WRT earlier posts, and although not a 'film' per se, the 12 Sqn Buccaneer piece was altogether unique, dynamic and well -produced. Just a shame about that posing Sqn Ldr and his navigator's briefing. Otherwise a masterpiece ---.

There was a thread on here a while back about the new 'Dambusters' and the name of the dog. It will apparently be called Trigger.

A remake of 'The Dambusters' will not appeal to those who saw it first time round I venture.
Why?
All the flying scenes computor generated.
In colour.
Modern accents.
Uniforms always smart and clean.
A love interest included
Script changes
Code name changed to trigger.

There again the 30 somethings will probably love it.

AI
Apparently so? But its name was Nigger! Was then, always will be. Why should we we-write history - far worse 'names' could be reconstructed in the quest for PC, eg Hitler. But they're not. What a load of 2007 bolloc*s.

Aaaaarrrggggghhh!!!
 

Why did I mention the dog? NOBODY KNOWS WHAT THE DOG WILL BE CALLED IN THE NEW VERSION!!!!!!!
Seriously - mention a new version of the Dambusters and the same tiny-minded people come out of the woodwork saying they know what they will be done with the dog and it's all political correctness gon maaad, and ya couldn't make it aaahp and you know who I had in my caaab laaast week - that David Irving, nah there's somebody who calls a spade a spade. WITHOUT A SHRED OF EVIDENCE. Oh Jesus Christ, give it a rest.

JT

"The Bridges at Toko-Ri",with William Holden & Mickey Rooney is an excellent film & an even better book.
"Pearl Harbor",by a country mile is the biggest waste of celluloid/heap of cack I've ever wasted a few moments of my life watching!

Don't shoot the messenger matey, I never said I agreed with it!! I hate all this PC bull sh*t. I don't know why but whenever I see or hear those two letters, an image of Ruth Kelly or Margaret Becket (or both God forbid!) flashes into my mind, and I go into an automatic rage and start mumbling to myself.

Anyhow, this new version is apparently being made by the Kiwi who did Lord of the Rings, I think his name is Peter Jackson.

'The Dog'
 

I wouldn't worry about the dog's name.
The animal rights people will put paid to a dog being used.
They'll end up using a Teddy bear instead... wait till the name for that's picked :eek:

Remember the old maxim never work with kids or teddy bears!

Going to see "The Bridges at Toko-Ri" was a seminal moment for me, (if that's the right word). As a totally aeroplane-mad kid, I loved all the aeroplane and war-ie stuff in it, including Mickie Rooney's top hat and scarf, (did the pilot have to 'stir the soup' quite to that degree in a 'Dragonfly' in the hover? - it doesn't matter, I loved it all, unreservedly).

But the bathhouse scene in Japan made me realise there was another aspect to life other than aeroplanes.... Grace Kelly in that white swimsuit.... (Or am I getting confused with the white swimsuit she wore in 'High Society'? Was it a white bathrobe in 'Bridges'? - doesn't matter.) Lump in the throat stuff - (or was the lump a foot or two below my adolescent throat?) - and knowing she got it all orf and was naked in that steamy water with lucky ole Bill and the Japanese couple.... in 1950's provincial Orstralya, that amounted to hard core Saturday arvo porn.

On to Steve McQueen and 'The War Lover'... great movie. I was reminded of that movie every time I flew formation and saw only my aircraft with the halo around it - and all the other aircraft in the formation 'unblessed', without the ring of light.

Even today, whenever I break out of cloud with the sun behind me and see the halo around my lone aircraft, McQueen's character's comment to his crew in 'The War Lover' comes to mind.

I think Slim Pickins as a B52 and Nuke pilot in 'Dr Strangelove' should get a mention in dispatches here.

rts

Anyone seen 'Flyboys' yet? Pretty awful stuff, especially seeing CGI Fokker Triplanes that have a rate of climb comparable to a Lightning on steroids...

For a good one - what about 'A Matter of Life and Death' starring David Niven as the bomber pilot on trial in Heaven for his life?

rts

It has been mentioned a few times in earlier posts if you care to read them!

