Did Louis Zamperini get punched in the face?
In Japanese P.O.W. camps, Zamperini’s main problem was the physical abuse he was taking, including getting repeatedly punched in the face
. Ruling: Hmm… The whole ordeal is awful, but Jolie tends to soften life for Zamperini, focusing on his relationship with a single guard rather than, say, his untreated beriberi.
How true is the film Unbroken?
IS UNBROKEN BASED ON A TRUE STORY?
Yes, Unbroken is based on true events
. Zamperini, who died in 2014 at age 97, was a very real person, and the film tells the true story of his capture and perseverance as a prisoner of war.
How long did Louie hold the plank in Unbroken?
He Was a Prisoner of War
He remained in their custody for 2 years, during which he endured disease, starvation, and almost-daily beating from guards. Zamperini was pummeled with clubs, belts, and fists, and on one occasion, was ordered to hold a heavy wooden beam over his head. He lasted
37 minutes
before passing out.
How heavy was the beam Louis Zamperini held?
What was Louis Zamperini injected with?
They even made him lick his captor’s boots. To top it all off, he was injected with
Dengue fever
and left to fend it on his own as poor as his physical condition was. Once, Louis Zamperini was ordered by his Japanese guards to hold a log above his head.
How long was Zamperini a POW?
A bombardier in the Army Air Corps, Zamperini was in a plane that went down, and when he arrived on shore in Japan 47 days later, he was taken as a prisoner of war and tortured for
two years
.
Why was the bird so cruel?
Mutsuhiro Watanabe, known as the Bird to POWs, was a sadistic Japanese leader at two different POW camps, Omori and Naoetsu. He was born into a wealthy family but experienced humiliation when he was not made a military officer.
The Bird subjects prisoners to extreme physical and emotional abuse
.
Why did Louie forgive the bird?
Louie had no idea what had become of the Bird, but
he felt sure that if he could get back to Japan, he could hunt him down
. This would be his emphatic reply to the Bird’s unremitting effort to extinguish his humanity: I am still a man. He could conceive of no other way to save himself.
What did the bird do to Louie?
He beat Louie daily, sometimes with his fists, sometimes with his belt, often with his kendo stick. The Bird
starved Louie and all of the prisoners
. He practiced ritual humiliation on Louie and the others, even making them lay face-down in human excrement.
Why was the bird so mean in Unbroken?
To Watanabe, whose mission in life was to command subservience, Louie’s boldness only made things worse. The Bird in Unbroken played a huge role in Louis’s life, even after he was liberated from the POW camp.
The Bird in Unbroken caused Louis severe trauma that he dealt with for most of his life.
What was Louis Zamperini fastest mile?
In 1938, Zamperini also set a national collegiate Mile record (
4:08.3
), which held up for fifteen years, earning him the nickname “Torrance Tornado”.
How long did Louie hold the beam?
Weak and ill, Louie is determined to outlast The Bird. Miraculously, he holds the beam overhead for
37 minutes
until The Bird finally gives him a furious beating that knocks him unconscious. Louie and a few other officers begin planning to kill The Bird, but the plan is never carried out.
How long was Louis on the raft?
Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who as an airman during World War II crashed into the Pacific, was listed as dead and then spent
47 days
adrift in a life raft before being captured by the Japanese and enduring a harsh imprisonment, died on Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 97.
Did they lose weight for Unbroken?
In the Army Air Force during WWII, he was one of three who survived their plane’s crash into the Pacific. They drifted — without food, water or shelter — for 47 days before being captured by the Japanese. Here his living hell began, as he was starved and tortured. For his role,
O’Connell had to lose some 22 pounds
.
Did Louis Zamperini watch Unbroken?
Though Louie Zamperini, whose survival story is documented in Angelina Jolie’s new film Unbroken, died earlier this year,
he did get to watch the film before his death
. It was a moment that Jolie poignantly recalled at a press event today.
What happened to the Japanese officer in Unbroken?
| Mutsuhiro Watanabe | Battles/wars World War II |
|---|
Did Louie Zamperini ever meet the bird?
