When the United States declared war on Japan in 1941, they found the ensuing conflict not only difficult, but also frustrating. The U.S. military found that were Japanese were able to break most coded messages. Then in 1942, a bold and creative move was taken. Navajo Indians were recruited to use their language to create an unbreakable code. Their work was invaluable to the war effort, and may people believe we may not have won it without them. These ‘‘codetalkers’’ were often put under the protection of the Marines they were stationed with.

Actually I should say the code had to be protected. If there was any chance of a codetalker falling into enemy hands… well let’s just say it couldn’t be allowed to happen.

This is the basis for John Woo’s “Windtalkers.” Nicolas Cage stars as Joe Enders, a sergeant in the military assigned to protect one of these ‘‘codetalkers’’ during World War II. Set against the backdrop of the Battle of Saipan, we see how the relationship develops between Navajo Indian Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach) and the Marines in his unit. Yahzee must face enemies on two fronts, the Japanese and the prejudice of his comrades. The question faced throughout is whether or not Enders, if necessary, can do what he has to if faced with the worst-case scenario.

“Windtalkers” strives to be an amazing film, and for the most part it is. Director Woo utilizes his visual style to re-create the horrors of war. The battle sequences are long, brutal and incredibly realistic. The camera work is often breathtaking, and gives a tremendous sense of realism to the mayhem.

Where I found “Windtalkers” to be a bit lacking was in the area of character development. With a film that comes in at about 154 minutes, I would expect there to be a bit more if this. I wanted more of an opportunity to ‘get to know’ some of the characters so that I could place a little bit more of an emotional payoff on whether they lived or died. Don’t get me wrong, everyone in the film did an incredible job at creating their characters as far as acting, but I just felt that it needed a little bit more.

The other thing that I found odd was that for a film about the ‘‘codetalkers’’, the filmmakers chose to keep their main focal point on the character of Enders as opposed the historical aspect of the Navajo’s usefulness during the war. Since this was the first film to be made about the subject I hoped it would be more about the subject. Not that it didn’t touch on it, but I would have liked for it to have been more the focus of the film.

Those things aside, “Windtalkers” is a really good film as far as war movies go. I was really surprised that it didn’t do as well at the box office at it should have. Considering the visual tapestry Woo created, I really wish I had seen it at the theatre. I’m actually thankful for many reasons that MGM Home Entertainment decided to release this 3-disc set. The film was already available on DVD, but this new expanded set offers much in the way of extras, many of which expand on the history of the ‘codetalkers.’

This new release is the first of John Woo’s films to get the Director’s Cut treatment. There’s over 20 extra minutes of footage added in. Having not seen the film prior to these additions I cannot comment as to how they may or not improve the finished product. But I will say that the film moves at a smooth pace, and nothing seems out of place. The disc also has three separate film commentaries. Commentary by Woo and producer Terence Chang has many different elements, most of which would be of interest to film students.
The commentary by actors Nicolas Cage and Christian Slater is a bit more entertaining as they talk about some of the behind the scenes experiences of making the film. The most interesting, at least from a historical standpoint, is that of actor Roger Willie and real-life Navajo Code Talker Albert Smith.

The second disc should also be of interest to historians as it has features devoted to the actual ‘codetalkers’ themselves. One is an excellent 23-minute documentary about their history, which includes interviews and film footage of actual ‘codetalkers’. It also touches on a long overdue acknowledgment to these heroes. On December 21, 2000, President Clinton signed a bill that gave Congressional gold medals to the original 29 ‘‘codetalkers’’ and over 300 silver medals to other Navajo soldiers. On July 26, 2001, President George W. Bush presented the 29 gold medals, five of which went to the Code Talkers who are still living. The ceremony was attended by some of the cast of “Windtalkers.” Following this is a 9-minute video tribute with information about specific ‘codetalkers’, and a list of all those who served. Also on this disc is a featurette on the music of the film, featuring composer James Horner.

The third disc gets back into the making of the film with the opportunity to look at several key battle sequences from various angles and storyboards. It has on set diaries from some of the actors specific to certain scenes. It’s a kind of ‘behind the scenes look’, where you can listen to the audio while watching some footage. Then if you want to, you can play that particular scene right after. There’s also an “Actor’s Boot Camp” feature that allows a look at what the actors had to go through to prepare for the film. And they say actors have it easy!

I mentioned before that there was an earlier DVD release of “Windtalkers.” Anyone who already bought that version can utilize a $10 mail-in rebate offer to ease the transition to this awesome edition. And if that isn’t enough to whet your appetite, if you buy this version, it comes with another rebate offer for a free DVD by mail, with over 40 titles to choose from.

“Windtalkers” may not be the best war movie ever made, but it is an undeniably powerful one. If war movies are your bag, there’s no doubt in my mind this one will make a good choice the next time you’re in the market.

Directed by: John Woo
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach, Peter Stormare, Noah Emmerich, Mark Ruffalo, Brian Van Holt, Frances O'Connor, Christian Slater and Roger Willie
Extras:
Disc 1: An Introduction by Director John Woo, Commentary by Director John Woo and Produceer Terrance Chang, Commentary by Actors Nicolas Cage and Christian Slater, Commentary by Actor Roger Willie and Real life Navajo Code Talker Albert Smith
Disc 2: Historical Documentary, WWII Tribute, and Musical Score Featurette
Disc 3: Multi-View Feature, Scene Diaries, “Actors Boot Camp” Featurette, Photo Gallery
Specifications: Widescreen (2.40:1) Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions, English 5.1 Surround, French Dolby Surround
Studio: MGM Home Entertainment
Release Date: 5/20/2003
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R (For Pervasive Graphic War Violence and For Language)
Website

We'll give Windtalkers - Director's Cut an A.