New Unbroken Trailer: Watch Jack O'Connell Fight for His Life in Angelina Jolie's Latest Film

Film hits theaters Christmas day

By Alyssa Toomey Oct 16, 2014 11:27 PMTags

"My brother used to think that I could do anything, that I was better than I am," Louis Zamperini, played by actor Jack O'Connell, says in the beginning of the newly released trailer for the Angelina Jolie-directed biopic Unbroken

The film chronicles the life of the Olympic track star and World War II veteran, who survived a near-fatal plane crash during combat and was then stranded for 47 days at sea before being captured, imprisoned and brutalized. The emotional and powerful clip shows Zamperini's transition from a troublesome child to a champion athlete to a prisoner enduring unspeakable torture in a Japanese prison of war camp for over two years. 

Through his unimaginable hardships, Zamperini's unwavering spirit always manages to remain intact. "All my life, I had always finished the race," he is quoted as saying at the end of the clip. 

Universal Pictures

Back in February, Universal Pictures previewed footage from the film at the Sochi Winter Olympics and Zamperini spoke about his incredible story. "To persevere, I think is important for everybody. Don't give up, don't give in. There's always an answer to everything," he said.

The war hero did not live to see the full impact of the film, as he passed away on July 2 at the age of 97 after a battle with pneumonia. "It is a loss impossible to describe," Jolie told NBC News in a statement. "We are all so grateful for how enriched our lives are for having known him. We will miss him terribly."

The film also stars Garrett HedlundDomhnall Gleeson and Jai Courtney, and was co-written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen.

Universal Pictures

This will be the 39-year-old Oscar winner's third directorial effort, after 2011's In the Land of Blood and Honey and the 2007 documentary A Place in Time.

Unbroken hits theaters Christmas Day.

(E! and Universal Pictures are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)