Stephen Fry to write new Dambusters script
 

http://www.filmstalker.co.uk/archive...dam_buste.html

Stephen Fry looks set to be the writer behind the remake of the classic wartime film The Dam Busters simply called Dambusters. Fry said himself that the remake is going ahead with Peter Jackson and he spoke from New Zealand where he currently is working with Jackson himself:Is the quote from Teletext. He does say that he is sure we will remember the classic 1954 original with Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave. Indeed, it is a complete classic.
It is interesting that Fry has been chosen for the writing, I'd class him as one of the most intellectual and witty men I've ever seen on screen, and his writing includes some superb television, with Bright Young Things being his main screenplay.
I think he'll be a great choice for the film, but can the film really retain the great feelings of the original through all the effects that will be poured upon it? I suppose one thing is true, we'll see a much less romanticised version of the story.

AI

Sorry, no flak intended in your direction - merely a general rant on the topic! Agree about the ladies.

JTE - calm down.

Top guns Gpz 900 was actually a rarity - Gpz 750.

I like that one where they're having trouble with the sound barrier in the new jets, I'm sure one of the jets is a Supermarine Swift. In my mind anyway...Cant remember the films name for the life of me.

Worst? Top Gun, despite the Gpz, vomit inducing american claptrap. I've seen it hundreds of times , just to make sure.

Oddly enough called 'The Sound Barrier'. The one where the TP pushes the stick forward to pitch up and avoids the aircraft breaking up. Caused much merriment in flying circles at the time.

Aviation films
 

An aside about the "Blue Max". I was working for FG Miles at the time where the SE5as for the film were built.
RAE were asked if they had any data on the SE5, they replied "we have all the manufacturing drawings". The replicas were built to the original drawings, the only significant mods were a longer nose for the straight six Gypsy Queen against the original V8 and a larger fin to make up for the longer nose

Tora Tora Tora.

Why the best?

More like a documentary than a movie.


Worst?

Pearl Harbor

nuff said.

Bit of thread creep, sorry.

Someone mentioned a comic a few pages back with a WW3 theme.

Remember it well, someone had done thier homework, Tornado's CAPing convoys over the Atlantic etc.

One bit that always sticks in my mind was a few pages of the main hero (Harrier pilot nach) landing at a bombed out school that had just been trounced by the 'EASTPAC' bombers. He landed to see if he could help !

Some old bloke was actually shaking his fist and saying "Bloody RAF, where were you" - Classic.

I think there was a spin off series about a shotgun totin' lorry driver helping the resistance once the EASTPAC forces had overrun the UK.

Back on track: Best film BoB
Worst : Behind Enemy Lines (What was that Super Sam)

Cant believe know one has mentioned flight of the intruder…………….awesome movie…………low flying, gritty, not too many chicks……….and lines like

“Fighter pilots make movies ………..bomber pilots make history!!”


:ok:

Trigger or Nigger
 

I'm bound to say that Peter Jackson's only comment so far on the name of the dog is neither of the above! What he has said is that he will be damned if he does [use Nigger] and damned if he doesn't.:ugh:

The series I'm referring to is , From the Earth to the Moon is essentially the story of the US space project, primarily the Apollo part of it.

For engineers the episode Spider which deals at some length with the development by Gruman of the Lunar lander, is excellent stuff and as far as I can tell devoid of Hollywood interferance to add spurious drama.

Contenders not mentioned so far (that I can see)

Best: The Right Stuff (1983) Chuck Yeager scenes are coooool, by Hollywood standards at any rate. Good book, too.

Worst: Firefox (1982)
Clint Eastwood dragged out of pilot retirement to steal a Soviet super-stealth-jet-thingy, with THE worst special effects you ever want to see.
Dismal.


...and agreed, Miss York in The Battle of Britain has the finest aviation-related bottom ever filmed. Three cheers!

