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Master Rank #527

Hacksaw Ridge

2016

GCML Total8.3240% Greatness · 40% Engagement · 20% Ease

Directed by Mel Gibson

CastAndrew Garfield · Teresa Palmer · Sam Worthington

USA / AustraliaEnglishDrama / History140 minNot Rated
IMDb Top 250Narrative FeatureModerate pace
Find Where to Watch
Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List
Oscar · 2BAFTA · 1

Spoiler-free premise

Army medic Desmond Doss refuses to carry a weapon yet insists on serving alongside combat troops during World War II.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

Virginia Seventh-day Adventist Desmond Doss enlists as an Army medic during World War II but refuses weapons training on religious grounds. Court-martial pressure and hostility from his unit precede deployment to Okinawa's Maeda Escarpment, known as Hacksaw Ridge.

Why it belongs

Mel Gibson contrasts Doss's stubborn nonviolence with brutally physical battle, making rescue and conviction the action rather than retreat from it.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

Barracks drills, courtroom procedure, cargo nets, mud, smoke, battlefield sound, and repeated lowering of wounded men make faith practical and exhausting—Andrew Garfield's openness keeps Doss's certainty from becoming self-righteous.

Major award record

Metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Academy Awards2 wins2017 · official ceremony record ↗

Plus 2 additional wins

No headline-category win to name

BAFTA1 win2017 · official BAFTA 2017 Film Awards results ↗

Plus 1 additional win

No headline-category win to name

Totals include every recorded competitive win. Only Picture or top-film honors, Direction, Screenplay, and lead or supporting performances are named.

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