Favourite flying film?
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Favourite flying film?
What's your favourite flying film?
Mine is probably "The Blue Max" about a German in WW1
It seems lots of people really rate the Battle of Britain but I've always thought it was too all over the place, trying to show it from everyones point of view so not really having main characters. I think its better when a film just follows a few people, like in the Blue Max where it's about the individual. Its more a narration of the battle than a story. I wish they'd make a modern, big budget BoB film where they can actually put a hundred planes in the sky using computers and show massive dogfights.
My other favourites include:
Memphis Belle
Tuskegee Airmen
Waldo Pepper
Aces High
Mine is probably "The Blue Max" about a German in WW1
It seems lots of people really rate the Battle of Britain but I've always thought it was too all over the place, trying to show it from everyones point of view so not really having main characters. I think its better when a film just follows a few people, like in the Blue Max where it's about the individual. Its more a narration of the battle than a story. I wish they'd make a modern, big budget BoB film where they can actually put a hundred planes in the sky using computers and show massive dogfights.
My other favourites include:
Memphis Belle
Tuskegee Airmen
Waldo Pepper
Aces High
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The best aviation film EVER is Stratigic air command!!!!. As with most aeroplane films the story is drivel but the flying sequences are fantastic. In fact the film won several awards for the "technical" bits. The stars of the film are the B-36's . When you get to view it, the first sequence has a B-36 flying over a base ball field. Turn the volume up HIGH!!!!. Jimmy Stewert and June Allison are the human stars and there is an apperance by the bloke who was the second commander on M.A.S.H. I don't think that it is out on DVD yet but it is worth a view.
Rgds Dr.I
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More of a period piece, and I'm a sucker for film musicals, but "Flying Down to Rio" (1933) has a place of its own. It paired Astaire and Rogers for the first time. Music by Youmans, Kahn, etc. Plot is drivel.
Was the long airshow sequence really shot at Rio? Copacabana? ...? One large hotel surrounded by open fields.
seacue
Was the long airshow sequence really shot at Rio? Copacabana? ...? One large hotel surrounded by open fields.
seacue
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I think the September 15th sequence in Battle of Britian with the William Walton music is superb... Sod the computer graphics, real aeroplanes are what it is all about. Sadly, be hard to muster the opposition in such numbers these days.
Not so much a flying film but Catch 22 is a great, wondefully comic film and, I'd suggest, saviour of quite a few B-25 airframes!
Also "The Pursuit of D B Cooper" is worth fast forwarding through to just watch the sequences flown by Art Scholl in a duster Stearman... don't think there is any trick photography there (other than where the Aircraft is actually sitting on the car!). There's a momnet where even Scholl must have been thinking "yikes!" or similar!
As for Top Gun? Pah!
Not so much a flying film but Catch 22 is a great, wondefully comic film and, I'd suggest, saviour of quite a few B-25 airframes!
Also "The Pursuit of D B Cooper" is worth fast forwarding through to just watch the sequences flown by Art Scholl in a duster Stearman... don't think there is any trick photography there (other than where the Aircraft is actually sitting on the car!). There's a momnet where even Scholl must have been thinking "yikes!" or similar!
As for Top Gun? Pah!
633 Sqn (ok, there were some models but the actual Mossie flying was good)
Bridge at Toko Ri was quite good with F-86s doing their thing
Not a flying film as such but the one where USS Enterprise goes through a time warp and its F-14s mix it with Zeros (Final something or other?)
Bridge at Toko Ri was quite good with F-86s doing their thing
Not a flying film as such but the one where USS Enterprise goes through a time warp and its F-14s mix it with Zeros (Final something or other?)
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It's "Bridges at Toko Ri" and those are Banshees, not F-86s. And remember Bill Holden as well as the two Helo guys (Mickey Rooney and I forget who else) get killed in the end. But some great flying parts. You might even try reading the book.
"Flight of the Phoenix" is good but not worth what it cost (Paul Mantz's life)
"Wings" the old Howard Hughes WW I movie that I could swear I see footage from in the History Channel (or as my wife calls it The Hitler Channel) implying it is real WW I photography when it is actually bean fields in Oxnard.
