Do you have a WWI movie idea?

[Rickitycrate 10]

It's actually a trilogy. To be shot Ala The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy. In succession with all the same cast crew and sets etc. The First story would involve the Lafayette Esc. and focus on the exploits of Raoul Lufbery. The second chapter would involve the U.S. First Pursuit Squadron and highlight Rickenbacker and especially Frank Luke. The finale chapter would center on Captain Eddie, the close of the war and his amazing post war experiences to some extent. My heroes, my fantasy, Yanks.

 

Do you long for certain story to be told? Faithfully, historically and accurately.

Edited May 28, 2009 by Rickitycrate

[Olham 164]

Ad hoc, I would like to see Udet's life as an aviator, with a pre- and post war part, until the dramatic finish,

when he kills himself, as he must realise, that he's only used by the Nazi regime - without any real chance

to change anything.

Also, a movie about Freiherr Manfred von Richthofen - showing, how it all really was and looked (as far as known).

 

But movies about air combat have the problem, that they show very young men going to fight a war, instead of

having some amusing love stories or funny problems of the everyday life. The typical alibi love story was - even

in the newer "Red Baron" a flirt with a nurse, who shows the warrior the ugly face of war. No romance really.

And what these young men do each and every day, is fly out for slaughter.

The "Blue Max" was quite good as an exception, as it was more about a conflict of classes, and the intrigues in

the upper class, which wouldn't let "someone from the street" so easily into their ranks.

[Snoopy syndrome 0]

Many good ideas can be developed in a WWI aviation movie..."conflict of classes" in the war was one of them as Olham said, in Blue Max.

 

Superstition (and jealousy) was another idea in the french movie "L'instinct de l'Ange" (Angel Instinct would be the obvious translation but i think Angel's Wings is the name of this movie out of France)

here is a sample :

the movie in about a french pilot whose life really looks like Guynemer's life: he's got a fragile health, came from the same social class, crashed a lot of planes at the begining of his career, was hit by enemy fire more than any other pilot, seems to live only to bring down enemy planes, spending his free time to check and re-check his plane and machine-guns...In the movie, the hero was gradualy exclued of the squad friendship just because he's too different from the average. Too succesfull, and too rigid with his duty.

Many of his fellow pilots start to think death is around him and is his trail even for members of his flight.That's the price they pay for his incredible "luck", in their opinion. The ace will soon have enemies even in his home airfield. http://www.videocollection.com/product.html?product_id=47747

 

One thing i'd like to see in a WWI movie is the evolution of soldier coming from the mud of the trenches, transfered to aviation. A man like this can't have the same point of view about airwar and "aerial chivalry" than pilots that didn't have the experience of the trench warfare as a simple soldier. "Blue Max" is about this in some ways but did not go far enough in my opinion.

[OvS 8]

I'm with Olham, Udet all the way! From 1915-1918 and pre-WWII. Airshows and all.

 

Or Charles Nunguesser!

 

OvS

[Dej 17]

I'd go with the 'class war' motif, certainly like to see something about those British NCO pilots who hadn't been 'Head of School' or 'got their Blue at Fives'.

 

Most of all though I think the bomber and recce pilots deserve a bit of exposure or maybe combine the two careers and make an accurate film of 'Sagittarius Rising'.

[JohnGresham 0]

Rene Fonck...now that could be a fascinating and challenging character study.

[saburo 0]

It's actually a trilogy. To be shot Ala The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy. In succession with all the same cast crew and sets etc. The First story would involve the Lafayette Esc. and focus on the exploits of Raoul Lufbery. The second chapter would involve the U.S. First Pursuit Squadron and highlight Rickenbacker and especially Frank Luke. The finale chapter would center on Captain Eddie, the close of the war and his amazing post war experiences to some extent. My heroes, my fantasy, Yanks.

 

Do you long for certain story to be told? Faithfully, historically and accurately.

 

Actually, a long time ago a friend told me a story about an event in Udet's career which didn't show up in his autobiography so I guess it's one of those legend things - but it would make a very nice short film.

 

The way the story goes "Udet" (or some pilot) after a scrap with other aircraft finds himself alone when he spots an enemy aircraft (French in the story) and diving down begins to close distance and set up on its tail. The French pilot is flying for his lines and also hammering on the the Lewis' cylinder as it has become stuck. It is really stuck so the French pilot now stands up in the seat, one foot more or less on the yoke, but the cylinder isn't budging.

 

Then, for whatever reason the airplane lurches, the French pilot's foot slips off the stick, and the airplane neatly inverts, so now the French pilot is dangling from the top wing and the Lewis, staring back at "Udet".

 

"Udet," following closely but not shooting, is watching this in justifiable amazement.

 

The French pilot manages to kick his legs back into the cock-pit and kinda shimmy himself up into it enough to kick the stick forward and the inverted plane rears up and begins to stall, almost into "Udet's" crate who has to scramble to avoid collision.

 

The French pilot manages to regain control out of his stall and is still heading for the lines when "Udet" pulls in next to him, gets his attention, and basically signals, "Not this time," before diving away to the East.

 

Later, "Udet" supposedly commented, "I just didn't have the heart to shoot him down."

 

A supposedly "true" story but I've never found any confirmation or 2nd source so it's really just a good story - and it would make a lovely little short film.

 

-sab

[saburo 0]

It's actually a trilogy. To be shot Ala The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy. In succession with all the same cast crew and sets etc. The First story would involve the Lafayette Esc. and focus on the exploits of Raoul Lufbery. The second chapter would involve the U.S. First Pursuit Squadron and highlight Rickenbacker and especially Frank Luke. The finale chapter would center on Captain Eddie, the close of the war and his amazing post war experiences to some extent. My heroes, my fantasy, Yanks.

