| Air Combat Movies by Troy Whigham |
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Summer's here and the time is right, for dancing in the streets and watching movies at home. Here then is my list of movies that are "must-see" for any air combat fan, in order of importance. 1) "Twelve O'Clock High" starring Gregory Peck as the commanding officer of a B-17 squadron in England at the beginning of Big Week. Peck is sent to replace a commander whose squadron has suffered a series of mishaps and failures which are reducing their combat effectiveness. In the eyes of his superiors, this commander has gotten too close to his men and is unable to make sound judgements for running the air operations.
For example, there's a navigator who blows a critical calculation and causes his plane, and the group following it, to arrive too late over a target which results in the whole group getting shot pieces because they became seperated from the fighter escort. The navigator is given a second chance because "he already has one strike against him" - his parents are German-American sympathizers and the rest of the squadron refuses to associate with the navigator because of it. Peck is sent down from Greentree (8th Air Force Headquarters) to fix the situation before it affects the morale of the other squadrons. He does, but it costs him plenty. The movie's story is told through the eyes of one of the staff officers, who's memories of the event are triggered by his spotting the squadron's mascot - a huge ceramic mug shaped like a pirate's head - in the window of a used-goods shop. The scenes where he revisits the abandoned airfield which housed the squadron are particularly moving and very well done. It was filmed in 1949 in Black and White, but don't let that stop you. The film earned an Academy Award and is one of Peck's best performances.
2) "Flying Tigers" starring John Wayne as a senior pilot in the American Volunteer Group fighting the Japanese in China. This is John Wayne before he became cantankerous, and he gives a pretty good performance to a somewhat hokey movie. Of course, back then most war movies were hokey. I was a kid when I first saw this movie as a "Late Show" on television and it made an impact on me. The scenes where John Wayne leads the pilots into battle is full of patriotic bravado and is not to be missed. I've seen two versions of this film - one in Black and White and one Colorized. Get the B/W version. It's more authentic in B/W. Incidentally, because of the war time requirements for airplanes, neither Curtis nor the Army Air Corps could spare real P-40s for the movie,. The ones that John Wayne and group taxi around in are very well-done replicas. And in the scenes where bullets rake across the Japanese gunner's turret and smash the glass - back then they didn't plant microexplosives in the props like they do today. Those are real bullets impacting less than 3 feet from the actor's head. However, the blood is just chocolate syrup - same consistency and in a B/W movie the color doesn't matter. When you're done watching the movie, you can check out the AVG Flying Tigers collection at www.uswings.com and get a jacket just like John Wayne's. And you won't even have to get shot at to do it.
3) "Memphis Belle" with Mathew Modine as the pilot of one of the most famous bombers of WW2 - the "Memphis Belle" - the first bomber to fly its quota and get transferred stateside. The movie shows a typical crew on a mission into Germany, with Sean Astin as the ball-turret gunner, Billy Zane as the bombardier, and Harry Conick Jr. as the singing tailgunner from New Orleans. John Lithgow is a war correspondent sent down by Army HQ to write a piece on the crew for the folks back home. That's five big names in a great motion picture. If only John Wayne were alive today... 4) "Tora Tora Tora" with just about every big name actor in Hollywood, and a few lesser ones that do a damn good job. This film is about the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1942, and tells it like a drama. We don't have a narrator telling us that the Japanese were planning to bomb the harbor, we see them actually flying their planes on practice runs somewhere in the Pacific in preparation for the raid. One good thing about this film is that it avoids the trap that most other war movies fall into these days - it doesn't try to mix some silly personal love interest story with the real reason for the movie - the attack. Unfortunately, the supposed sequel to "Tora Tora Tora" is "Midway". Now, "Midway is a fine movie and has some great scenes, but the producers never should have added the fictitious story about one of the pilots being in love with a Japanese-American girl and causing friction with the pilot's father who happens to be in the US Navy. Edit that out and the movie would be much better. However, I did like one scene in "Midway" where Charlton Heston (who plays the pilot's father) confronts the love-struck pilot on the hangar deck of the carrier and says "You're getting paid to fly fighter planes, not sit in your cabin crying over pictures of your girl. You better shape up, Tiger, or some hot-shot Jap pilot is going to flame your ass!". That's more John Wayne than John Wayne himself. |
5) "Thunderbolt", starring the brave P-47 crews in Italy during Operation Strangle. This film is a 45 minute documentary by Frank Capra (who incidentally, made a series of documentaries for the US Air Corps for the folks back home). Filmed in color and narrated by a guy that sounds hauntingly similar to the guy who did the "NFL Films Presents..." series, this movie takes you around an Allied airbase during the war. Cameras were installed in actual P-47 combat fighter bombers and what the ever-present electronic eye caught is some of the best combat footage I've seen to date. You follow along as the group launches a raid against Italian bridges, bombs their targets, and then criss-crosses the countryside strafing targets of opportunity. Not every pilot makes it home (I can't believe Capra was able to slip the footage of the charred remains of a dead pilot past the censors). This movie is tough to find by itself. Its frequently part of a multi-pack with a few other Capra documentaries, including his film on the "Memphis Belle" - the real "Memphis Belle", filmed on location over the contested skies of Europe at the peak of the Allied attacks. (Note: you can also order the book, "Beware the Thunderbolt! : The 56th Fighter Group in World War I," by David R. McLaren. Click Military Combat Top Picks).
