Best & Worst Mil Aviation Film and Why
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Best comedy:- Dr Strangelove with Sellers as the Brit Gp Capt exchange officer (and the US President and indeed the mad scientist) with Slim Pickens (I believe?) as the bonkers B52 commander. Highlights include the US President trying to reason with an intoxicated Russian president about the slight error in launching SAC and the B52 commander's finale after dislodging the nuke.
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Gathering of Eagles reminds me,
Anyone know the name of the B47 film? I seem to remember airborne alert off Newfoundland, a fire, AAR sequences etc. Quite a story line really following a B47 wing work up, ops and then deployment to Kadena (?).
Anyone know the name of the B47 film? I seem to remember airborne alert off Newfoundland, a fire, AAR sequences etc. Quite a story line really following a B47 wing work up, ops and then deployment to Kadena (?).
Gentleman Aviator
Dr Strangelove with Sellers as the Brit Gp Capt exchange officer (and the US President and indeed the mad scientist) with Slim Pickens (I believe?) as the bonkers B52 commander.
Apparently Sellers was to play the B52 captain's part too, but was not happy with his characterisation - not a very nice man, but certainly a perfectionist.
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Best:- BoB
Worst:- Top Gun, can't stand the little sh*t TC.
Has anyone mentioned John Wayne? Didn't he win a dog fight or two in the Pacific? Can't remember name of film.
Worst:- Top Gun, can't stand the little sh*t TC.
Has anyone mentioned John Wayne? Didn't he win a dog fight or two in the Pacific? Can't remember name of film.
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One to stir the heartstrings: the Chipmonk AEF film, staring Paul Young (before he got his record contract!) 
as John Andrews.
Those immortal lines:
"Jump jump John"!
"Jump jump Sir"!!!!
Why did he not get an Oscar???
The best war film for me was "A matter of Life and Death" with David Niven. You've got to watch it for the bit when he is on the beach and assumes he is dead- fantastic acting!
I used to have all of the Top Gun flying bits merged into one video- I was young then...
SMT
as John Andrews.Those immortal lines:
"Jump jump John"!
"Jump jump Sir"!!!!
Why did he not get an Oscar???
The best war film for me was "A matter of Life and Death" with David Niven. You've got to watch it for the bit when he is on the beach and assumes he is dead- fantastic acting!
I used to have all of the Top Gun flying bits merged into one video- I was young then...
SMT
Well, if you're going to mention Susannah York......
I give you.....
I give you.....
Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhh
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Goudie
The Duke flew P40s in The Flying Tigers. This included the famous out take of the chap walking across the sky outside the cockpit.
He also flew Hellcats in The Flying Leathernecks.
He also taught some Russian bint to fly a P80 in Jet Pilot. The pilot who did most of the flying sequences for this was Chuck Yeager.
That has just reminded me of the film The Sound Barrier which featured the prototype Supermarine Swift which was called the Prometheus if I remember correctly.
Pushing forward on the stick to recover from a supersonic dive. Shows that aerolastic distortion does have it's uses then! Yeager really enjoyed this film by all accounts.
The Duke flew P40s in The Flying Tigers. This included the famous out take of the chap walking across the sky outside the cockpit.
He also flew Hellcats in The Flying Leathernecks.
He also taught some Russian bint to fly a P80 in Jet Pilot. The pilot who did most of the flying sequences for this was Chuck Yeager.
That has just reminded me of the film The Sound Barrier which featured the prototype Supermarine Swift which was called the Prometheus if I remember correctly.
Pushing forward on the stick to recover from a supersonic dive. Shows that aerolastic distortion does have it's uses then! Yeager really enjoyed this film by all accounts.
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Peter Jackon is rumoured to be remaking the "Dambusters" should be excellent, just wonder how they will get around the black pet dog in these politically correct times!
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Surprised that no one has mentioned The Right Stuff....or Those Magnifcent Men in their Flying Machines. I haven't seen the film, but Hells Angels is supposed to be good and hows' about Up in the Air with George Formby
watp,iktch
watp,iktch
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I quite like this Dambusters remake .. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_NMfBKrdErY .. 
Recently watched Speed and Angels. Documentary of the last class of Tomcat Pilots to go through, some of the air to air camera work is pretty good.
But the worst for me has to be Iron Eagle ..
Recently watched Speed and Angels. Documentary of the last class of Tomcat Pilots to go through, some of the air to air camera work is pretty good.
But the worst for me has to be Iron Eagle ..
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Did anyone sit through Behind Enemy Lines long enough to get to the world's longest, most far-fetched surface-to-air missile sequence. The whole sequence was long enough to see the launch, go away and brew some coffee, come back see the damn thing in flight, go back to the kitchen and bake a jacket potato, come back to the TV and they were still jostling around trying to evade the missile. An irritatingly crap bunch-of-arse.
