New Trailer for Angelina Jolie’s ‘Unbroken’ Traces Louis Zamperini’s Incredible Story (Video)

The Olympian and former POW, who died earlier this month, gets the hero’s treatment in this awards contender

Louis Zamperini passed away this month, but it looks like his legacy will become bigger than ever come later this year.

The first full trailer for the Angelina Jolie-directed “Unbroken” hit the web on Thursday, featuring actor Jack O’Connell as the inspirational Olympian, soldier and POW. Glossy and gritty at the same time, the preview tracks the incredible life of the late World War II veteran, who met Hitler and then fought against his Axis Powers.

Also read: Louis Zamperini, Inspiration for the Film ‘Unbroken,’ Dead at 97

O’Connell, who stars in the upcoming prison film “Starred Up,” puts on an American accent for this long-term portrayal, beginning with Zamperini as a teenage track and field star and running up through his time at the 1936 Olympics and then in the US military.

Zamperini’s plane crashed and he drifted in the ocean for nearly 50 days before being captured by the Japanese. He was a prisoner of war for two years and was tortured brutally before he eventually came back to the US and became a born-again Christian, preaching forgiveness for much of the rest of his life.

Also read: Jack O’Connell on ‘Starred Up’ and His Troubled Past: ‘I Really Had To Dig Deep to Get a Second Chance’

“Unbroken,” a biography of Zamperini written by Lauren Hillenbrand and released in 2010, became a best-seller and was adapted for the screen by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film, from Legendary and Universal, hits theaters on Christmas day.

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