6) "Top Gun" starring Val Kilmer, Tom Cruise, Anthony Edwards, Kelly McGillis, and the US Navy. Sure, the movie has several technical problems (those MiG 21s are actually F-5s painted black) but overall the film is very enjoyable, even for folks who don't know an AMRAAM from a Sidewinder. Val Kilmer does a very good job as the nemesis to Tom Cruises' "Maverick" , the hero of the film. After watching this movie, you'll want to strap on your Ray Bans, get a haircut, and check out the leather flight jackets at www.uswings.com. And then you'll want to rewind the tape and see it again. 7) "Empire Of The Sun" by Stephen Spielberg. The hero isn't a pilot. In fact, he's just a boy that gets caught up in the Japanese invasion of China. It just so happens that this boy has dreams of flying some day and by chance he's assigned to a work camp that's building a Japanese airfield. Lots of haunting images and inspirational scenes. I'm surprised more people haven't seen it. Look for John Malkovich as an American that befriends the boy. And just remember - "P51D - Cadillac of the skies!" Color, and SP versions take two tapes. 8) "Fighter Aces" starring Chuck Yeager, Bud Anderson, and several other aces from World War 2. This is a collection of interviews interspersed with narration and gun camera film covering World War One and World War Two as the pilots saw it. My copy is in EP so the film quality is a little poor, but the material is top rate. I've seen copies of it at my local video stores, so it should be currently available in most cities. (Note: you can also order the book, "Fighter Aces of the USA" by Jon Guttman. Click Military Combat Top Picks).
9) "Dawn Patrol". Errol Flynn. Howard Hughes. Black and White. World War One. Award-winner. I haven't seen this film so I can't really say much more about it than that. However, I have read several favorable reviews about it and its on my list for Christmas. (Search AMAZON INdex for the book or video). 10) "The Great Waldo Pepper" starring Robert Redford as a World War One pilot who takes up barnstorming after the war. Fans of Robert Redford will love it. Fans of World War One planes will love it (you'll notice that several of the aircraft are courtesy of the Old Rhineback Aerodrome in New York). Color. Several candidates are worth mentioning. Chief among them are: a) "Flying Leathernecks" with John Wayne as a Marine Corps senior pilot in the south Pacific. I haven't found a copy on video, but my search continues. b) "Iron Eagle" series with Louis Gossett Jr. as a grumpy military pilot beseiged by military brats who set out to rescue a boy's father from a POW camp. I saw the first film and loved Queen's soundtrack for it. The first film was followed by three sequels. All that film can't be wrong. c) "BAT21" with Gene Hackman as a military strategist who gets shot down over VietNam and Danny Glover as the observer pilot who goes out to get him. I probably should've rated it higher, perhaps just ahead of "Fighter Aces". d) The Bridges of Toko-Ri, based on James Michener's novella of the same title, is set during the Korean War and centers around Lt. Harry Brubaker. Angered by being called out of inactive reserve and disillusioned by the war in general, Lt. Brubaker tries to make sense of it all to himself and to his family. All while trying to "keep the faith" with his fellow officers. The movie has good effect for it's time and gives insight to aspects of naval aviation seldom seen in movies. If you liked the book, Flight of the Intruder, then this movie is a good bet. Steven Reeves. e) "Flight Of The Intruder" with Brad Johnson as a Navy pilot and Willem Dafoe as his B/N. Danny Glover is the CAG that tries to keep them in line. The book was better, but its still pretty good to see an A-6 taking it downtown on screen. f) "Independence Day" with Will Smith as a Marine pilot and Jeff Goldblum as his B/N. Nobody tries to keep them in line. Ok, ok. so its really just a movie with big-budget special effects and lots of octopus aliens. They didn't even use real A-18s for the dogfight scenes. Still, Randy Quaid playing a wigged-out pilot is worth mentioning. Has Randy Quaid ever played a straight role? g) While I'm at it, I might as well mention the "Star Wars" series. After all, where do you think George Lucas got the inspiration for that climactic Death Star scene? None other than from John Wayne's "Flying Tigers". I wonder if those were real laser bolts shooting past Harrison Ford's head. There you have it. A short list of some of the Summer's hottest movies as I see it. Cruise your local video rental or buy the film yourself. Either way, its a good diversion from the heat.
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