Famous People in Flight Jackets

[nick123]

Midway and Toko-Ri are my go-tos. But the film that is closest to my heart is John Wayne's "Flying Tigers" I found the storyline in that one to be magnificent.
You have the "new guy in town" come aboard and make a series of grave rookie mistakes, and he's shunned and looked down upon. But at the end, he sacrifices his own life to ensure the bridge is destroyed. That one got me.

 

[bn1966]

I'm with Smithy on this: 'First Light' film & book..great!! 'Dark Blue World'...fantastic!! 'Tora Tora Tora'...moving film!! 'Pear Harbour'...well....I much preferred 'Good Will Hunting'. 'Red Tails' didn't do it for me! 'The Hunters' (Korea) I enjoyed!! For WW2 I am very keen on films made close to that time...such as 'Reach for the Stars' & 'Appointment in London'

'Wild Hogs' is fun & amusing..watched that a couple of weeks ago with the wife on a Sunday evening..she didn't enjoy 'Easy Rider'

 

[Monitor]

Gentlemen, I understand that if you haven't seen Red Tails, you may be expecting a very bad movie but please, don't - I am serious when I say that Red Tails is not a movie.

Stand By is spot on!

It doesn't matter if you're into (WW2) War movies, action movies, movies with planes, movies dealing with racism and discrimination or just movies in general, Red Tails has no redeeming qualities. It has nothing! It is a train wreck. Starts off with a cartoon plane chase - literally that, a cartoon plane action sequence - after which it gets into some utterly nonsensical, pretentiously childish plot about the rough times African American servicemen had to deal with, and then it's over. At no point and in no way does the movie ever attempt to deal with any of the issues it so pathetically raises. You get to see a few random events, neither without a beginning, cause or worst of all, a conclusion and then the credits start to roll. Not even a pathetic happy ending! If there's a film that can be called a disaster, Red Tails is that film.

If you're expecting another Pearl Harbour - don't. Can't even be compared to Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbour is a CG fest, it's cheesy, it's pathetic and it's pop, but Pearl Harbour is a movie by the very definition of the word. It works. It's a film and it is an okay film if you take it for what it is. That may not be much at all but at least it has a common courtesy not to pretend it is anything more.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate this movie, I just cannot understand how could this have been approved for theater release. The Room at least has an ending.

 

[Stand By]

I totally agree, Monitor. I mean, when you even notice that the soundtrack is awful (like a bad made-for-video late-80's action flick), you know it's a clunker. I mean, really - when was the last time you even noticed a soundtrack?! It's all painful.
But the jackets and patches are worth the price of admission (or the $5 I paid for my copy on Amazon.ca - and then, having seen the film, I gave the copy away. I couldn't charge anyone for that. It just wouldn't be right).

 

[Treetopflyer]

Bradley Cooper at the MTV Movie Awards in a snug fitting flight jacket.

 

[Stearmen]

I haven't seen it either but from the trailer the flying scenes looked like complete crap.

Like Pearl Harbor it seemed to be another one where the real problem was the CGI flight modelling where the aircraft are flying like, at best jet aircraft, at worst, tie-fighters and x-wings (funny that ).

It's a shame when they spend so much time on the aircraft modelling itself but then bugger the whole thing up by throwing the physics out the window with the flight characteristics.

But I'll agree you can't really go past the real thing, case in point "Battle of Britain" - loads of the real deal flying around.

The best Battle Of Britain film was the mini series, Peace Of Cake. But, even they had to take some liberties with fact, like the American who allegedly flew in Spain, before the RAF. [video=youtube;ZbeA504VzR8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbeA504VzR8[/video]

 

[Monitor]

Piece of Cake is really great. In fact, I've yet to see a single pre 2000's British historical television (mini) series that is plain bad. In case it hasn't been mentioned already, Angels One Five is another excellent movie which I would like to recommend, regardless of whether you're into war movies or not. The flight scenes are nowhere near as spectacular as in Battle of Britain, but it is an excellent and important war film.

Stand By, haha, I honestly don't remember the soundtrack, which is odd now that I think of it because it's something I usually notice, especially from Lucas / Spielberg production films because of John Williams, of course, but I believe you when you say it's awful. Anything in that movie is. Except for maybe jackets.

