The Naked and the Dead

Author(s): Christopher K.
Location: AZ

"The Naked and the Dead"

Directed by: Alfonso Cuaron
Produced by: The Weinstein Company
Written by: William Broyles Jr.
Loosely Based on the novel by Norman Mailer
Music by: Danny Elfman
Cinematography by: Emmanuel Lubezki
Sound editing: Skip Lievsay
Sound mixing: Greg P. Russell

Main Cast

Staff Sergeant Sam Croft: John Turturro
General Cummings: Chris Cooper
Nurse Jennifer Roberts: Jennifer Carpenter
Lieutenant Robert Hearn: Michael C. Hall
Sergeant Julio Martinez: John Leguizamo
Steve Minetta: Rob Brown
Sergeant William Brown: Robert Downey Jr.

Tagline: "Men welcome to hell, is it hot enough for you?"

Synopsis: It’s World War 2 and men are currently invading the island Anopopei. When the soldiers land the beach is already taken and there’s fighting breaking down at the end of the beach. They set up camp at the beach. The recon team is ordered by General Cummings to go off into the jungle with Staff Sergeant Sam Croft. There they get attacked at night and Lieutenant Robert Hearn fights them off with a gun turret. When the soldiers capture a Japanese soldier. Croft allows him to fall into a false sense of security then he takes a handgun points it at the man’s face and fires. As they travel they learn of the Toyaku line that’s when a scene of men on both sides are dying being shot down, blood and gun shells. The men are then sent towards the line where Steve Minetta is shot down, he survives and is set back to the Invasion Beach. We learn from Nurse Jennifer Roberts he is in shock and is having states of hysteria.

General Cummings promotes Hearn to his side and to the disdain of the men demotes Croft to third in command. Then sends them on an almost impossible mission. Cut through the jungle to the other side of the Toyaku line. Bullets fly and kill men all around and Sergeant William Brown with other men mock Croft behind his back. Later on Croft makes William Brown pick up a cigarette he has thrown on the ground when he goes down to get it Croft proceeds to beat him until death Nurse Roberts whos been traveling helps Brown and he seemingly is fine. As they cross an embankment they are pinned down and Nurse Roberts is taken hostage. As they travel Croft sends the men one way and he goes another then upon getting shot in the stomach. As he bleeds out he sees the Japanese soldiers taking Murse Roberts away. He can barely call for help grabs his rifle and limps after them. We see that Minetta has been set to catch up to them and as he runs is then shot at. As we the camera goes back to Hearn and his men we hear Minetta’s gunfire fight with men and then silence. Hearn and his troops are in a vicious gunfight with an opposing Japanese force at a river and as they fight Japanese reinforcements come with around a hundred to his fifteen and they start fleeing. As they run they throw anything they can. Hearn decides to order half to go one way and the other another. They all follow Hearn and they are captured. Then we see his body, naked with bruises and blood everywhere and then he grunts he has been left to die. Croft finds the Japanese soldiers preparing to rape Nurse Roberts and he starts firing as bullets the Japanese start firing back. Then as they fight Nurse Roberts breaks free and runs inside. Then after all the soldiers are dead the two meet together and Croft just starts laughing.

What the Press would say:

Alfonso Cuaron has left his normal ways and created something everyone would seemingly expect. A world war 2 film is always predictable with everyone either dying or living. He provides both. He shows us the inner problems war has on soldiers. Using Emmanuel Lubezki’s amazing Cinematography and Danny Elfman’s score it turned into an excellent film. The movie real turns with primarily three performances. The performance of John Turturro playing as Sam Croft portrays the person that is not a movie character. He portrays him as human which definitely appeals to people’s senses and he portrays a character that some don’t even recognize as John Turturro. The character is hated and that’s why critics are so into it that you can hate someone who is seemingly the hero of the story. With a performance by Dexter’s Jennifer Carpenter as Nurse Roberts shows women’s power and she amplifies that. Female critics are all satisfied with her performance. The last truly notable performance was by Michael C. Hall with his brilliant yet short performance as Lieutenant Hearn which he has garnered wide acclaim for. Now these three performances are the big one but Chris cooper also shows up and shows that he’s still around and fighting. From Jarhead’s writer William Broyles Jr. comes his next story which he uses Norman Mailer’s novel as a starting point. This movie has no love story, dramatic talk scene, it’s a film that shows what war actually was and this is why critics and the fans are into this film and why it’s been on so many top ten lists this year. The strong Oscar push comes from Bob and Harvey Weinstein who have made historical Oscar pushes before and they know they have a shot with this one. This film is one of the greatest stories of violence and war and it never get’s sappy.

For Your consideration:

Best Picture- The Weinstein Co.
Best Director- Alfonso Cuaron
Best Actor- John Turturro
Best Actress- Jennifer Carpenter
Best Supporting Actor- Michael C. Hall
Best Supporting Actor- Chris Cooper
Best Score- Danny Elfman
Best original song- “Why?” by Danny Elfman
Best Cinematography- Emmanuel Lubezki
Best Editing- Alfonso Cuaron
Best Adapted Screenplay- William Broyles Jr.
Best Sound Editing- Skip Lievsay
Best Sound Mixing- Greg P. Russell