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General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Tec on November 11, 2012, 12:36:31 PM

Title: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: Tec on November 11, 2012, 12:36:31 PM
So BoB is on right now, and I noticed a brief appearance by what looked like Simon Pegg, so I googled it and found this.

http://collider.com/hbo-band-of-brothers-series/204805/ (http://collider.com/hbo-band-of-brothers-series/204805/)

Nothing concrete yet, but I hope it gets done.
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: homersipes on November 11, 2012, 12:53:13 PM
would be awesome :x
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: cpxxx on November 11, 2012, 02:38:06 PM
The air war in the pacific would be a brilliant topic. Just please, please, please not too much CGI. Can we trust Tom Hanks and Spielberg?
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: GScholz on November 11, 2012, 04:21:24 PM
If done right CGI can be as good... or better, than the real thing.

Done wrong: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpA6TC0T_Lw



Done right: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNJ8rIEPLOo
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: jay on November 11, 2012, 04:24:10 PM
"The Pacific" Book had parts from aircrew in the pacific i was disappointed that its wasn't featured in the pacific
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: Selino631 on November 11, 2012, 04:51:38 PM
If done right CGI can be as good... or better, than the real thing.

Done wrong: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpA6TC0T_Lw



Done right: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNJ8rIEPLOo

that 2nd one is CGI? i can't even tell
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: GScholz on November 11, 2012, 05:29:38 PM
Yeah... Made by "Tochy". Japanese CGI artist.

Same guy who did this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=2QvNQS7HLYE
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: Grayeagle on November 12, 2012, 05:40:51 AM
Cool .. there are a lot of stories to tell and with a mini-series they could take the time to tell it right.

I would hope to see the origin of the Thatch Weave, Joe Foss' adventures, Dick Bong, Satan's Angels,
..McGuire, ..mayhap even Pappy Boytington and his Black Sheep :)
Perhaps even the aerobatic show put on by Saburo and friends over Port Moresby one fine day.

Some great stories out there.

-Frank
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: Fish42 on November 12, 2012, 06:01:17 AM
Though I love the "BoB" and "The Pacific", I hope they show some other sides to the Air war in the Pacific, not just the Americans. It was a "world" at war with people fighting and dieing from 100s of different countries.

Who here knows what the first ship was to be sunk & at what time did it sink, in the war with japan?
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: rpm on November 12, 2012, 07:26:26 AM
I have faith in Han ks and Speilberg doing an accurate depiction of whatever battles they pick to reenact. If it's a PacETO based project I'm sure the Cactus Air Force, Flying Tigers and Doolittle Raiders will be featured along with Enola Gay. There are literally too many stories of heroism to pick from.
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: BreakingBad on November 12, 2012, 02:34:44 PM
Problem as I see it is it's hard to really depict aerial combat, mostly because people don't understand flying much less tactics involved with dog fighting.  That’s why we mostly get shots of the pilot grimacing with over exaggerated control movements (Pearl Harbor) or pulling the air brake (Top Gun..<chuckles>).

If anyone could pull it off though, it would be Spielberg.
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: Fish42 on November 12, 2012, 04:14:25 PM
Problem as I see it is it's hard to really depict aerial combat, mostly because people don't understand flying much less tactics involved with dog fighting. 

I found the 2012 movie "Fortress" was pretty good in the way the showed the dogfights and the damage from different weapons. A 20mm leaves a bigger hole then the 303s etc. unlike Redtails where their 262s where armed with 7.7mm from the hits the ponys took  :rolleyes:

All this on a much smaller budget as you can see by the CGI.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRjhgTqOuU4
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: Ack-Ack on November 12, 2012, 07:33:36 PM
I have faith in Han ks and Speilberg doing an accurate depiction of whatever battles they pick to reenact. If it's a PacETO based project I'm sure the Cactus Air Force, Flying Tigers and Doolittle Raiders will be featured along with Enola Gay. There are literally too many stories of heroism to pick from.