 

[Smithy]

The best Battle Of Britain film was the mini series, Peace Of Cake. But, even they had to take some liberties with fact, like the American who allegedly flew in Spain, before the RAF. [video=youtube;ZbeA504VzR8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbeA504VzR8[/video]

I love "Piece of Cake" and watch it every year, although in truth the book is better. They used a lot of "Battle of Britain" outtakes for the massed formation scenes as did "Dark Blue World" and "First Light". I'm a great fan of all of them but I reckon "First Light" pips them all in best conveying the experience of being a young pilot in the BoB.

 

[Treetopflyer]

Patches O'Houlihan, "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball."

 

[Stearmen]

I have not seen Dark Blue World, but, it looks really good! [video=youtube;TKjR1V-Dg14]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKjR1V-Dg14[/video]

 

[Doctor Damage]

Patches O'Houlihan, "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball."
...

good one, I love that movie, lol

 

[Smithy]

I have not seen Dark Blue World, but, it looks really good!

Definitely watch it Stearmen, it's a corker! And "First Light" if you haven't already seen it.

 

[Edward]

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate this movie, I just cannot understand how could this have been approved for theater release.

Obvious. There are just plenty of folks as will watch any old crap George Lucas puts out. Sure, didn't post 1997 Star Wars make a fortune.

 

[Stand By]

Stand By, haha, I honestly don't remember the soundtrack, which is odd now that I think of it because it's something I usually notice, especially from Lucas / Spielberg production films because of John Williams, of course, but I believe you when you say it's awful. Anything in that movie is. Except for maybe jackets.

Oh yes, Monitor. Nobody hardly ever notices a soundtrack as it's contribution is quite subliminal by comparison to others, adding subtle tension or atmosphere. Watch it again - and you'll notice that the Godawful soundtrack begins so clumsily and sets off at a full gallop - and you can almost hear the editor say "Okay, we really need some excitement. Insert high drama piece - NOW!" And off it goes in a cheese ball-synth way … wretched. It assaults all of the senses.

In interviews for the making of the film, they admit to lowering the bar as it went along and they had later dumbed it down for teenagers, but I think that even that demographic wouldn't be on board and I personally think it's aimed at the "Tween" market. And that's scandalous, considering the human story behind it - the one that is still waiting to be told.

 

[Blackadder]

Yeah, I'd agree with that.
They took a story that had the potential to show how these guys had to fight to gain acceptance due to color, and the discrimination they faced at home, but overcame it to demonstrate why the very ideas of American society were better than the Nazi's (and in the end, we won because our ideology was better), and turned it into a kid's movie lacking any depth.

Or, if that really is the level of movie that adults watch, I am seriously culturally isolated these days.

Some years ago, there was a TV movie about the same story called Tuskegee Airman. That was to my opinion better than the Red Tails. At least, as I recall the Tuskegee Airman does not have the (probably fictional) romance part that is mandatory in a big screen movie.

 

[Stand By]

Oh, the romance in Red Tails … oh yes: Pilot flies over little Italian village and spots a lady hanging washing on a terrace - and as he zooms by at 350 mph, that's it. He's crazy in love. He tracks her down on his day of leave and they fall in love … never mind that he can't speak a word of Italian and she can't speak any English, but they're in love. And he asks her to marry him and she says "Ci!", of course. Cue sweeping music … NOW!
Puke.
I mean, who'd swallow that storyline ?! Only kids. George Lucas should be run out of Hollywood.

 

[Blackadder]

Here it is the Tuskegee Airman
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114745/

 

[Treetopflyer]

In keeping with the Topic of this thread and to comment on "Red Tails," I think that the "Tuskegee Airmen" was a better movie. However, I think that "Red Tails" is similar to the movie "Pearl Harbor" in that they are made for entertainment, not history. It does however spark an interest in the topic and causes people to research and look into the topics of the movies. It sparks an interest in history.

Pics from the film Tuskegee Airmen:

 

[Treetopflyer]

Levon Helm in "The Right Stuff"

Levon Helm and Sam Shepard

 

[Seb Lucas]

The real Red Tails (no doubt posted before).

You'll note that the A2's don't all fit neat.