doss
Ryan Corr
Lieutenant Manville

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mel Gibson
Writers: Robert Schenkkan, Andrew Knight
Languages: Japanese, English
Countries: Australia, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.4× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 10 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Japanese, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Australia, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

227+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mel Gibson, shot by Simon Duggan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Rupert Gregson-Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor John Gilbert shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mel Gibson directs. Simon Duggan behind the camera. Rupert Gregson-Williams scores. John Gilbert cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Australia, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in Japanese, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 4.4× over at the box office.
2Released 10 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Japanese, English.
4International production across 3 countries: Australia, United Kingdom, United States of America.
5227+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by Mel Gibson, shot by Simon Duggan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Rupert Gregson-Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor John Gilbert shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Andrew Garfield and Sam Worthington and Vince Vaughn carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "One of the greatest heroes in American history never fired a bullet.".
11IMDB entry: tt2119532 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
1215,377 TMDB user ratings logged — serious cultural footprint.
13Classified under 25 themes, including "japan", "hero", "world war ii", "abusive father".
14Released under 12 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Simon Duggan
Original score: Rupert Gregson-Williams
Editing: John Gilbert
Production design: Barry Robison
Costume design: Lizzy Gardiner
Makeup / hair: Warren Hanneman
VFX supervisor: Chris Godfrey
Sound: Kevin O'Connell
Stunt coordinator: Mic Rodgers
Runtime: 139 min · 2h 19m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $40,000,000
Box office: $175,302,354
Return: 438% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Sound
Academy Award for Best Film Editing
AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
AACTA Award for Best Film
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
AACTA Award for Best Sound
AACTA Award for Best Production Design
AACTA Award for Best Original Screenplay
AACTA Award for Best Editing

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Mel Gibson

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Community reviews

What people are saying

starks942017-02-18
★ 7/10
Out of all the films nominated for best picture, there is one that isn’t getting much attention at all. In Hacksaw Ridge, the narrative surrounding the film doesn’t have much to do the film at all because it’s identity seems to be centered on Mel Gibson’s comeback. Read More: https://reviews.boxofficebuz.com/review/hacksaw-ridge
dragon_boi2017-02-21
★ 10/10
I first saw Hacksaw Ridge, back in November when it first came out.. Went to an afternoon screening and it was packed. From the very first scene to the last , I was in awe. This is the best movie I have seen in a long time. The last 30 minutes of the film, I had tears rolling down my cheeks. After it ended, it got a 5 minute standing ovation. Braveheart is my all time favourite movie and have seen it over 200 times., but this might just be my new favourite movie. I have seen it 6 times now, and cried every time. It is such an emotional film. The story of the HERO Desmond Doss is truly inspiring.Thank you Mel Gibson and Desmond Doss Jr. for letting us know more about this remarkable man. Hugo Weaving was robbed of an Oscar nomination. Andrew Garfield blew my away with his performance and it is Vince Vaughn's best performance as well. It is the best film of 2016.
Reno2017-02-24
★ 8/10
On the battlefront, his intention was to save the lives. The film was awesome, mainly because of the good message it carried out. That's not it, the film was well made with the wonderful cast and their great performances. The special effects were top notch, as well as the location where the majority of the second half takes place. This is a US-Australian co-production. Mel Gibson returned to the director's chair with a bang after exactly a decade. It got six Oscars nominees, so let's wait and see how many awards it grabs. It was the World War II theme, based on a real person and events. It tells the story of an American youngster named Desmond Doss, who joins the army to contribute to his nation. But for his religious point of view, he struggles during the training. After managing to make through, the remaining film focused to reveal his bravery on the battlefield against the Japanese armed forces at Okinawa in a place called Hacsaw Ridge. The story was based on one of the ten commandments. Doss, who strongly believes in that carries the same ideology to the combat zone. But all the initial part of the film reflects why he is very on to it. Especially after a fight with his brother in his childhood, followed by saving a severely injured man in a road accident just before deciding to join the army. So it is like both, a war film, as well as an anti-war theme. Most importantly, it tells us the bravery of a man, like of something Gandhi in the battlefield. He did it in what he had believed, but my perspective differs. I liked the film, as a biopic and the message it delivered. Very entertaining too, but when it comes to Doss' belief, I think it was flawed. In the first place he would have not joined the army if he's true to the commandment. That's the basic rule of the commandment if one wants to adopt it. He was just one of the unique person with such idea and luckily succeeded following it in a hostile situation. Only if you think all his episodes from an atheist perspective, that's how you would feel. One of the major reasons for that is, when he saves his men by letting his enemy die. But appreciable effort, at least from the Americans perspective. A true hero for his nation. One of the best war films ever. Instead of saying a must see film, I would say don't miss it. 7.5/10