Hacksaw Ridge, the biopic about Desmond T. Doss, directed by Mel Gibson and which landed Andrew Garfield his first Oscar nomination, is one of the best war films of the last decade. Despite being released in 2016, the film is still enjoying impressive popularity in 2023.
The emotional and inspiring epic tells the story of Doss, played by Garfield, a devout Seventh-day Adventist who wanted to help the war efforts during World War II but refused to carry a gun or kill anyone. Against all odds, Doss ended up joining the Army as a medic and was deployed to the Pacific theater. There, he joined the bloody Battle of Okinawa, where he helped save dozens of wounded soldiers, carrying them off the battlefield one by one, under fire from the enemy and unarmed.
Besides Garfield’s nomination, Hacksaw Ridge was nominated for five other Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It also gave Mel Gibson his second nod for Best Director, following his 1995 Oscar-winning biopic classic Braveheart. The 2016 title ended up winning the coveted awards for Best Achievement in Film Editing and Best Achievement in Sound Mixing. The cast also features Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer, and Vince Vaughn.
Garfield described the experience of working with Gibson as “all flesh and blood and passion,” calling the controversial star “maybe the most loving director I’ve ever worked with.”
Hacksaw Ridge is available to stream on Hulu as part of the platform’s regular subscription. For those who don’t have Hulu, the film is also available for rent and purchase via all the regular providers, such as Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Vudu, Microsoft Store, and Apple TV.
