The reception forHacksaw Ridge, from the Venice Film Festivalto our very own review, has been glowing.

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I understand that you were in Venice when the film received a 10-minute standing ovation.

What was that like?

Oh my gosh, it was fantastic.

I had never been to Venice before.

Its such fun, but this, Ive never really experienced anything quite like this, the film.

Had that been the first time youd seen the finished film?

I had seen an early version that was not finished.

So yes, this was the first time I had seen it all put together.

I was just knocked out.

Just a very, very compelling picture.

Bill Mechanic, the producer, brought me on in 2006.

He died only weeks later, before my deal had even been concluded.

So I was very disappointed in not to be able to do that.

And what I had then was this black and white documentary that I had to work with.

Glover, and some family members, and other people in the military who had known Desmond.

So it wasnt really a lot to work with.

He seemed very reluctant to pass the story on.

Did that affect how you approached the material at all or did it inform this film?

Youre quite right, he was very modest and never wanted to be seen as bragging about his achievement.

He would always say the real heroes are buried over there.

But quite honestly, I never saw that or felt that as a burden.

I dont think you could do justice to this story if you omitted that.

Desmond Doss is not.

Hes very, very human, very flesh and blood.

Idiosyncratic and a flawed human being like anyone else.

And also, that much more available to any of us watching this movie.

Desmond did not talk a lot about his internal life.

So my goal was to really make that clear.

I made a mystery out of that in the movie.

It seems theres a real affinity for you with the World War II generation at large.

What attracts you to that era and the Pacific Theater, in particular?

You know, do you find the story or does the story find you?

Thats a hard question to answer.Hacksaw RidgeprecededThe Pacific.

Not just my father, but all of those who served in this campaign, and do them justice.

Desmond himself returned both physically injured but also emotionally.

Clearly, he suffered from PTSD the rest of his life.

So there was certainly an imperative on my part to get it right.

My grandfather also served in the Pacific and he was actually at Okinawa.

Oh my gosh, really?

In the Army or was it Marines?

I heard about three stories my entire life that he would tell about [combat].

He did not want to talk about the violence of the war.

The challenge of course is that youre not a historian, youre not a documentary maker.

A pacifist who wants to go to war.

I think violence, as H. Rap Brown said, is as American as apple pie.

And its certainly a staple in American cinema.

But Desmond Doss is a very unique take on the whole idea of violence.

In the typical American movie, the hero, the man of principle, rejects violence.

In Act One, he refuses to pick up the gun.

By Act Two, his family has been violated.

And in Act Three, he picks up the gun and delivers justice, and becomes a man.

Or Grace Kelly does.

[Laughs] Or Grace Kelly, yes, exactly.

And to me thats a really good story to be putting out there.

Thats a really good story to be putting out there now.

Thats the challenge always.

How do you view the role of spirituality in this movie?

You said you didnt want to make it secular.

Yeah, its a great question.

I said I didnt want to make him a secular saint.

And how does he manage this?

How does he balance the challenging and often conflicting calls of his religious practice and his patriotism?

His desire to protect his country from what he feels is assault.

Desmond was not a proselytizer; he never sat in judgment on his fellow soldiers.

He wasnt out there to save anybody elses soul.

He just wanted to practice his faith as he understood it and to serve in the Army.

Its because theres a greater principle at stake, and that principle is Desmonds feeling for his fellow man.

And thats really compelling, theatrically and cinematically too.

Thats very unusual for contemporary film.

Secondarily, this first act, a number of people have commented on how old-fashioned it feels.

So its kind of great foreshadowing in that.

And that is quite intentional.

If the first act feels somewhat bucolic and old fashioned, the second act is relentlessly contemporary.

Its a very contemporary affectation of war and combat, and violence.

I did not as a research issue, and Im certainly familiar with it.

Its not like we have a minute-by-minute chronology of his actions on the ridge.

And Desmond washes his eyes and restores his vision.

Its all, I feel, absolutely accurate.

Nobody has challenged us on that, I feel very comfortable.

But its a really interesting, from a screenwriters perspective, challenge.

How can you make that interesting, over and over again?

So he really did save or attempt to Japanese lives?

He did, more than one.

There are two, of course.

I think thats a really good thing to keep in mind.

And I think thats a really important model of masculinity to be putting out there right now.

Robert, thank you so much for doing this today, its been terrific.

Thank you, David, and I as well.