Flyboys

[Thrawn]

In the commentary they said the Germans all fly the same model and colour of plane for easy recognition (as being the enemy) by the audience during the very fast and chaotic dogfights.

[Angus]

Thought it was ok. The love story....well..no Kate Beckinsale, but that was the best part in Pearl Harbour!
Want a good airfight movie? Look up the thread about "Dark Blue World" on the O'club. Definately worth watching, - however the movie rotates around a - love story.

[Mark Luper]

Originally posted by dynamt
How many here have seen Hells Angels?

I havn't but would really like to. One day I will just have to purchase it.

Mark

[DREDIOCK]

Picked this movie up last night for the hell of it..
And cause my daughter wanted me to take her to see it in the movies and I didnt.

Gotta say I was skeptical about this flick.
But it is actually a pretty decent movie.

My ONLY real cimplaint was it seemed 80% of the germans were flying red triplanes.
But other then that. It wasnt at all bad.

Worth the $12.00 I spent on it

(I dont rent movies anymore. I just buy them outright)

[Arlo]

Originally posted by Thrawn
In the commentary they said the Germans all fly the same model and colour of plane for easy recognition (as being the enemy) by the audience during the very fast and chaotic dogfights.

Yeah ... cause the audience is "dumber" than the producers/directors. Ahem.

But it inspired me to dig out Red Baron 3d again. Damn, can't find the patch cd, though. Gonna be hell rounding all those up. Most the sites are down. Full Canvas Jacket? Anyone? Bueller? Resale?

[B@tfinkV]

the best bit in flyboys was the christian character that didnt drink singing 'onward christian soldiers' while zooming around the sky blasting jerry. and the 2nd best was the boxer almost having a fight with the seniour pilots in the mess, i thought they could have done more with that fight scene and the whole earning respect between the old and new squadrons. 1 day they are noobs the next day they are welcome heroes, was too scripted. they should have focused more on the bond and arguments between the highly strung and egotistical fighter aces and dumped the overused girl next door relationship. most people waching this film would be males interested in ww1 aviation and not many unlucky lady dragged to watch with them. apart from that letdown in the script i enjyed the whole experience of watching. my only other complaint is that too many planes just burst black smoke and went down, not enough random failiure in the shot at aircraft.

[Hien]

(Old thread is old, and I see some Necromancers in here~)

Ignoring that comment, I saw this movie a while ago.  I really liked it, a lot.  

Not a huge fan of the Dr. 1, personally my favorite WW1 birds are the DH-2 and any of the earlier Albatrosses...

  Good ol' Dawn Patrol (DOS is so old school for me now, played that game when I was what...?  7, 8?  Geez.) really turned me off to the Bebe, and all its ilk.  (I just don't like planes that die in a .303 snapshot)

Back on topic, like I said, I liked the movie a lot.  Only scene I couldn't stand was the final scene where he pulled out his pistol and... yeah...  Spoilers.  People who've seen it know.

Did someone actually do that?  I know they fired Rifles and whatnot at each other before they got interrupter gears... but um... wow...

[Yeager]

I was down on the trailer, but I really enjoyed the movie.  The babe was babacious and the sound track very nicely done by Trevor Rabin.

[DREDIOCK]

Originally posted by Hien


Back on topic, like I said, I liked the movie a lot.  Only scene I couldn't stand was the final scene where he pulled out his pistol and... yeah...  Spoilers.  People who've seen it know.

Did someone actually do that?  I know they fired Rifles and whatnot at each other before they got interrupter gears... but um... wow...

Actually If memory serves correct.
thats how pilot to pilot combat started.
aircraft were primarily used for observation and planes from opposing sides would occasionally be in the same area withone another. then someone had the bright idea of taking a pistol up and shooting at the other aircraft. And the rest as they say is history.

In doing a quick search I found this

 "The aircraft of 1914 were not intended as fighters. The job for some, unlike their balloon predecessors, was to 'scout' for the enemy, a job traditionally given in the past to the cavalry. Aircraft were not limited by difficulties of terrain, and had a superior vantage point. At this stage they complemented the role of the cavalry. Most British single-seater aeroplanes were called scouts for most of the First World War. Once the target was located, two-seater aircraft maintained the contact, with the passenger or observer passing firing correction instructions back to the artillery, superseding but not replacing the balloon. They were ideal for a campaign of manoeuvre.

