Movie List - What do you think they missed?

[rv8ch]

Originally Posted by gmcjetpilot

Tom Cruise and John Travolta? Yikes. Earth Calling. They give anyone a licence.

John Travola is cool. He flies everything from ultralights to his 707. When he flies around central Florida,
where he lives, he acts just like any other pilot. Not at all pretentious. I'll bet if you met him
you'd be impressed, and like him.

[parashak]

Originally Posted by mark manda

Best movies-- Pearl Harbor Tuskegee Airmen and every James Bond movie ever made.

I can't here about the movie Pearl Harbor without:

1) Wretching for what a stinker that film was,

2) Remembering when I was working in PACFLT command center and had to call DC to tell them a Zero crashed on Ford Island. (During the movie filming) Didn't believe me at first. Everyone was OK.

[Will Womack]

I met John T a couple of times at Spruce Creek (before they kicked him out). And you are right, he was basically just another pilot. Very nice guy.

[Brian Denk]

Where else you gonna see such cool shots of Panthers in flight, on the deck, trapping, in the groove, and dropping ordnance? Bill Holden was also one of the slickets cats of his era, and a most convincing aviator in this one to boot.
No excessive sap, no far-fetched plots or smart-a$$ed grand standing (TOP GUN), but brought combat aviation down to the ground...into the mud, where many a fine aviator ended up, battling it out to the last with a revolver and a prayer. It also gave kudos to the Navy helo drivers who fished so many fliers out of the drink with entirely too little recognition. Mickey Rooney...whatta guy.

I remember seeing this one on late night TV as a kid, and it just struck me as being something truly special.

As for the remainder of my list:

Battle of Britain (Where DID they find that guy who looked so much like Galland?!) All those Spits and Hurri's in one place, in color and stereo sound....Nirvana!!!

Memphis Belle (plenty of theatrical nonsense, but awesome videography)

AIRPLANE! Can watch it again and again and not see every bit of schtick.

and....the Razzie goes to...

Pearl Harbor. That #$)#$&!! scene of nurse chick and fly-boy gettin' it on in the soft, diffused lighting of the parachute rigging hangar whilst in the midst of the nation's pending delivery into the world at war just made me want to hurl. Oh, and flying knife-edge between buildings like it's just another day at the office for our two dapper heros....well....NUTS! And, Alec Baldwin as Jimmy Doolittle?!!!??! Puhleaase!

And there you have it. My report from the red carpet. Stained with 100LL and Aeroshell, of course.

[pauldan181]

633 Squadron (1964)

Despite some crummy models doing some of the scenes, still pretty good.

For those of you who missed Oshkosh in the mid 90's, the sound of two
merlins in sync doing high speed passes cannot be described. I believe
that Mosquito is now permanently in the museum.

Paul Danclovic
Carver MN
RV-8A

[Harvey]

G'day -

thought I'd add a few to the list :

High Road to China
Spirit of St. Louis
Always
Air America
Catch 22
Tora Tora Tora

and a recent one on the Czech 'Battle of Brittain' pilots, that is superb -

Dark Blue World

Cheers

Martin in Oz

[Rick6a]

Originally Posted by Harvey

.....thought I'd add a few to the list......Dark Blue World
Martin in Oz

I'm glad someone thought to include "Dark Blue World." This film can serve as a helpful primer to historical fact relating to Czech involvement in the allied war effort during WWII. And that effort was heroic indeed. The production values and especially the cinematography of this Czech produced film are every bit as good as anything American audiences are accustomed to. Occasionally, English is spoken but for the most part, one must adapt to subtitles unless of course you happen to speak Czech. Some details were noted by this viewer for the first time, such as the distinctive thud of landing gear doors slamming shut on a departing Spitfire, even a tail wheel casually rotating about its axis upon a grassy landing. From an action point of view, the flying sequences were excellent and the Spitfires were plentiful. But to me, the real draw came to be the bonding of men in perilous times, and for the Czech pilots who fought with the RAF in WW11, I learned this process did not realize full closure until the early 1990's.

Thanks for the reminder.

Rick Galati RV-6A "Darla"

[Bob Axsom]

This is kinda fun picking back over my memories before television, etc. for aviation movies that really got my attention (it didn't take much). I recall one that concerned a fellow named Montgomery that was a deeply serious story dating before the Wright brother's success. I believe it took place in San Diego; I believe Montgomery field is named after him and I think there is a monument to him on a low hill in a small park on the way south toward Mexico. I think the movie was called Gallant Journey. Anyway it was not your average slam bang war movie but a movie about one man's struggle to unlock the secrets of flight. The guys in San Diego probably know all about this man and the history, all I know is the movie impressed me so much that all these years later I still feel the emotion of flight that it conveyed even though the details have faded from my mind.

Bob Axsom

[jdmunzell]

Originally Posted by N916K

....And One Six Right, another movie I wanted to like. I got on the mailing list early on and got a copy as soon as them came out. Sorry, but it didn't even come close to living up to the hype. I think there were more airplane shots in the preview than in the film. If I wanted to see an AOPA "Save Our Airport" movie, I'd read their magazine.

I think I'll stick to the stories my grandfather tells about flying P47's in the Pacific during WWII and only rely on Hollywood to blow up cars midair, not fly airplanes.

...yes, you are right about the obvious tone of AOPA trying to make a pitch to the public about saving the local airport, but I still enjoyed it. I think the part I liked the most was when they interviewed the retired airline pilot who was trying to don his old leather flying helmet and googles, and had a bit of a time doing it. Then there was the flashback scene( old movie clip) of him wearing that helmet as a teenager having just first soloed. It was real and I really liked that!

My personal favorite was "The Great Waldo Pepper" ! ...talk about a Walter Mitty fantasy! ..if only I could make a living doing that..

As far as listening to your grandfather tell stories about his P-47 days,...that is priceless and far better than anything Hollywood could possibly come up with. Those folks are a national treasure (anyone of the "greatest generation") , and I am a total captive audience anytime any of those folks speak of the old days. We are losing them quickly these days, so any opportunity to listen to them and talk to them I see as a privledge.

Jeff
-8 wings

[mgomez]

Good call on "Dark Blue World"

I'd add:

"Piece of Cake" (a miniseries, but think of it as a better "Battle of Britain", available on DVD)

"Twelve O'Clock High"

"Baa Baa Blacksheep", a lousy movie but with good Corsair footage