"Redtails"

[unclegrumpy]

I though more of the same

I really don't want to knock a film I have not seen but I just found it unrealistic.

Of course its fun to see the Jackets and Patches that were made for the picture.

It just comes across as a Pearl Harbor Mark 2 and whilst I actually will hold my head up and say I actually thought that film was OK one of them was enough.

I even put on 12 O Clock High just to remember what a war film on the USAAF should be.

Too me it looks like it will better than "Pearl Harbor" from the trailer. But I agree, we will have to wait to see what the rest of the film is like to pass judgement. Hopefully, it will be closer to "Band of Brothers" or the "Pacific" than Pearl Harbor. Maybe if it turns out to be a turkey, Spielberg and Hanks will do a mini series for us on the AAF.

These days we are lucky that war movies are being made. In some ways, I think any war movie is good, because it keeps the history....even if it is distorted....alive. A lot of kids don't even know when WW II was, so if this gets them interested, I am all for it.

Plus, we all suffered through a lot of bad war movies from the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's, many that historically were total fiction or focused too heavily on hokey love interests.....and most of us came out of it OK.....well most of us... :shock:

 

[flyboy]

[/quote]
These days we are lucky that war movies are being made. In some ways, I think any war movie is good, because it keeps the history....even if it is distorted....alive. A lot of kids don't even know when WW II was, so if this gets them interested, I am all for it.
:[/quote]

A lot of kids think that Pearl Habor was almost won by two pilots all alone, the war in Europe was won by a bunch of paratroopers called Easy Company and Enigma was found and conquered by some US submarine sailors before USA even entered the war. That's what happens when Hollywood goes to war. Unfortunately most kids to day are consumers of news and knowledge. If its on the internet it's the truth. If it's on the big screen it's even more truth.

 

[wheat1479]

What has always been of interest to me is the length of WWII,compared to the wars after.This was a world war and ended in 45,but vietnam,iraq Aghanistan and possibly the middle east are still going on.

 

[wheat1479]

I meant to say Vietnam was about nine-ten years long..

 

[Clark J]

That just had to do with the factors of that war IMO,a clear enemy that had real uniformed Army,one objective,,total victory and they weren't religiuos fanatics!!

 

[unclegrumpy]

I meant to say Vietnam was about nine-ten years long..

The official US "Vietnam Initial Advisory Campaign" started in November of 1961, and I think the Vietnamese Government had a start date in 1960, so that would put the war, with a few minor gaps, "officially" in the 14 to 15 year range.

That of course does not count the OSS involvement in the late WW II years helping Ho and the Vietminh fight the Japanese, and then the other extra curricular fun and games that went on during the Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy Administrations fighting against Ho and the Vietminh which was brought to light in the Pentagon Papers.

One might argue the exact timeframe and actual end of WW II as well. Heck, we still have troops in Germany, Italy, and England, so maybe these things never really end. Somehow I can't imagine us just leaving all the fancy new bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Maybe they will end up like Guantanamo Bay, which was a prize from the Spanish American War....and that only ended 102 years ago :shock:

 

[johnwayne]

"A lot of kids think that Pearl Harbor was almost won by two pilots all alone, the war in Europe was won by a bunch of paratroopers called Easy Company and Enigma was found and conquered by some US submarine sailors before USA even entered the war. That's what happens when Hollywood goes to war."

Exactly my point early on in this thread - ignore the truth just to put more arse's on seats/sell DVD's, however, as has been echo'd, lets give it the benefit of doubt and for me, having personally seen some of the real RedTails at Duxford a couple of years back, when I felt very humble indeed (as when I see all the old pilots book signing etc), I will certainly go to see it and keep an open mind and try to objective about the facts portrayed. Their part in the history of racism, let alone WWII, is a valuable lesson that shouldn't be overlooked and I'm sure George Lucas will have treated their cause with some empathy?

cheers
Wayne

 

[ausreenactor]

I though more of the same

I really don't want to knock a film I have not seen but I just found it unrealistic.

Of course its fun to see the Jackets and Patches that were made for the picture.

It just comes across as a Pearl Harbor Mark 2 and whilst I actually will hold my head up and say I actually thought that film was OK one of them was enough.

I even put on 12 O Clock High just to remember what a war film on the USAAF should be.

Too me it looks like it will better than "Pearl Harbor" from the trailer. But I agree, we will have to wait to see what the rest of the film is like to pass judgement. Hopefully, it will be closer to "Band of Brothers" or the "Pacific" than Pearl Harbor. Maybe if it turns out to be a turkey, Spielberg and Hanks will do a mini series for us on the AAF.

These days we are lucky that war movies are being made. In some ways, I think any war movie is good, because it keeps the history....even if it is distorted....alive. A lot of kids don't even know when WW II was, so if this gets them interested, I am all for it.

Plus, we all suffered through a lot of bad war movies from the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's, many that historically were total fiction or focused too heavily on hokey love interests.....and most of us came out of it OK.....well most of us... :shock:

The ability to replicate the battlefield has developed inline with the technology on the battlefield. I relish EVERY opportunity to see the WWII era on the big screen and see how my peers and mates respond. Captain America was not widely loved among the group of pilots I went with. I just loved it. I appreciate the movies that make the effort to acknowledge the 'main effort' of the early 40s. I am looking forward to this one purely for the cluttered aerial combat. I have read a lot of books on the AAF in the European theatre and a couple of anecdotes relating to the number of canopies of soon to be E&E experts are hard to fathom. A picture tells a 1000 words, 3D will have me speechless. I watched Tuskegee Airmen again today, and the scene where the stereotypical typecast CAPT asks for the 99th almost reeks of Hollywood; however, the flip side of the coin where the CO relays that "we were'nt assigned, we were requested intiates a lump in the throat, a battle 'fat' and cloudy eyes all at once? For me anyways...there are about three parts of Saving Private Ryan that do the same. And it is not the 'earn this' part...or the part where Ryan's three grand-daughters breasts leave, never to be seen again.. I am sure there are few out there who are sensitive to key moments in their favorite movies, speeches etc.

I, for one, can not wait.. Might even dress the part for the event? With some allies that is...otherwise I will get some looks...

Couchy

 

[Stony]

WWII was a total land, sea and air war and that's why it ended the way it did. Today's warfare is no where near that way and that's why it has and will continue to go on. As examples, the Taliban and Al Kaida know this and have not and will not fight like they did in WWII. They will continue to play the game their way and will probably win out in the end.

 

[handworn]

Looks damn impressive! We'll be able to boast about our jackets even more! And you can't just buy 'em off the rack.