Personally, if this mini-series sees the light of day I hope it would focus on the Southwest Pacific area of operations. 

ack-ack
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: titanic3 on November 13, 2012, 08:41:13 AM
I'm more interested in a war movie from an Axis soldier's point of view. Letters From Iwo Jima did a nice job of it.
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: Devil 505 on November 13, 2012, 09:17:45 AM
I'm more interested in a war movie from an Axis soldier's point of view. Letters From Iwo Jima did a nice job of it.
Very much doubt we'll ever see a film where common German soldiers would be portrayed as honorable and not as Nazi's. It's a real shame that political correctness so heavily outweighs historical accuracy. I'm afraid that Valkyrie, (which is very good) is as close as we're likely to get.
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: titanic3 on November 13, 2012, 09:27:17 AM
Very much doubt we'll ever see a film where common German soldiers would be portrayed as honorable and not as Nazi's. It's a real shame that political correctness so heavily outweighs historical accuracy. I'm afraid that Valkyrie, (which is very good) is as close as we're likely to get.

Could be both. An honorable soldier among a group of "Nazis". Same for Japanese troops. There were stories of good Axis soldiers smuggling food for POWs or those who were forced to join the army. The movie could depict their hardship and what not. I think the reason why there aren't a lot of movies from an Axis's soldier POV is because there isnt as much info available.

The "good" Axis soldiers tended to keep their acts a secret while the Allies spread their "good" soldiers all over the media.
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: SKJohn on November 14, 2012, 05:49:56 PM
Though I love the "BoB" and "The Pacific", I hope they show some other sides to the Air war in the Pacific, not just the Americans. It was a "world" at war with people fighting and dieing from 100s of different countries.

Who here knows what the first ship was to be sunk & at what time did it sink, in the war with japan?



Was it the Japanese Mini-Sub sunk by the USS Ward outside Pearl Harbor?
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: SKJohn on November 14, 2012, 05:53:27 PM
I have faith in Han ks and Speilberg doing an accurate depiction of whatever battles they pick to reenact. If it's a PacETO based project I'm sure the Cactus Air Force, Flying Tigers and Doolittle Raiders will be featured along with Enola Gay. There are literally too many stories of heroism to pick from.

The Doolittle raid has already been very accurately depicted in the 2nd half of the movie "Pearl Harbor"! :bolt:
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: GScholz on November 14, 2012, 06:36:23 PM
I'm more interested in a war movie from an Axis soldier's point of view. Letters From Iwo Jima did a nice job of it.

Very much doubt we'll ever see a film where common German soldiers would be portrayed as honorable and not as Nazi's. It's a real shame that political correctness so heavily outweighs historical accuracy. I'm afraid that Valkyrie, (which is very good) is as close as we're likely to get.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6thQKSNBSo

Recommended.
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: Kenne on November 14, 2012, 07:52:12 PM
Very much doubt we'll ever see a film where common German soldiers would be portrayed as honorable and not as Nazi's. It's a real shame that political correctness so heavily outweighs historical accuracy. I'm afraid that Valkyrie, (which is very good) is as close as we're likely to get.

are you saying the Japanese are honorable?
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: clerick on November 14, 2012, 08:57:22 PM
Very much doubt we'll ever see a film where common German soldiers would be portrayed as honorable and not as Nazi's. It's a real shame that political correctness so heavily outweighs historical accuracy. I'm afraid that Valkyrie, (which is very good) is as close as we're likely to get.

"A Midnight Clear" was a great book as well as a movie. It does exactly this. ^^^
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: titanic3 on November 14, 2012, 09:03:08 PM
"A Midnight Clear" was a great book as well as a movie. It does exactly this. ^^^


The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer was a very good read too. Currently working on With the Old Breed buy Eugene Sledge.
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: Devil 505 on November 14, 2012, 11:49:05 PM
are you saying the Japanese are honorable?
Are you saying that they're not? Because it sure seems that way to me by your statement. That's the point that I'm trying to make. The stereotype that all Japanese soldiers were mindless killers driven by the "Bushido Code" has more or less diminished, to the point that "Letters from Iwo Jima" could be made into a film. The protagonist was portrayed as "honorable" in the sense that he did his duty for his country, and did what it took to survive to return to his family. "Letters" is a poignant reminder that war is hell for friend and foe alike, and that honor can be achieved in both victory or defeat.

Conversely, the only current historical films that focus on the German experience were "Downfall", which shows a paranoid and delusional Hitler running Germany into ruin (which he was and did) from his bunker, and "Valkyrie", which follows members of the the German High Command who plotted to assassinate Hitler and end the war. Neither of these gives the experience of the troops at the front, who faced enemies that had better equipment and more of it. There is plenty of material from the war for dramatic tragedy, but the predominate stereotype is "all Germans are bad because of the Holocaust" and they are portrayed accordingly. As long as that stigma remains, there won't be Hollywood productions where common German soldiers are the protagonists and portrayed as honorable men.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6thQKSNBSo

Recommended.
Noted. But remember, my original post was about political correctness in Hollywood productions. Stalingrad was produced in Germany, as was "Das Boot".

