Really bad film...

[Gasbag]

I don't think that I'm a particularily tough audience member. I :censored: all over Fly Boys simply because it is an awful film. The director, writer(s) & the producer(s) were just plain lazy. They didn't bother to do any real historical research (ie. all German planes being Fokker Triplanes). The research would have been relatively easy to do considering all the WW I info that's out on the web. Then there's the flight into No Man's Land stunt that was previously mentioned, the leading man's (can't remember his name now) Texan drawl that fades in & out throughout the movie, etc. What annoys me most is that these people (the film's makers) figure that your average movie goer is too stupid to notice these things & that we'll buy any nonsense that they put out. I know that there will never be a perfect war movie. Fly Boys doesn't even try to be marginal.

I didn't miss the Thin Red Line. I've got the dvd; just didn't like it very much.

[Jim von Krieg]

Any comments on "Flags of Our Fathers"? I was so excited to get it on DVD and watch it, but once I did I came away a little disappointed. It appeared to be very scattered in its presentation...

Did anyone else feel that way?... Was I expecting too much? Were my expectations too high? Or did I just have too many distractors going on as I watched it... kids... grandkid... wife... cats...

Thanks,

Jim von Krieg
Rear CP Killeen

[D-Day_Dodger]

I watched Flags of Our Fathers and was surprisingly impressed. I was expecting some kind of patriotic, recruiting film, but Clint Eastwood has produced quite a thoughtful, realistic film. Yes, the movie does jump around a bit and is best watched after the kids have gone to bed when there are no interruptions. The action scenes are very realistic and the graphics, especially the wide angle shots of the landing beaches and the supporting naval craft, are breath-taking.

What I found really surprising is that Eastwood filmed two major films about Iwo Jima, back to back. The second was Letters From Iwo Jima which many of you know is nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Representing the Japanese side of the battle and strictly in Japanese with English sub-titles, it is accalaimed by some as the best war movie ever made. As yet I haven't seen it but would love to hear from those of you who have.

[Sgt Barker]

Both Flags and Letters are good films, though I think Letters is the better of the two. They both have more "message" than, IMO, a war movie should have. At the end of the day a movie about war is pretty shallow - an adventure, emotional, scary, exciting, cool sets and gear, details of the time. Other stuff is... other stuff.

A message movie with war in it is fine too. I just don't think of it as a 'real' war movie. Both of Clint's latest are largely message movies, against the backdrop of war.

Forced to recommend or not I'd recommend both. Worth seeing on the big screen.

[jonnymacbrown]

"I :censored: all over Fly Boys simply because it is an awful film."

I saw "Fly Boys" in a fairly packed house, mostly 15-25 age bracket. I've seen some awful films but this wasn't one of them. I was disappoined that the filmakers didn't use the opportunity to accurately portray the Flying Circus, instead opting to have every Fokker Dr. III painted red except the villian's black triplane. But that's movies; the villian wears a black hat, and sneers at people, so it goes. Yes there were some superficial attemps to generate action for the 15-25 target audience but while art is nice, it needs to also pay the bills. However, there were some honest to goodness real flying Newports used in that film as well as some good computer-generated flight scenes. I'm published in film theory, not that it means anything as everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but as cinema there was some nice shots, good character development, some romance with a pretty face and some important social commentary to go along with a decent story: It was interesting to note that Afro-Americans could fly for France but not for their own counrty. Also, that fact that the 15-25 years old group which saw the film problably didn't even know that there ever was something called WWI, much less that a Lafayette Esquadrille made up of American teenagers and 20-somethings fought in it, was to me a positive influence. There have been worse films made, but as someone who knows something about WWI aircraft, seeing Handley-Page bombers in action was worth the price of admission, even if they were computer generated. von ege

[USS Wyoming]

I saw Fly Boys at the theatre when it came out an only enjoyed the CG flying scenes, which I thought were just fun. I thought it was another missed opportunity to show military history with any kind of decent storyline (no, that wasn't decent) to show the audience what the early flying corp was like. How they trained and how they survived, not so much how they died.

I hope to be posting some actual photos taken during WW1 by a friends great grandfather who was an aerial photographer in the Allied Air corps. Some amazing original photos from the air and ground in 1918. I was just giddy actually holding them tonight and giving them a quick look. They were just fantastic and I hope I can share some of the best ones with the Blitz. Don't know when.

[alpha]

I like "A Thin Red Line"...."Der schmale Grat" in Germany.. great poetic movie which males you think about humankind as a whole....great cast and sound also...

[Montana Mud]

[Gasbag]

I remember seeing that film. It starred George Dzunzda (sp?) & it was pretty good for an almost straight to video movie..

Although technically not a war film, the HBO movie Conspiracy is a must for anyone interested in the Holocaust. Stanley Tucci gives a chilling performance as Eichmann & Kenneth Branaugh (sp?) is pretty believable as Heydrich as well. It came out in 2000 or 2001 (can't remember which) so it might be hard to find now. It's worth the effort to track it down though.

[Mike Abberton]

Gasbag, I strongly second your recommendation on Conspiracy. That movie is fascinating and horrifying to hear the discussion on the means and methods of the Holocaust so calmly by so many.