Musing on Trigger or Nigger
 

If another wide-ranging docu drama series on slavery (such as 'Roots') were to be made, would it be anything other than a sham if the word were excluded for PC reasons? The reason FOR using it would be historical truth and accuracy wouldn't it?
So if the dog REALLY WERE called 'Nigger' (used for decades as an adjective as well as a noun), how is history served if it's dropped?
CG

Is it still in the OED, by the way? (not able to check)

Re comic with ww3 theme, 2000 AD o' course.

Don't remember the Tornado cap or whatever, but the serial was about the truck driver more than anything. ''Invasion'', the truck driver leading the resistance against the ''Volgans'' ;), with his trusty shotgun was ''Bill Savage''.

Top stuff. See we wouldn't have needed the boys in blue after all :8

I understand that the phenomenon of 'aileron inversion' was relatively common when the sound barrier was being approached. Your TP was actually correct - pulling the stick back does nothing. Stick forward brings the nose UP.

Google "aileron inversion" for more info.

I'd be very surprized if moving the ailerons affected the pitch of the aircraft.

(Dicounting things like Bucc type aileron droop)

Best: BoB (just watching the 'advisors' to the production in the credits is a who's who...)

Medium: Hanover Street (Lesley-Ann Down...OMG :ooh:)

Medium bad: if you like your aviating whirring around and around... Blue Thunder

Worst: Iron Turkey (any of them),
Midway

Best &Worst Mil Aviation Films and Why
 

Not the best or worst but I remember seeing a movie called 'Sabre Jet' back in the mid-1950s. I grew up near Liverpool Airport and after looking through the hangar doors, probably circa 1953-1954, and seeing a large number of F-86s under maintenance as well as watching them above - we lived not far from the USAF base at Burtonwood - I thought it was the most beautiful thing in the sky. It certainly looked more exciting than the usual Meteors and Vampires . I think Alan Ladd and June Allyson played the leads in the movie and I remember air combat scenes from the Korean War being depicted. I have not heard of the movie since and nobody has mentioned it in this thread. Does anyone have information on it?

Best: By virtue of a few minutes with helicopters in the background - Apocalypse Now

Worst: PH by a mile, not even saved by the luscious Kate I am afraid. Could have forgiven the godawful portrail of the attack itself, but the last hour spent trying to show it was not all a complete coup for the Japanese was unforgiveable.

Sabre Jet

More here: http://imdb.com/title/tt0046262/

Ugh, I hate Apocalypse Now with a passion, though the helo scene was good.

[quoue]Worst: PH by a mile, not even saved by the luscious Kate I am afraid. Could have forgiven the godawful portrail of the attack itself, but the last hour spent trying to show it was not all a complete coup for the Japanese was unforgiveable.[/quote]

PH is a film I've avoided, but my JOCC syndicate did use a clip from it in a presentation on the Doolittle Raid...

Speaking of attacking harbours, maybe when the Dambuster remake is complete the producers could turn their attention to the Battle of Taranto, it would not play too well in Italy I suppose but worth filming for sure...

Just seen a new one that looks to be competing in the worst category - Flyboys. An attempt to show the US involvement in the Escadrille Lafayette in WW1.

Seemed to me that a bunch of PC gamers had directed the film................

The funniest part of Firefox was how the missile defense system read the pilots brain patterns through the helmet, but he had to think in Russian. By the time he remembered the Russian word for "flares" he could have reached and punched them off 15 times :8

Another long forgotten excellent movie was based on Joe Kittinger and John Paul Stapp's literally death defying experiments in the 1950's called
"On the Threshold of Space".

On the small screen, the hilarious 'Squadron' - I tuned in, only to see a Chief Tech fixing a storno in a car....

I seem to recall some QRF being deployed somewhere in africanistan and the fantastic line delivered from the force leader to a Phantom crew. "Kill that Jaguar" - I think he also used a storno. Impressive integrated comms....

Mind you that was bit more beleiveable as there was some 'previous' in that department. (F4 Vs Jag)

Films
 

Best: Battle of Britain. Worst: Top Gun

Does any remember a b/w film about a community complaining about the RAF flying near a bird-sanctuary? Seem to recall a bird strike on a Vampire

"Conflict of Wings" - or somesuch?

You obviously haven't seen 'Pearl Harbour'.