"A Midnight Clear" was a great book as well as a movie. It does exactly this. ^^^
Looks good, I'll have to check it out. Please note though, that this film is not from the German perspective, which was part of the point I was making.
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: GScholz on November 15, 2012, 06:56:31 AM
There's always the Sven Hassel classic "Wheels of Terror" ("The Misfit Brigade") from 1987:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SznzeEjMmM0
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: GScholz on November 15, 2012, 07:09:46 AM
Oh and "Cross of Iron" from 1977 with James Coburn as Corporal Steiner:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd20mV0ydFw
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: GScholz on November 15, 2012, 07:17:13 AM
"The Eagle Has Landed" is more of a spy thriller, but also deserves to be mentioned:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddNYvUVCpjI
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: Grayeagle on November 15, 2012, 07:26:41 AM
You know .. with a bit of research a decent writer could craft a story of the German (or Japanese) kid who just plain got sucked into flying in the late '30's for their armed forces..
..and combine bits of all the great stories into one man's coming of age during the air war of WW2..

..would be a great story if done well ..bettin JJ (one of the FUBAR, Golden Sheep Award winner at the AW Con)
.. could do a great one .. unfortunately haven't heard from him in a long time.

-Frank aka GE
 Damned Lifetime member
 FUBAR
 Aggressors
 ..and Fencedweebs 'Warthogs', I have zero tolerance for jerks -shrug-
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: Golfer on November 15, 2012, 02:35:42 PM
are you saying the Japanese are honorable?


Read Flyboys by James Bradley.
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: Guppy35 on November 15, 2012, 03:11:02 PM
I'd think if you were going to make a series about the airwar similar to Band of Brothers, you'd probably need do do it with a bomber crew and possibly a bomber squadron.  And if you are going to get folks to watch it consistently beyond the history buffs, you'd probably need to make it and ETO based 8th AF bunch.

Using the 447th BG as an example that trained in 43, and got to England at the end of 43.  Flew their first missions in 44 before the escorts and kept going until May of 45.

Episode 1-Coming together:  The crews are assigned and start their training at the stateside base in Nebraska.  Get to know a few of the crews well, understand the role each plays etc.  Deal with the relationships with family, get to know a couple ground crews, how the crews see themselves prior to combat, goodbyes as they leave for the flight over, and show a bit of what the flights were like as they flew the northern route to England.

Episode 2-England.  Getting to their base, meeting the Brits, initial training and orientation to the conditions in the ETO, maybe a first loss in training so death is up close but not combat.  Finish up with the briefing for their first combat mission.

Episode 3-First Combat-A chance to go further into how it was forming up over England, as it could be chaos.  Maybe a run to a shorter target in France and possibly seeing their first combat loss.

-Episode 4-The Grind.  Mission after mission.  Show the consistant losses, wear and tear on the crews, the ground crews, the planes etc.  Have the viewer just as tired at the end of watching it as the crews.  maybe have a crew have to go into the Channel and introduce the air sea rescue stuff.

-Episode 5-Flak Happy-Time to send a crew or two to the Flak Shack or off to explore England on Leave.  Time for the wartime love interests, meeting the locals, exploring how each man dealt with the effects of combat, how it impacted on different crews.

-Episode 6-Escorts-Time to introduce the fighter boys a bit, both the RAF and USAAF.  Maybe someone's brother is with the 8th Fighter Command.  Show how the escorts impacted on the missions for the bomber guys.

-Episode 7-Shot Down!-Focus on one mission and a crew that doesn't come back.  Since often crews didn't all survive it can deal with the impact back home as well as introduce the notion of being a Prisoner of War and how the folks in occupied Europe either tried to help or abused American airmen.  Could be someone gets home via the underground, while someone gets lynched by a mob as well as some being POWs

-Episode 8-POW- Self explanatory.  Follow some of the POW airmen through their interrogation to the POW camp and what life was like.  Steal a bit from 12 O'Clock High and connect it to the still flying crews by having a mission flying over the POW camp and the view from above and below.

