Spike Lee visited a World War II cemetery near France's D-Day landing beaches before presenting the European premiere of his film about the forgotten contribution of African-American soldiers to the war that freed Europe from Nazi tyranny.
"I was surprised to find African-Americans buried there too," he told reporters after his trip to one of the many cemeteries on the Normandy coast where lie thousands of Allied soldiers killed as they stormed ashore in 1944.
The D-Day landings and other epic battles in World War II have been portrayed in countless films but, said the US director, nearly all show only white soldiers engaged in the struggle.
Lee's new film, "Miracle at St. Anna," aims to right that wrong.
"This film debunks the Hollywood mythology of Word War II films in general. That mythology excludes the 1.1 million African-Americans who contributed, fought and died in the war," he said before the premiere Wednesday at the Deauville Festival of American Film.
The 156-minute movie film follows four members of the all-black 92nd "Buffalo Soldier" Infantry Division trapped behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied Italy in 1944. Continue reading
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4 comments:
I really look forward to seeing this movie. Spike Lee is absolutely right the experiences of black soldiers has largely been erased from history. I was not surprised to see Clint Eastwood get defensive when Spike pointed it because only white blood counts right?
"Clint Eastwood get defensive when Spike pointed it because only white blood counts right?"
So true, I will be seeing this as soon as it comes out.
I look forward to seeing it myself. I know that Danny Glover is also working on an important film about the Hatian revolution. Of course he is having difficulty getting funding. Any film about blackness or black history certainly is viewed as relevant by the people who decide what we should and should not be viewing.
"because only white blood counts right". You're a moron. Only about 5% of American soldiers during WW 2 were black. Also, During the battle of Iwo Jima less than 1% of the soldiers were black. Clint was right. Spike was wrong and you're a racist.
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