I must admit, that I have not been a major fan of Spike Lee films. With him, it seems to be a hit or miss affair. While I really enjoyed Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X and the very underrated Inside Man , I can’t really say that I enjoyed the rest of his films all that much. One can say without a doubt that Spike Lee has an edge to him that manifests itself in each of his films. It is because of that edge and my limited knowledge of James McBride’s book that forms the basis of this film, that I was surprised by the description of the film on the case accompanying this Blu-ray disc that it was a powerful and uplifting WW II epic. While it no doubt has some very powerful elements, uplifting is not a word that I would use to describe this film.

Film

The film is based on James McBride’s book of the same name. In fact, Mr. McBride wrote the screenplay for the film. The film basically is an amalgamation of several separate historical events into one story line. The film combines the history of the all African-American 92nd Infantry and some of their experiences in Italy during the second World War and the real life massacre in August 1944 by an SS unit of over 500 men, woman and children in the town of Sant’ Anna di Stazzemr in Tuscany.

The film centers around 4 members of the 92nd Infantry who come together as segments of their until are killed by a German attack. They come upon a small barn by a river, where one of the soldiers, carrying a head of a statute from a bridge blown up by the Germans, finds a young boy pinned until a ceiling beam. He rescues the boy and develops a fondness for him, believing that he has some kind of magical powers and has somehow been touched by the had of God. The 4 take to boy with them and arrive at a small village in the mountains of Tuscany by the Peak of the Sleeping Man, where the soldiers receive a welcome that they have never known in the US. They all wonder why they are in Europe fighting for freedoms for others that they cannot enjoy back at home as they come to know and form relationships with members of the town.

While there, they come across some Italian Partisans, civilians who are fighting the Germans and who become immersed in their story. The town itself finally comes under attack during a German counteroffensive with tragic results. While the film centers around the events of WWII, it opens in New York City in 1984, where a postal worker, three weeks from his retirement, shoots an older patron at his stamp window with a German Luger which he pulls out of his pocket. His case makes headlines when an incredibly valuable head of a statute from a bridge blown up during WWII is found in his apartment, garnering world wide headlines. The man is interviewed in prison by an enterprising young reporter, fresh on the job and he begins to tell his story about his experiences and those of his four comrades, dealing with the segregation they experienced in the US during their service, the lack of respect they had to experience from some of their white superiors in the 92nd Infantry in Italy, the their warm reception by the Italian people as juxtaposed to their own experiences at home as well as the truly horrid conditions of war.

This film has some very gruesome battle sequences. Not quite as gruesome as those in Saving Private Ryan, but pretty close and is at times, very hard to watch. While the film does have its moments, especially those scenes dealing with the prejudice that the members of the 92nd had to deal with even during battle, I found the film a bit disjointed, which really impacts of the ability of the film to convey a compelling narrative. Quite frankly, there were too many flashbacks during the film which makes it hard to follow the narrative.

I also found the film to more too slowly, in part, because of the flashbacks, which is how you learn of the massacre in the town of St. Anna and the origins of the young boy who plays a central role in the film. This would have been a much better film had those sequences been better integrated into the film, in a much more logical and orderly fashion. As it is, it is just too disjointed, fragmented and slow paced a film to really capture and hold your interest. However, given some of the history of the 92nd Infantry contained in the film, I can recommend that you given the film a look, but as a rental only.

Video

There is plenty to like about the look of Miracle of St. Anna on Blu-ray. The film features excellent black level reproduction, with deep and stable blacks and excellent shadow detail. The film also features a fairly accurate and well saturated color palette. The parts of the film that occur in Italy during the war do have a rather gritty look with plenty of film grain visible. The film is not at stylized as Saving Private Ryan, lacking the washed out look of that film, but has been stylized a bit, to covey the grittiness of war and is a style that I found quite appropriate given the subject matter of the film.

While detail was good, I found there to be a degree of softness during parts of the film that was a bit distracting as well as some haziness which was not found in the rest of the film. One example of the haziness is in the opening sequence in Italy, where the 92nd Infantry is approaching a river in the early morning, with a bit of early morning fog and haze, which exhibited a fair degree of background noise. It appears to be the same type of noise that is found in the fog that mars the beginning of Master and Commander. Other than the haziness and issues with overall clarity and detail that at times detract from the overall image quality, I was otherwise quite pleased with the look of the film on this Blu-ray release.

Audio

While I had some issues with the video presentation on this release, I have far fewer issues with the audio, which is encoded with DTS HD Master audio at 48 kHz/24 bit in a 5.1 channel configuration. I found the sound design to have excellent dynamics with rock solid bass response. The sound design features excellent transparency and imaging resulting in an excellent sense of depth in the sound field, both from the left to the right across the entire front of the sound field as well as from the back to the front. I particularly enjoyed the fidelity of the musical score which had a richness and fullness as well as transparency that was really involving.

The dialogue track is also well recorded and well placed in the mix. The location of the voices across the front of the sound field was spot on, with the voices emanating from the exact location of the actors on screen and at times, off screen as well. The battle sequences are outstanding, with the sounds of gunshots and mortar rounds having the appropriate sense of heft. The placement of the sound effects during the battle sequences was excellent as well. So much so that unexpected gun shots made me jump off my seat, they were so startling and so lifelike. The only quibbles I would have with the sound deal with the overall immersion of the sound design and a bit of brightness or edge to the sound. While the surrounds are actively engaged during most of the film, there are parts of the film that are a bit too front heavy than I would have liked, lacking the sense of total immersion present during most of the rest of the film, especially during the battle sequences.

While I was overall very pleased with the overall fidelity of the sound, I felt that the top end of the sound had a bit of a harsh edge that could become a bit fatiguing at reference levels. Other than these two minor issues, I found the audio on this release to be excellent.

Special Features

While there are only a few extras on this release, they are well worth a look. The extras include deleted scenes as well as two featurettes which are presented in high definition. The first featurette is entitled Deeds Not Words, where Spike Lee sits down with surviving members of the 92nd Infantry as well as the all African-American Tuskegee Airmen, where they discuss their experiences in the military both in the US as well as abroad during World War II. This is very compelling stuff and well worth your time. The same is true for the second featurette, The Buffalo Soldier Experience, which traces the history of the African American experience and segregation in the US Military from the days of the Buffalo Soldier regiment in the second half of the 19th Century until World War II.

Final Thoughts

While I enjoyed many aspects of Miracle at St. Anna, I can’t help but think that this film represents a bit of a missed opportunity. Had the film not been presented in a such a disjointed manner with a more coherent narrative, it really could have been something special. As it is, it is still an interesting film that deserves a look, but on the basis of a rental only.