"Flight of the Phoenix" is good but not worth what it cost (Paul Mantz's life)
"Wings" the old Howard Hughes WW I movie that I could swear I see footage from in the History Channel (or as my wife calls it The Hitler Channel) implying it is real WW I photography when it is actually bean fields in Oxnard.
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Treadders, am I reading you right? Walton in the Battle of Britain? The music was written for the First of the Few. Is it used in BoB? Ages since I have seen it.
They usual play it at the Shuttleworth Proms with, of course, the Spitfire flying. Usually manage to fly through at the final bars and then throttle back for the crackle-crackle-crackle of the Merlin. Not a dry eye in the house.
Films I like are those made during the war, I suppose as a sort of 'propaganda'. How about Coastal Command using real RAF personnel as the actors. Sunderlands, Catalinas, and the Beaufighters at the end!!
VA
They usual play it at the Shuttleworth Proms with, of course, the Spitfire flying. Usually manage to fly through at the final bars and then throttle back for the crackle-crackle-crackle of the Merlin. Not a dry eye in the house.
Films I like are those made during the war, I suppose as a sort of 'propaganda'. How about Coastal Command using real RAF personnel as the actors. Sunderlands, Catalinas, and the Beaufighters at the end!!
VA
Walton was commissioned to write the entire score for BoB, which he did, only to have the studio throw it out and get Ron Goodwin to write a new one. The aerial battle scene is the only part of Walton's score to be used and he apparently never recovered from the shock.
http://www.musicweb.uk.net/classrev/...n00/battle.htm
http://www.musicweb.uk.net/classrev/...n00/battle.htm
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It seems that when Walton's score was thrown out and Ron Goodwin commissioned instead, Lawrence Olivier threatened to have his name removed from the credits unless his friend, Walton's, was reinstated - a compromise was reached by using the the Battle in the Skies sequence as described by WUB.
Got to get up to Shuttleworth again - next evening show is the eve of the London Brighton bike ride I think (14th) so I can't make that one as I have to be up at Pre-Sparrow fart... soon, I promise!
Got to get up to Shuttleworth again - next evening show is the eve of the London Brighton bike ride I think (14th) so I can't make that one as I have to be up at Pre-Sparrow fart... soon, I promise!
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Battle of britain...... got to be the best, however some of the flying sequences in Pearl Harbour were pretty good, dreadful film but they flying 
!!
Aces high is great and reach for the sky (kenneth moore aka douglas bader)
C
!!Aces high is great and reach for the sky (kenneth moore aka douglas bader)
C
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A film that hasn't been mentioned yet is the recently released "Dark Blue World" which tracks the pre and post war history of the Czech pilots who flew with the Royal Air Force. Apparently the Communists locked them up post-war as potential "freedom fighters" which was a bit tough. The new flying sequences are excellent and also use computer enhanced outtakes from the "Battle of Britain" movie. It didn't do well here as it was released the same week as the latest "Star Wars". I saw it in the Astra cinema at Duxford and it was really moving.
One note on the "Battle of Britain " movie is that it was alleged to have made more money in Germany than here, due mainly to it's reasonably even handed treatment of the Battle.
Although it was jingoistic (and why not) I enjoyed "Reach for the sky" and for technical merit at the time the "Sound Barrier" was good.
One note on the "Battle of Britain " movie is that it was alleged to have made more money in Germany than here, due mainly to it's reasonably even handed treatment of the Battle.
Although it was jingoistic (and why not) I enjoyed "Reach for the sky" and for technical merit at the time the "Sound Barrier" was good.
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Watched dark blue world for the first time last weekend, pretty good, not enough flying though...... seems to concentrate on the obligatory love story. i never realised howthey were treated after the war...... yet another hidden story. 
c
c
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ozplane - agree with you about Dark Blue World, wonderful film. I recently got it on DVD. I never got around to seeing it when it was released in the cinema as I had a problem finding a cinema which was showing it somewhere I could get to at a time I could get to it. great extras on the DVD.
Chrisf - so you've not seen one of the extras on the Dark Blue World DVD where they've edited together all of the flying sequences set to music?