The problem with most of these aircraft was that they were under-powered and under-developed, which meant that they had problems lifting any sort of weight or payload - including the pilot! Their rate of climb was lamentable, and their loiter time (the length of time an aircraft can stay in an operational area once airborne) limited. The two-seaters in particular were designed for stability, to allow ground observation. The standard RFC aircraft in 1914, the BE 2, was so stable that it could not be manoeuvred quickly at all, and later proved to be the airborne equivalent of a 'sitting duck'.
In the first few weeks of World War I there was still no desire to fight in the air. Opponents waved chivalrously at each other in passing. Just being airborne was dangerous enough - but it would soon become more so.
 It may have started with a shaking of fists, but soon opposing airmen started to devise ways of limiting the enemy's activities. Due to weight restrictions only pistols, rifles and shotguns were used initially, with little effect, although there were stories about airmen (RJF Barton of the RFC and Felix Brocord of the French Air Service) shooting down German aircraft with pistols. Other offensive projectiles at this time included bricks, flechettes (heavy steel darts), hand grenades, and grappling hooks."

Early Air to Air Combat

[Masherbrum]

I haven't seen this at all.    I have some left over on a BB giftcard.    I'll get it.

[DREDIOCK]

Originally posted by B@tfinkV
the best bit in flyboys was the christian character that didnt drink singing 'onward christian soldiers' while zooming around the sky blasting jerry. and the 2nd best was the boxer almost having a fight with the seniour pilots in the mess, i thought they could have done more with that fight scene and the whole earning respect between the old and new squadrons. 1 day they are noobs the next day they are welcome heroes, was too scripted. they should have focused more on the bond and arguments between the highly strung and egotistical fighter aces and dumped the overused girl next door relationship. most people waching this film would be males interested in ww1 aviation and not many unlucky lady dragged to watch with them. apart from that letdown in the script i enjyed the whole experience of watching. my only other complaint is that too many planes just burst black smoke and went down, not enough random failiure in the shot at aircraft.

I think the pint of them  not being welcomed was they hadnt tasted battle yet.
Once they had they had (as was stated in the movie) "lost their virginity"

remember in heavy combat. As is noted by several vets. If you survived more then 24 hours you were considered a combat vet.
As was mentioned in the movie the life expectancy was something like 20 days.
Taking that into account. One doesnt have months to "prove" themselves.

I liked the way the pilots improved as they gained experience.
Reminded me alot of the Newbs in the game and how they get better.
At first their SA is horrible and the moved they use are limited. then as they get better their Sa improves as well as their tactics.

Actually there was alot in the movie that reminded me of AH.
Including "The Black Falcon" cherry picking. LOL


As for the "girl next door" relationship. As was mentioned in the movie. the woman did actually exist.  He "Went to Paris but never found her" as is mentioned in the closing of the film.

I liked the "Onward christian soldiers" bit as well

[Saxman]

The characters were loosely based on historical people, names having been changed to protect...well hell, I don't know WHY they didn't just use the historical pilots. There IS a question of how much of the "Epilogue" was also inspired by true history, however.

Example: the black pilot, Eugene Skinner, was based off the historical Eugene Bullard. Both the character and historical Bullard lived in France and spent time as boxers before enlisting. However Bullard never operated an air-mail service after the war, as the character of Skinner does in the epilogue.

Back on topic, like I said, I liked the movie a lot. Only scene I couldn't stand was the final scene where he pulled out his pistol and... yeah...

I'm pretty sure this is based off a known incident involving a pilot of the Escadrille, who's guns either jammed, or ran out of ammunition, or otherwise failed, and pulled out his revolver and just shot the German pilot. I think it may have been Frank Luke, (who Rawlings was based on) who was known as a remarkable shot.

You have to admit, tho, that was bad-ass.

[Hien]

It was pretty bad-ass, but I would have laughed harder if he had thrown a hammer at him or something.  

Which would have been equally awesome.

[Masherbrum]

I bought it today.   I was impressed, I actually liked it.   I was worried about the "love interest".    But, they did it right, not like Pearl Harbor, but just enough.  

I'm glad I bought it.   My son (6) fell asleep watching it and asked to see it "when he wasn't sleepy".  

Jean Reno was excellent as well.