RAF_Louvert 101 Posted July 2, 2010 . Just as a sidebar. IMHO, if you are going to sit down and attempt to sort out just what the next great WWI air war movie should be, (and who should star in it, and who should direct it, etc.), you really owe it to yourselves to sit down and watch the first great WWI air war movie made. William Wellman's 1927 "Wings" won the Acadamy Award for Best Picture, and with good reason. It was the last of the "epic" silent films and featured an all-star cast. Clara Bow is at her "It Girl" best, and Gary Cooper's two-minute film debut really shows why he became the star he did. And, while a large portion of the biplanes used in filming were not the "real deal", the aerial dogfights and crashes certainly were. No CGI, no models floating about on wires, just honest-to-goodness seat-of-the-pants flying by the best stunt pilots of the day. If you have never sat through a full-length silent film before, you will want to prepare yourself for it if you wish to get the most from it. You need to keep in mind that this was THE entertainment of the masses in the early part of the last century. Yes, the acting seems melodramatic by today's standards, but that was the style of silent films and an integral part in trying to convey the entire range of human emotions without the luxury of audible speech. Try and place yourself in the context of the time and set aside as much as you can of what you now know about the world. If you attempt to watch this 1927 silent classic with your 2010 ultra high tech eyes you will be sorely disappointed I'm afraid. However, if you want to give it a go and see what all the fuss was about way back then, here is the link to the full movie: 'Wings" on You Tube It is in about 15 or so parts of about 10 minutes each as this is an epic in length as well as scope. I recommend you pick a nice dark wallpaper color for your screen and then click the "pop out" button on the lower left of the You Tube screen and reduce the page down to your task bar, that way you'll have fewer distractions. Also, dim the lights in the room you're watching in, it helps a lot to create the atmosphere. And you will really appreciate that atmosphere when you get to the scenes of the Battle of Saint-Mihiel. Cheers! Lou . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hellshade 110 Posted July 2, 2010 How about Spielberg and Hanks? They did a bang-up job on "Band of Brothers" 1st rate in the historical accuracy dept First rate stuff there, indeed. I might also like to see a mini-series done by HBO. I've been watching "Rome" - 1st and 2nd season and while it is obviously not a slave to historical facts, they do a wonderful job of recreating what life was like back then and making the characters interesting and believable. As long as they got the action in the air right, I wouldn't mind filling in the on-the ground stuff with some creative but believable plots and dialog. I can't wait for "The Pacfic" to come out on DvD. The trailers on that look awesome and it's an HBO mini-series as well, if I recall properly. Hellshade It's a shame Rutger Hauer is getting on....I think he would have been a brilliant MvR Spot on there Widowmaker. He would have been perfect for it a few years ago. Hellshade Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blackadder33 1 Posted July 3, 2010 It's a shame Rutger Hauer is getting on....I think he would have been a brilliant MvR Bang on! I remember watching Bladerunner for the first time before I even knew who Rutger was and thought to myself he looked like MvR! Just think how great that unmade film based on MvR's autobiography 'Der rote Kampfflieger' would've been... you are so right. Like tears in the rain... time to die... Anyway, Slackbladder here sir! OFF newbie and all that. How are you Lord Flashheart? I just bought this fine sim and was setting it up and testing it out when I saw this topic and thought I'd say hello! Actually I have a question that I think maybe you or one of the old aces here might be able to help me with... Well I think most of you will have already seen these over the years... Wings (1927) Hell's Angels (1930) The Dawn Patrol (1930) The Dawn Patrol (1938) The Blue Max (1966) Von Richthofen and Brown (1971) Aces High (1976) Flyboys (2006) Der Rote Baron (2008) My question... has anyone here seen, or better yet, know where I can get hold of a BBCTV series from the 70's called "Wings"? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0164305/ I never saw it... or at least I don't think so unless I saw it again... Tim Woodward would be good to see but when I saw it had David Troughton in it I knew I just HAVE to see this! I thought he was fantastic as Wellington from the first series of 'Sharpe'. Speaking of Wings... I think I will admit that I spent/wasted many an hour playing said game on the Amiga a few years ago... beaten only in flying hours (more like months) by Knights of the Sky... I think... now I have finally got hold of OFF Phase 3 + HitR I think I might possibly beat my "personal best" of sitting on my rear staring at a screen whilst wearing black leather motorcycle/flying goggles... funny enough those goggles are actually helping... with the largish floor-standing fan in front of me blowing full blast to 1. keep cool and 2. simulate a prop... without the goggles my eyes hurt from the airflow! Best wishes chaps! