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A feat of endurance: New trailer for Angelina Jolie's Unbroken shows Louis Zamperini going from Olympic glory to Japanese prisoner of war camp

Published: 22:06 EST, 16 October 2014 | Updated: 04:36 EST, 17 October 2014

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It is an adventure that goes from the highs of Olympic glory to the lows of life in a prisoner of war camp.

And the who broad sweep of Louis Zamperini's story is told in the new trailer to Angelina Jolie's latest directorial project Unbreakable.

English actor Jack O'Connell is shown running the gauntlet as he aims to win the 5,000 meters at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, with its high a remarkable counterpoint to his future travails.

Scoll down for video...

Glory: Jack O'Connell is shown drinking up the acclaim at the Olympics as Louis Zamperini in the new Unb

To tragedy: He is then shown enduring the brutal conditions of a Japanese prisoner of war camp

In a key early moment, the feisty young man is shown being given a pep talk by his older brother after getting into a brawl, which plants the seeds for the indomitable spirit that is a central theme of the film.

He says: 'You keep going the way you're going you'll end up on the street. You train, you fight harder than all those other guys, and you win.'

And it pays off when Zamperini ends up at the Olympic games, which are held in Nazi Germany in 1936.

While he ultimately fails to win a medal, he does post what is billed as the 'fastest final lap in Olympic history,' ultimately earning a respectable eight place finish and a meeting with an impressed Adolf Hitler.

Pep talk: The young version of the character is told to work hard at athletics to stop getting into trouble

Paying off: He ends up with an iron will that sees him run harder than all of his rivals in the US

Taking the tape: And he ends up winning a spot at the Olympics due to his indomitable spirit

How ironic: He ended up giving a famous performance at the 1936 games in Nazi Germany

Coming from behind: He sets what was believed to be the fastest last lap in Olympic history to finish eighth in the 5,000 meters

Watch the new trailer for Angelina Jolie directed movie Unbroken

When he signs up to serve in the United States Army Air Forces in the Second World War, he survives a plane crash in the Pacific and ends up spending 47 days drifting on a raft.

He is then shown in a Japanese prisoner of war camp, where one guard takes particular exception to his status as an athlete, smacking him in the face with his rifle before saying, 'you're nothing.'

It sets the scene for him spending the next two and a half years carrying out backbreaking labour in such camps.

Remarkably he found religion after his experience, and returned to Japan in 1950 so he could meet his tormentors and forgive them in the name of God.

The film is based on the book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand, who also wrote Seabiscuit: An American Legend, which was itself adapted into a film starring Tobey Maguire.

It certainly caught Angelina's attention, as she previously said: 'I wanted to direct something again, but I wasn't sure what, and it had to be something that I loved and cared about because it takes much more time away from your family and much more effort than acting,

'This has been the hardest thing I've ever done. I made hours and hours of phone calls and made all these boards.

Serving his country: He later signs up to serve in the United States Army Air Forces in the Second World War

Intercepted: He looks on in horror as his plane is targeted before being shot down

Sailing: Zamperini survives a plane crash in the Pacific and ends up spending 47 days drifting on a raft

'I took my glue and tape and pictures off the Internet, and I put all my boards in a garbage bag and I carried them to Universal myself and I put 'em out and I pitched my butt off.'

And she said she was pleased to be the one to bring his story to life, saying: 'I imagine that for the last 10-something years, he's been sitting there having a coffee in the morning and wondering, "Who's going to make this movie?"

'And I've been sitting in my room, lying there thinking, "What am I supposed to be doing with my life? I want to do something important. I want to connect. I need some help, some guidance. Where is it?" And it was right outside my window!

'[I have] such a huge responsibility to get it right because I love him so much and because he's helped me so much in my life.'