Chrisf - so you've not seen one of the extras on the Dark Blue World DVD where they've edited together all of the flying sequences set to music?
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The more recent Pearl Harbor movie was more into electronic stuff than is my taste....An older effort "Tora,Tora, Tora" has some good shots of T-6's made up like Zeros and P-40s that are all 100% real airplane. Some model stuff for the carrier launches as I recall too, but you can't have everything.
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I have Dark Blue World on DVD, it's good but not great.
Haven't seen Those Magnificent Men..... is it a bit like an English Waldo Pepper? Is it good? Who's in it?
Reach for the sky is good.
Battle of Britain is just not an entertaining film, it takes too broad a view, although , obviously, some of the flying sequences are good.
Tora Tora Tora is a disgustingly boring film. Theres about 3 hours of putrid political ramblings before you get to the attack.
Pearl Harbour is pretty stupid but there are a few good flying scenes (I thought the Battle of Britain one was good) although sometimes it seems to disregard reality in the way the planes zoom up quickly and turn impossibly etc...
I think Waldo Pepper and the Blue Max are jointly the best flying films ever.
If you're interested the Blue Max is out on DVD sometime in July/August and I'd recommend you all rsuh out and buy it, especially if you haven't seen it yet.
Haven't seen Those Magnificent Men..... is it a bit like an English Waldo Pepper? Is it good? Who's in it?
Reach for the sky is good.
Battle of Britain is just not an entertaining film, it takes too broad a view, although , obviously, some of the flying sequences are good.
Tora Tora Tora is a disgustingly boring film. Theres about 3 hours of putrid political ramblings before you get to the attack.
Pearl Harbour is pretty stupid but there are a few good flying scenes (I thought the Battle of Britain one was good) although sometimes it seems to disregard reality in the way the planes zoom up quickly and turn impossibly etc...
I think Waldo Pepper and the Blue Max are jointly the best flying films ever.
If you're interested the Blue Max is out on DVD sometime in July/August and I'd recommend you all rsuh out and buy it, especially if you haven't seen it yet.
'Strategic Air Command' was a good 'factional' movie - as was the later 'A Gathering of Eagles' where the stars were B-52s rather than B-36s and B-47s.
Otherwise ;
The Dam Busters
The Right Stuff
The Sound Barrier
I agree about the lack of story line in BoB. With such big name stars, you'd expect a reasonably definitive story line. However, truly excellent flying sequences (that was my Cranwell Sqn Cdr doing the opening victory roll over the French refugees) and a non-jingoistic portrayal of the Germans. Oh - and don't forget Susannah York wearing an RAF shirt and not much else in the hotel with Christopher Plummer!
Worst movies?
Anything made by computer geeks - such as the abysmal 'Pearl Harbor'. Storyline reasonable, but flying sequences dreadful. 'Tora, tora, tora' was infinitely better.
I've been trying for years to find 'Out of the Clouds' or 'Down from the Clouds' - something like that. It features James Robertson Justice as an airline pilot and has some excellent 'how not to do CRM' moments!
Otherwise ;
The Dam Busters
The Right Stuff
The Sound Barrier
I agree about the lack of story line in BoB. With such big name stars, you'd expect a reasonably definitive story line. However, truly excellent flying sequences (that was my Cranwell Sqn Cdr doing the opening victory roll over the French refugees) and a non-jingoistic portrayal of the Germans. Oh - and don't forget Susannah York wearing an RAF shirt and not much else in the hotel with Christopher Plummer!
Worst movies?
Anything made by computer geeks - such as the abysmal 'Pearl Harbor'. Storyline reasonable, but flying sequences dreadful. 'Tora, tora, tora' was infinitely better.
I've been trying for years to find 'Out of the Clouds' or 'Down from the Clouds' - something like that. It features James Robertson Justice as an airline pilot and has some excellent 'how not to do CRM' moments!
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Iron City: Well no, the carrier jets in 'The Bridges at Toko Ri' were neither Banshees nor F-86s, but Grumman Panthers. Michener's book had Banshees, but the movie-makers substituted F9Fs.