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hellshade 110 Posted July 3, 2010 Speaking of Wings... I think I will admit that I spent/wasted many an hour playing said game on the Amiga a few years ago... beaten only in flying hours (more like months) by Knights of the Sky... As did I. It was one of my favorites for many, many years. Don't think I ever made it through Bloody April though. Still, heck of a game especially for it's time. Hellshade Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blackadder33 1 Posted July 3, 2010 My question... has anyone here seen, or better yet, know where I can get hold of a BBCTV series from the 70's called "Wings"? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0164305/ Found it! Wings - Series 1-2 DVD [1977] on Amazon and ordered, should be watching it in a couple of days! From the reviews it seems I'm going to like this. Sorry if you already knew about this guys and if it's old news, but finding this just made my day/week/month/year!!!! As did I. It was one of my favorites for many, many years. Don't think I ever made it through Bloody April though. Still, heck of a game especially for it's time. Hellshade Good to meet a fellow Amiga KotS flyer! Nice one Hellshade. Funny enough it was the first sim I ever played via two-player dual-Amiga setup, I think it was via "null-modem cable" link-up?! Haha great fun! Well I have some setting-up (and flying this sim!) to do and hope to catch you on the forums again sometime. Cheers to you all! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigAl56 0 Posted July 18, 2010 Ok, my not so humble opinion here. Flyboys beats The Red Baron. Mostly, from my point of view, the acting in Flyboys was better, I think. There's also the idea, they didn't give historical names to the pilots in Flyboys, although they do tell you in the director's chat thing on the DVD who each was modeled after. But in the end, "The Blue Max" is still number 1. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted July 19, 2010 I'm with you there, Rickity - unfamiliar faces would work much better. "Band of Brothers" was good there. I didn't know any of the cast, so the actors really were the soldiers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UK_Widowmaker 571 Posted July 19, 2010 Greetings Blackadder!...damn fine show, having some more good old British Spunk in the ranks, to give Jonny Hun a bunch of fives! Sorry, only saw your post today old bean...crashed my kite sausage side, was banged up for a while...managed to bribe the fat lad with the Mauser, hopped a lift with an ambulance crew, and got back just in time for Tea and Medals...new SE on the dispersal...off to give the Kaiser what for! Tally Ho...chat over a scotch before long! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Polovski 460 Posted July 19, 2010 BBC series Wings has been discussed in a few threads, great series and gives you a taste of how it may have been in the early RFC in 1915 along with all the class divide in Britain. Like the other comments regarding 1927 film Wings, you need to think as someone at that time, rumours and hearsay where almost as powerful as facts when talking about new enemy machines or events. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted July 19, 2010 Capt. Blackadder to Lord Flasheart: Actually, I was more impressed by the content of my handkerchief, when I last blew my nose! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zoomzoom 2 Posted July 20, 2010 (edited) Well you know what, ........what offends my senses most, more than the slightly overrated for effect plane speeds ( a matter of debate), and the silly pretencious and unrealistic, (not to mention badly done) love stories mixed into the film. What I'm dead sick of seeing is a 25-foot tall freak of nature playing Manfred Von Richtoffen in every frickin movie. I mean you dont even have to KNOW history....look at the flaming photographs for Petes sake! In Richtoffen and Brown, as well as the latest Sweighoffer flick, these people are ridiculously disproportionate...they are even taller than the guys cast to play Lothar, who was clearly the taller of the two. Again...at least the Blue Max was closer to the mark, in that he wasn't flying the plane with his knees in his face cause he couldn't get his spider like legs into the cockpit. ZZ. Edited July 20, 2010 by zoomzoom Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
