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There is a movie coming out later this year on the life of Louis Zamperini (directed by Angelina Jolie) titled 'Unbroken'.

In short: Louis Zamperini was a middle distance (miler)/distance (5000m) runner who competed at the 1936 (Berlin) Olympic Games for the United States.

He then enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces... crash landed into the ocean... was adrift on a raft for 47 days... picked up/captured by the Japanese Navy... held in a Japanese prisoner-of-war (POW) camp until the end of the war in August 1945... after the war he was seen as a hero & an inspirational speaker.

Due to my involvement in athletics I had heard of Louis Zamperini a few times but never knew much of him. Recently I have heard of a film coming out titled 'Unbroken'. Subsequently I have looked more closely into the story/life behind Louis Zamperini... & it is a fascinating/inspirational one.

Interestingly, most of the movie was filmed in Australia (New South Wales & Queensland). The movie is due to release on December 25th 2014. Trailer was released 2 days ago...



Unfortunately Louis passed away just 10 days ago (July 2, 2014 - aged 97); unfortunately not getting to see the finished product. Apparently there were rights to the movie of his life back in the 1950's (from memory)... so I'm glad he realised it was being made & was a part of it... developed quite a friendship with Angelina Jolie.

Here is an interview of Tom Brokaw with Louis Zamperini & Angelina Jolie (an interesting story in itself)...



I hope Tom Brokaw gets to see the finished product - have read he has cancer.

There have been three books on the life of Louis Zamperini - two of which found at the following (amazon):
- Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.
- Devil at My Heels: A Heroic Olympian's Astonishing Story of Survival as a Japanese POW in World War II.

Anyway, thought others here interested in running, WWII stories... inspirational life stories would also be interested in the upcoming film... looks to be a good one.

 

Matthew:

We already talked about Zamperini a few days ago in this thread...

http://www.podiatry-arena.com/podiatry-forum/showthread.php?t=84659

 

OK... thanks Kevin; was aware of that thread (have read it) when you started it Kevin - good thread BTW... fascinating story, yet tragic event.

Didn't realize the thread was recently rekindled due to the news of Zamperini's passing... hence missed the posts.

Anyway, Zamperini's life & that of the movie could do with a thread of their own... as others (who are interested) may also could have missed it.

 

That book, "Unbroken" is a remarkable story of human spirit. Hope Angelina does Zamperini's life justice in her movie.

 

Have just ordered both books...

Reviews of both books are highly acclaimed... some say that the 'Devil at My Heels' version is of a more personal account. Should have time to read both books before December 25 :D .

I'm sure Angelina will do a great job... she's certainly passionate about the project... & the trailer looks good... so far (& it was filmed in Australia ;) ... as long as we don't get some wombat or wallaby crashing a scene :rolleyes:... all should be fine).