As for the best, The Battle of Britain is a classic in every way and there's always a time and a place for Top Gun.
In a slightly different category: The Boys From Bahrain. Amazing. More or less started the Sqn vid genre and motivated a number of young bucks to sign on the dotted line. I still get a shiver down my spine watching that.
I'll be interested to see how the Dambusters remake turns out. I suspect it will either be very, very good or utterly rubbish. There is no middle ground. Let's hope for the former.
As for the best, The Battle of Britain is a classic in every way and there's always a time and a place for Top Gun.
In a slightly different category: The Boys From Bahrain. Amazing. More or less started the Sqn vid genre and motivated a number of young bucks to sign on the dotted line. I still get a shiver down my spine watching that.
I'll be interested to see how the Dambusters remake turns out. I suspect it will either be very, very good or utterly rubbish. There is no middle ground. Let's hope for the former.
Avoid imitations
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Quote:
Surprised no one else has mentioned Battle of Britain.
Fantastic movie, but you mean there were actually aeroplanes in it?
Surprised no one else has mentioned Battle of Britain.
Fantastic movie, but you mean there were actually aeroplanes in it?
(I know because I helped teach his daughter to fly in the early 1990s).
Worst Aviation film? The TV series, "Tales of the Golden Monkey", takes my vote. For example, the pilot (of a WW2 flying boat, somewhere over the Pacific) received a radio call asking him to give his position. He immediately looked out of the window....... and gave his exact latitude and longitude...
I'd recommend these three:
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) based on the Doolittle Raid:
http://www.archive.org/details/thirt...nds_over_tokyo
The Purple Plain 1954 A Mosquito crashlands in a Burmese wilderness.
http://www.amazon.com/Purple-Plain-G.../dp/B00079ZACW
Journey Together (1943). RAF Pilot training in America.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Journey-Toge.../dp/B00004CQ7S
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) based on the Doolittle Raid:
http://www.archive.org/details/thirt...nds_over_tokyo
The Purple Plain 1954 A Mosquito crashlands in a Burmese wilderness.
http://www.amazon.com/Purple-Plain-G.../dp/B00079ZACW
Journey Together (1943). RAF Pilot training in America.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Journey-Toge.../dp/B00004CQ7S
When Dr Strangelove was first shown the USAF were amazed at the accuracy of the Nuclear Release procedures depicted in the movie and tried to find out who had been advising the director.
One of my favourites is "By Dawns Early Light". A very political film but it shows the dilemmas facing a crew sent on a Nuclear mission.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/By_Dawn's_Early_Light
One of my favourites is "By Dawns Early Light". A very political film but it shows the dilemmas facing a crew sent on a Nuclear mission.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/By_Dawn's_Early_Light
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Can't really comment on the whole of Top Gun; walked out out after 20 minutes because it was so boring and went to the pub instead!
The Battle of Britain, though, bloody fantastic!
When I was a recruiter (!),the 12 Squadron Buccaneers film (we used to lug a 16mm projector around in the back of the MT Chevette)usedto send the Coventry comprehensive kids to sleep. No bad thing, in my view.
But Watchdogs, now that was a far more exciting affair. 'The squadron is manned. Is it real or exercise?' That's the stuff to give em!
The Battle of Britain, though, bloody fantastic!
When I was a recruiter (!),the 12 Squadron Buccaneers film (we used to lug a 16mm projector around in the back of the MT Chevette)usedto send the Coventry comprehensive kids to sleep. No bad thing, in my view.
But Watchdogs, now that was a far more exciting affair. 'The squadron is manned. Is it real or exercise?' That's the stuff to give em!
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"No Sleep Till Dawn " was pretty good for its genre in the '50's. This was the one all about bringing the B-52 into service.
"High Flight" c.1957 -Cranwell as it should have been. My old Flight commanders boots star in a marching sequence.
"Tiger in the Sky" Absolutely dire crude progaganda about the Korean War. F-84's playing the part of Mig's.
"The Man in the Sky". '50's Tosh with Jack Hawkins trying to land a Bristol Freighter.
Best of all for me for sheer atmosphere and story telling. . "The Great Waldo Pepper" in the 70's.
Worst - difficult to choose!
And then there was "Q" Planes............
Time for me Cocoa.
"High Flight" c.1957 -Cranwell as it should have been. My old Flight commanders boots star in a marching sequence.
"Tiger in the Sky" Absolutely dire crude progaganda about the Korean War. F-84's playing the part of Mig's.
"The Man in the Sky". '50's Tosh with Jack Hawkins trying to land a Bristol Freighter.
Best of all for me for sheer atmosphere and story telling. . "The Great Waldo Pepper" in the 70's.
Worst - difficult to choose!
And then there was "Q" Planes............
Time for me Cocoa.