Yes. Louis Zamperini met Corporal Mutsuhiro Watanabe (aka “The Bird”) at the Omori POW camp located on an island in Tokyo Bay
.
Did Louie Zamperini win gold medal?
Even today, he remains the youngest American to qualify in the 5,000 meter track and field event.
He didn’t earn a medal at the Olympics
, but several years later he would take part in actions that resulted in medals earned for acts of valor.
How did Louis Zamperini survive on the raft?
Did the Japanese crucify POWs?
Experiences as a POW
Crucifixion was a form of punishment, torture and/or execution that the Japanese military sometimes used against prisoners during the war
.
What happens on the 33rd day in the raft?
After a crash, they spent 47 days adrift in the ocean on a life raft with
tail gunner Francis McNamara, who died on the 33rd day
. After drifting more than 2,000 miles and washing up on the Marshall Islands, Phillips and Zamperini were captured by the Japanese and imprisoned for two years.
What type of injury does Louie suffer while loading coal Why is this problematic?
Louie is forced to work hard labor on coal barges. In the midst of this degradation and hopelessness, the POWs fight little battles, stealing food and supplies, sabotaging work, and confusing their captors. During slave labor on one coal barge, Louie injures
his ankle
and can’t work.
Why do you think the bird refused to see Louie?
The Bird probably felt bad and could not face Louie for what he did to him
, or he hated Louie so much that he did not want to see him alive.
How did Mac redeem himself in unbroken?
In these collective efforts, Mac redeems himself from the first night when
he stole the chocolate by fending off the sharks
. In his final hours, he sacrifices the little bit of life he has left to help save Phil and Louie.
What happens when the bird discovers Louie is an Olympic champion?
What happens when The Bird discovers Louie is an Olympic champion?
He speaks to them over the Japanese radio broadcaster
. How does the Zamperini family hear that Louie is not dead? Every US prisoner had to punch Louie in the face.
Who were the stinking six?
Summary: Chapter 10, The Stinking Six
The soldiers and natives on the island
scatter. Unable to find a formal bomb shelter, some take to digging foxholes of their own. Others hide under huts and various other structures.
What surprising benefits does Louie like a castaway?
Louie believed he was the beneficiary of several miracles, among them
his escape from the wreckage of his plane
, the fact that he and the other men were not hit with bullets when their rafts were strafed, and the appearance of the singers in the clouds.
How did Louie’s childhood prepare him for war?
What are the ways in which Louie’s childhood prepared him for his time in the war? Louie’s
mischievous dealings
in his childhood would help him to think quickly on his feet and be able to finagle his way out of difficult situations.
How did Louie react during his homecoming party when his sister played his broadcast recording from the postman calls Japanese broadcast?
Why did Louie go to naoetsu in January of 1998?
Why does Louie go to Naoetsu in January of 1998?
To run with the Olympic torch
.
How much did Louis Zamperini weigh as a POW?
Mr. Zamperini, who stood 5-foot-9 and weighed about 160 pounds when his flight took off May 27, had shrunk to about
80 pounds
. He and Phillips were shipped to separate POW camps. (Phillips survived the war and died in 1998.)
Who holds the world record for running 1 mile?
What happened while the POWs at Naoetsu were bathing in the river?
Back at Naoetsu, the Bird returns, looking like a different person. The camp commander, Kono, tells the men “The war has come to a point of cessation” (4.31. 29).
The men strip naked to bathe in the river
; bomber planes fly overhead and drop rations of food, clothing, and magazines.
What strange thing do the Japanese guards do on August 15 the day that Louie woke up gravely ill?
What strange thing do they Japanese guards do on August 15, the day that Louie woke up gravely ill?
They abandon the camp
.
How did Louie and his fellow POWs get out of the POW camp?
On September 2, 1945, Japan signs the formal surrender. On September 5,
Louie finally leaves Naoetsu and boards a train to freedom
. American fighter jets become a symbol of joy and prosperity for Louie and his fellow POWs.
Did Louis Zamperini see Unbroken?
Though Louie Zamperini, whose survival story is documented in Angelina Jolie’s new film Unbroken, died earlier this year,
he did get to watch the film before his death
.
