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Miracle at St. Anna is directed by Spike Lee. Stars
include Derek Luke, John Leguizamo, and John Turturro. ***
Miracle at St. Anna follows the journey of four soldiers
of an all-black infantry division who get trapped near a
small Tuscan village on the Gothic Line during the Italian
Campaign of World War II, after one of them risks his life
to save an Italian boy. The story is inspired by the 1944
massacre perpetrated by the Nazi regime. ***
Love him or hate him, one thing you can’t argue with
is that Spike Lee has a way of making movies all his own.
He’s come a long way since his early formative pictures
like Do The Right Thing and Moe Better Blues, but never
lost his creative abilities along the way. Miracle at St.
Anna is a far cry from those early films that made Lee famous.
But perhaps most importantly, it’s still a good film. ***
Spike Lee took on a heavy burden directing a film like
this – making a war film is no easy task. It’s even more
difficult to create one that will stand the test of time,
and one that deals with subjects like buffalo soldiers.
Yet he manages to pull it off nicely, creating a dramatic
film that will hold your interest throughout. At 160 minutes
it’s a bit on the long side, but this is a small flaw in
the long run. Every performance in this film is great, particularly
that of the always-entertaining John Turturro. This probably
won’t end up on my “best films of the year” list, but Spike
Lee has made a solid war film. And perhaps more importantly,
has proven once again why he is such an important name in
the world of cinema. ---
Image and Sound: The 1080p transfer Disney has given
Miracle at St. Anna is a damn fine one. Scenes that take
place later chronologically and stateside and clear and
very well-defined, with an incredible amount of clarity
and detail. Scenes in wartime environments are gritty and
grainy, though this is a stylistic choice on the director9
9s part, and it ultimately benefits the film. Even these
scenes look fantastic. ***
This is the kind of movie that lossless audio was made
for. Throughout the film, the audio track is nothing short
of spectacular. When the battle scenes get going, your speakers
will get a serious workout. There’s not much else that can
be said. This movie sounds as great on Blu-Ray as it looks.
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