WINDTALKERS

Year: 2002
USA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
UK: Twentieth Century Fox
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach, Peter Stormare, Noah Emmerich, Mark Ruffalo, Brian Van Holt, Martin Henderson, Roger Willie, Frances O'Connor, Christian Slater, Jason Isaacs, Billy Morts, Cameron Thor, Kevin Cooney, Holmes Osborne, Keith Campbell, Clayton J Barber, Scott Atkinson, Jeremy Davidson, Brian Maynard, Albert Smith, James D Dever, Vincent Whipple, James Morse, Chris Devlin, Jeff Davis, Glen Begay, Ross Lasi Tanoai, Brian Kasai, Hiroshi Mori, John Takeshi Ichikawa, Christopher T Yamamoto, Marc McClellan, Steve Tanizaki, Malcolm Dohi, Darrel Guilbeau, Aaron Yamagata, Victoria Chen, Jon Michael Souza, Carissa Jung, Wataru Yoshida, Junya Oishi, Jiro Koga, Lynn Kawailele Allen, Tina Leialoha Gube, Alewa T Olotoa, Ilima Pumphrey, Lena Savalinaea, Kaliko Scott
Director: John Woo
Country: USA
USA: 133 mins
UK: 134 mins
USA Rated: R for pervasive graphic war violence, and for language
UK Certificate: 15 contains some strong language and bloody war violence
USA Release Date: 14 June 2002
UK Release Date: 30 August 2002


Synopsis

In World War II, the Japanese were continually able to break encrypted military transmissions, dramatically slowing U.S. progress. Finally, in 1942, several hundred Navajo Americans were recruited as Marines and trained to use a secret military code based on their native language. These Marines were called codetalkers.

John Woo's spectacular WINDTALKERS centers on the relationships between the Marines and the Navajo codetalkers they were assigned to protect during World War II. The codetalkers transmitted messages using an unbreakable code based on their native language. Their code was ultimately the only one never broken by the Japanese and is considered to have been key in winning the war.

The gripping climax takes place during the battle of Saipan when the Marines fighting off the Japanese must safeguard the code at all costs.