 

Do you long for certain story to be told? Faithfully, historically and accurately.

 

Another thought would be a mini-series on Jasta 2 (Boelcke's) done in the vein of "Band of Brothers." Ongoing from before the Somme thru to the end of the war - start to finish, characters come and go (some very colorful), the fortunes of war rise and fall. The good, bad, and ugly. The dicey part (aside from funding such an ambitious project) would be the dramatizing to keep it accessable. Short of that, if Ken Burns were to tackle the Airwar in the Great War, that could potentially be remarkable from a documentary standpoint.

 

-sab

[Snoopy syndrome 0]

Mannock could be a very interesting character to study as well...a contrasted and strong personality with an unusual life (and pretty long life compared to others WW1 aces who died in their very early twenties).

[Duce Lewis 3]

Another thought would be a mini-series on Jasta 2 (Boelcke's) done in the vein of "Band of Brothers." Ongoing from before the Somme thru to the end of the war - start to finish, characters come and go (some very colorful), the fortunes of war rise and fall. The good, bad, and ugly. The dicey part (aside from funding such an ambitious project) would be the dramatizing to keep it accessable.

 

-sab

Now there's a really good idea

I'll econd that vote

[+Polovski 414]

Yeah a series would be great - maybe Peter Jackson will do a trilogy some day. BBC's "Wings" series was a little like the band of brothers idea with a zillion $ less budget of course ;)

Good historical accuracy and facts mixed with some drama great stuff.

[themightysrc 5]

Sab

 

"A supposedly "true" story but I've never found any confirmation or 2nd source so it's really just a good story - and it would make a lovely little short film."

 

An RFC pilot called Louis Strange did actually have this happen to him in WWI. He was flying a plane - it may well have been a Niueport or Bristol scout - Lewis gun, stuck magazine, etc, etc. And yes, the drum he'd been so desperate to shift shortly before became the only link he had to his plane for some seconds, until he managed to kick himself back into the cockpit. Bet he had to change his undies after he landed. All perfectly true and documented.

 

"Mannock could be a very interesting character to study as well...a contrasted and strong personality with an unusual life"

 

I quite agree - particularly since he was not only not 'officer class', but was also a socialist - something almost unheard of. A deeply interesting and arresting man.

[+Paarma 0]

Willi Rosenstein would be good person to make movie. Very interesting character. He was flying whole ww1 starting eindeckers and survived the war. He was jewish, flying same jasta with Göring and after war emigrated to South africa. His son died in ww2 as pilot in RAF. That would make movie enough drama i would say.

[Olham 164]

Paarma - do you know, which Jastas Rosenstein all flew in? Sounds very interesting - not many

people survived the whole war.

[Olham 164]

Paarma - do you know, which Jastas Rosenstein all flew in? Sounds very interesting - not many

people survived the whole war.

 

PS: just checked the Aerodrome - he was in Jasta 9, 27 and 40.

 

Another intersting survivor of the war was Bruno Loerzer with over 40 victories.

[Hauksbee 103]

Sounds very interesting - not many people survived the whole war.

 

Here's a link to Willi Rosenstein that covers some post-WWI...

 

http://www.historicracing.com/top100.cfm?d...0&fromrow=1

[+Paarma 0]

He was flying eindecker E.I then Phalz E.I in FFA 19, Porcher 1915, but didnt get any kills when flying eindeckers.

 

Here is few links:

 

http://people.sinclair.edu/thomasmartin/knights/

http://www.jewishgen.org/SAfrica/family-hi...ein_w/index.htm

 

 

 

Paarma - do you know, which Jastas Rosenstein all flew in? Sounds very interesting - not many

people survived the whole war.

 

PS: just checked the Aerodrome - he was in Jasta 9, 27 and 40.

 

Another intersting survivor of the war was Bruno Loerzer with over 40 victories.

[Jammer28 0]

I go along with Olham and OvS submission of Udet. But the one that I have been wanting Hollywood to make for years is also an OvS pick: Nungesser. This guy was something else. The writers wouldn’t need to embellish anything about him.

[Olham 164]

Thanks for the link, Hauksbee!

So, at least for his former jewish wingman, Goering seems to have felt somehow responsible.

Hm...

[Bullethead 12]

If I was doing a WW1 movie, it would be on the Brusilov Offensive, which IMHO is one of the most interesting and least-studied things that happened.

[Olham 164]

Tell us more, please...

[Hauksbee 103]

Tell us more, please...

Brusilev Campaign? Never heard of it...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brusilov_Offensive

According to this link, it would take a "Lord of the Rings" trilogy to pack The Brusilev Campaign into a movie.

[Bandy 3]

If you like historical fiction, and VERY dry humour, then a must read series are the "Bandy papers" by Donald Jack... LINK They will make you laugh out loud even if you are in public.

 

The first 3 in the series are truly great and would make terrific movies. I've often thought about what actor would play Bartholomew Bandy, and I've settled on Brendan Fraser (from "The Mummy") a great Canadian actor with a wide range from serious roles to comedies.

Edited June 1, 2009 by B Bandy RFC

[Hauksbee 103]

If you like historical fiction, and VERY dry humour....

 

Good then. I went straight to amazon.com and got Vol.2; for some reason Vol.1 is not available. Reading the cover blurbs, it seems that, despite their differences, Bart Bandy and Harry Flashman would have got on well together.

[Bandy 3]

Good then. I went straight to amazon.com and got Vol.2; for some reason Vol.1 is not available. ...

 

One convert, so many more to go...

 

Not that it is absolutely necessary, but try to find Vol 1 to read first (I'll even mail you my copy if I have to :yes:). Many of the books are currently out of print, but there have been SO many additions over the years (originally written in the 1960's to 70's) that you can score a used copy almost anywhere for pennies. I also forgot to mention that they have won several humour awards...