Saints and Soldiers: The Void

Saints and Soldiers: The Void
Saints and Soldiers: The Void
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ryan Little
Written by	Ryan Little
Produced by	Adam Abel; Ryan Little;
Starring	K. Danor Gerald; Adam Gregory; Matt Meese; Ben Urie; Stacey Harkey; Bart Johnson;
Cinematography	Ryan Little
Edited by	Burke Lewis; Rhett Lewis;
Music by	James Schafer
Production; companies	Go Films; Cinedigm Entertainment Group; Koan Productions;
Distributed by	Purdie Distribution
Release date	August 15, 2014;
Running time	94 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	English; German

Saints and Soldiers: The Void (also known as Saints and Soldiers: Battle of the Tanks), is a 2014 war drama film directed and written by Ryan Little. It serves as the third installment in the Saints and Soldiers film series, and is a standalone sequel to Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed. The film stars K. Danor Gerald, Adam Gregory, and Matt Meese. The Void was the most expensive of the Saints and Soldiers films due to its use of tanks. It was filmed in Alpine, Utah. The film received mixed reviews with some critics calling it a "riveting drama" and some critics stating that more focus on writing and execution would have improved the film.

Plot

In May 1945, remnants of the German Army continue to fight in the Harz mountains, nicknamed "The Void" by American troops. An American M18 Hellcat tank destroyer, "The Avenging Angel", fires on a German prison and liberates the Allied prisoners held there, including Lieutenant Goss (Ben Urie). The next day the prisoners are to be transported to the rear by Sergeant Jesse Owens, formerly 827th Tank Destroyer Battalion (K. Danor Gerald), and Private Perry (Alex Boyé). Owens is not respected by some of the white soldiers because he is African-American.

Captain Briton McConkie orders Sergeant John Atwood, commander of the Angel, and Max Whitaker, to take their respective tanks to clear the roads of any Germans to protect Owens' and Perry's convoy. The two tanks travel along the roads, with some tension arising between Private Daniel Barlow (Matt Meese) and Rodney Mitchell. Corporal Carey Simms (Adam Gregory) stops the arguments. The convoy comes across a fake body in the road, where a hidden German Panzer III tank fires, destroying Perry's truck, killing everyone inside. The Germans open fire at Owens's truck, and he and Goss manage to escape. Further encounters ensue, ending when Owens destroys a German tank with a panzerfaust. Barlow and Mitchell reconcile from their previous arguments, and Simms and Owens befriend one another over the course of the conflict.

Cast

K. Danor Gerald as Technical Sergeant Jesse Owens
Adam Gregory as Corporal Carey Simms
Matt Meese as Private Daniel Barlow
Timothy S. Shoemaker as Sergeant John Atwood
Michael Todd Behrens as Rodney 'Ramrod' Mitchell
Ben Urie as Lieutenant Goss
Christoph Malzl as Stalag Commander
David Morgan as Lt. Klaus Shonbeck
Nate Harward as POW camp Soldier
Brenden Whitney as Pvt. Nelson
Jeff Birk as Capt. F. Briton McConkie
Joel Bishop as Sgt. Max Whitaker
Alex Boyé as Pvt. Perry
Allan Groves as Sgt. Kesler
Logan Rogan as Prisoner #1
Blake Webb as Prisoner #2
Jeff Johnson as Crossroads MP
Philip Malzl as Frederick Kardoff
Becca Ingram as Gerta Kardoff
Aunna Abel as Aunna Kardoff
Lance Jensen as Corporal Jensen
Randy Beard as German Tank Commander
Andrew W. Johnson as Private Wolsey
Richie T. Steadman as Sergeant Steadman
Scott Swofford as General Terry Allen
Terence Johnson as Corporal Harrison
Lonzo Liggins as Pvt. Cooper
Carlton Bluford as Pvt. Smitty
Stacey Harkey as Pvt. Gaines
Bart Johnson as Capt. Derrick Davis
Cardiff Gerhardt as Young Soldier #1
Taylor Risk as Young Soldier #2
Talon G. Ackerman as Fritz Bauer

Production

Ryan Little wrote the script for Saints and Soldiers: The Void a few years before it was released. He had K. Danor Gerald picked out for the role of Owens before production even started, having worked with Gerald on Forever Strong and House of Fears.^[1] Saints and Soldiers: The Void was the most expensive to film of the Saints and Soldiers franchise, because of the use of tanks. Ryan Little and Adam Abel gathered tanks from Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona to use for filming.^[2] It was filmed in Alpine, Utah. During production, Gerald would be the last cast member to eat lunch to better understand racism for his role of an African-American soldier.^[2]^[3]

Release and reception

The film was released on August 14, 2014, in a select number of theaters.^[2]^[3] The film was released on DVD in November 2014.^[3] Saints and Soldiers: The Void received mixed reviews. The Salt Lake Tribune called the film a, "riveting action drama with a strong message".^[4] However, Deseret News wrote that the film, "offers an important message and some nice visuals. But there's still the feeling that a little more focus on writing and execution would have etched a more enduring experience."^[5]

Sequel

A standalone sequel titled Saints and Soldiers: War Pigs was released in 2015.

References

^ Court, Mann (August 14, 2014). "New 'Saints and Soldiers' film chronicles World War II's conclusion". Daily Herald. Herald Communications. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c 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.
^ ^a ^b ^c Petrovsky, Mike (December 28, 2014). "A Gate City Saint and Soldier-Latest movie in World War II series features character from Pocatello". Idaho State Journal. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
^ Means, Sean P. (August 15, 2014). "Movie review: Third 'Saints and Soldiers' film is a riveting war story". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
^ Terry, Josh (August 14, 2014). "New 'Saints and Soldiers' spotlights tank battles, racial conflicts in WWII". Deseret News. Deseret News Publishing Company. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2019.

External links

[chron-1] Court, Mann (August 14, 2014). "New 'Saints and Soldiers' film chronicles World War II's conclusion". Daily Herald. Herald Communications. Retrieved April 12, 2019.

[round-2] 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.

[idaho-3] Petrovsky, Mike (December 28, 2014). "A Gate City Saint and Soldier-Latest movie in World War II series features character from Pocatello". Idaho State Journal. Retrieved April 12, 2019.

[4] Means, Sean P. (August 15, 2014). "Movie review: Third 'Saints and Soldiers' film is a riveting war story". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 12, 2019.

[5] Terry, Josh (August 14, 2014). "New 'Saints and Soldiers' spotlights tank battles, racial conflicts in WWII". Deseret News. Deseret News Publishing Company. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2019.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]