Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed
Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed is a 2012 war drama film directed by Ryan Little and produced by Little and Adam Abel. It is based on events that took place during the invasion of Southern France in World War II. The film stars Corbin Allred, David Nibley, and Jasen Wade. The film's story has no relation to the events or characters portrayed in the 2003 war film Saints and Soldiers. The film was shot in Utah, on a tight budget, saving money by using volunteer World War II reenactors as some of the actors and extras. The film received mixed reviews; many critics found the film mediocre yet still praised the performances and cinematography. This film precedes the third film in the series, Saints and Soldiers: The Void, which was released in 2014.
| Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ryan Little |
| Produced by | Adam Abel Ryan Little |
| Written by | Lamonte Grey Lincoln Hoppe |
| Starring | Corbin Allred David Nibley Jasen Wade |
| Music by | J Bateman |
| Cinematography | Ryan Little |
Production company | Go Films |
| Distributed by | Purdie Distribution |
Release date |
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Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
In August 1944, the Allies have invaded German-occupied Southern France. German Army Second Lieutenant Erich Neumann (Lincoln Hoppe) executes two French men. On the early morning of August 15, paratroopers from the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team land in Provence, France under heavy fire from the Germans. Two soldiers, Corporals Harland 'Bud' Curtis (Jasen Wade) and James Rossi (Corbin Allred) land separately and alone. Curtis is spotted by a German Patrol and quickly surrenders. After throwing a grenade to distract the Germans, Rossi kills the entire patrol and rescues Curtis. The two set off towards their intended landing area before finding an abandoned shelter where they are followed by Curtis's squad leader Sergeant Caleb Jones (David Nibley). The three travel through the French country as quickly as possible to avoid being pursued. They encounter Neumann and they kill his troops, but spare him.
The three soldiers continue making their way to Les Arcs and agree to help French Resistance prisoners escape. They free three prisoners; Philippe, Gustave and Jacques. The group arrives at Les Arcs and Jones spots a German tank and an armored half-track vehicle full of German troops about to leave, intending to attack the rest of the paratroopers. The three attempt to ambush the Germans, but are all badly wounded. After Curtis's death, Rossi regains consciousness and is approached by Neumann, who Jones spared earlier. Rossi gets up to fight but collapses due to his wounds. Neumann, also wounded, does not kill him, honoring Jones' example. He takes Rossi to an abandoned farm, where he bandages his wounds and makes him a meal. The following morning an American detachment discovers Rossi, alive, and Neumann, who has died from his wound. In a military field hospital Rossi is informed that sergeant Jones is alive but wounded and Curtis is dead. The dead Neumann remains in the abandoned farm.
Cast
- Corbin Allred as Corporal James Rossi
- David Nibley as Sergeant Caleb Jones
- Jasen Wade as Corporal Harland "Bud" Curtis
- Lincoln Hoppe as Captain Erich Neumann
- Nichelle Aiden as Charlotte
- Virginie Fourtina Anderson as Emilie
- Loïc Anthian as Phillipe
- Lance Otto as Jacques
- Erich Cannon as Gustave
- Curt Doussett as Lt. Woodward
- Calvin Harrison as Pvt. Stewart
Production
The director of Saints and Soldiers Ryan Little struggled with his producer Adam Abel to create a sequel to the film, because nearly all of his main characters died in the first film. However, due to the popularity of the first film, they decided to do a sequel.[1] The film was originally titled "Foxhole".[2] The film was based on the events surrounding the 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of Operation Dragoon, which occurred two months after D-Day.[3] Specifically it was inspired by the true stories from L. Vaughn Curtis's book called Letters Home: A Paratrooper's Story, based on the experience and letters of Curtis's father Harland "Bud" Curtis.[4] They also adapted it from Little's short film The Last Good War for which Little won a student Emmy award. Corbin Allred was also cast in this film, but as a different character from the original. The film was shot in Utah on a tight budget and used volunteer World War II reenactors as many of the actors and extras.[1]
Release and reception
Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed, was released on August 17, 2012.[5] The film received mixed reviews. The Evening Standard 's review described the film as "watchable but hardly memorable",[6] while The Guardian's critic Peter Bradshaw wrote the film was "well-acted" and "competently put together" but with "plenty of cliches", describing it as "a kind of diet or lite version of Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan."[7] Deseret News stated that Airborne Creed is "less believable" than its predecessor. For example, scenes appear "staged" and "quickly thrown together".[3] However, they praise the acting.[3] KSL news stated that the film falls short of the original but is still, "packed with emotion and solid performances" and "beautiful cinematography."[8]
Further reading
- Kershaw, Alex (May 11, 2004). The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-day Sacrifice. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-81355-6.
- Lefebvre, Laurent (September 2008). 29th Division ... a division of heroes. American d-Day. ISBN 2-9519963-9-X.
- Lefebvre, Laurent (June 1, 2004). They Were on Omaha Beach. American d-Day. ISBN 2-9519963-5-7.
References
- Means, Sean P. (August 15, 2012). "'Saints and Soldiers' sequel explores faith at war". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- Toone, Trent (August 14, 2014). "Actors, filmmakers celebrate Saints and Soldiers franchise with roundtable discussion". Deseret News. Deseret News Publishing Company. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
- O'Neill, Shawn (August 17, 2012). "'Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed' honors those who served". Deseret News. Deseret News Publishing Company. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- Curtis, L. Vaughn. "Letters Home: A Paratrooper's Story". The American Legion. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
- Clyde, John (August 17, 2012). "'Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed' falls short of original but still delivers". KSL. KSL Broadcasting. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
- "Also showing: Saints and Soldiers 2: Airborne Creed, The Campaign and Husbands". The Evening Standard. September 28, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
- Peter Bradshaw (27 September 2012). "Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- "'Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed' falls short of original but still delivers". KSL. Retrieved April 17, 2019.