-Episode 9-Final mission-another one that's fairly obvious.  The stress increases as they get closer to finishing their tour.  Show a crew's final mission and their reactions.  Going home?  Signing up for a second tour.

-Episode 10-Home!  Seems clear.  Getting home, dealing with the relationships back home again after everything that's happened.  A bit of "Best Years of our Lives" condensed.

-Episode 11-Who they were-Similar to the Documentary bit from Band of Brothers.   
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: Banshee7 on November 15, 2012, 04:11:38 PM
I'd think if you were going to make a series about the airwar similar to Band of Brothers, you'd probably need do do it with a bomber crew and possibly a bomber squadron.  And if you are going to get folks to watch it consistently beyond the history buffs, you'd probably need to make it and ETO based 8th AF bunch.

Using the 447th BG as an example that trained in 43, and got to England at the end of 43.  Flew their first missions in 44 before the escorts and kept going until May of 45.

Episode 1-Coming together:  The crews are assigned and start their training at the stateside base in Nebraska.  Get to know a few of the crews well, understand the role each plays etc.  Deal with the relationships with family, get to know a couple ground crews, how the crews see themselves prior to combat, goodbyes as they leave for the flight over, and show a bit of what the flights were like as they flew the northern route to England.

Episode 2-England.  Getting to their base, meeting the Brits, initial training and orientation to the conditions in the ETO, maybe a first loss in training so death is up close but not combat.  Finish up with the briefing for their first combat mission.

Episode 3-First Combat-A chance to go further into how it was forming up over England, as it could be chaos.  Maybe a run to a shorter target in France and possibly seeing their first combat loss.

-Episode 4-The Grind.  Mission after mission.  Show the consistant losses, wear and tear on the crews, the ground crews, the planes etc.  Have the viewer just as tired at the end of watching it as the crews.  maybe have a crew have to go into the Channel and introduce the air sea rescue stuff.

-Episode 5-Flak Happy-Time to send a crew or two to the Flak Shack or off to explore England on Leave.  Time for the wartime love interests, meeting the locals, exploring how each man dealt with the effects of combat, how it impacted on different crews.

-Episode 6-Escorts-Time to introduce the fighter boys a bit, both the RAF and USAAF.  Maybe someone's brother is with the 8th Fighter Command.  Show how the escorts impacted on the missions for the bomber guys.

-Episode 7-Shot Down!-Focus on one mission and a crew that doesn't come back.  Since often crews didn't all survive it can deal with the impact back home as well as introduce the notion of being a Prisoner of War and how the folks in occupied Europe either tried to help or abused American airmen.  Could be someone gets home via the underground, while someone gets lynched by a mob as well as some being POWs

-Episode 8-POW- Self explanatory.  Follow some of the POW airmen through their interrogation to the POW camp and what life was like.  Steal a bit from 12 O'Clock High and connect it to the still flying crews by having a mission flying over the POW camp and the view from above and below.

-Episode 9-Final mission-another one that's fairly obvious.  The stress increases as they get closer to finishing their tour.  Show a crew's final mission and their reactions.  Going home?  Signing up for a second tour.

-Episode 10-Home!  Seems clear.  Getting home, dealing with the relationships back home again after everything that's happened.  A bit of "Best Years of our Lives" condensed.

-Episode 11-Who they were-Similar to the Documentary bit from Band of Brothers.   

You're hired...get to writing, Dan! lol

#S#



Josh
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: Devil 505 on November 15, 2012, 04:48:55 PM
You're hired...get to writing, Dan! lol
Indeed. I expect the script fot the pilot episode in 2 weeks.  :devil
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: BFOOT1 on November 15, 2012, 05:48:26 PM
I'd think if you were going to make a series about the airwar similar to Band of Brothers, you'd probably need do do it with a bomber crew and possibly a bomber squadron.  And if you are going to get folks to watch it consistently beyond the history buffs, you'd probably need to make it and ETO based 8th AF bunch.

Using the 447th BG as an example that trained in 43, and got to England at the end of 43.  Flew their first missions in 44 before the escorts and kept going until May of 45.

Episode 1-Coming together:  The crews are assigned and start their training at the stateside base in Nebraska.  Get to know a few of the crews well, understand the role each plays etc.  Deal with the relationships with family, get to know a couple ground crews, how the crews see themselves prior to combat, goodbyes as they leave for the flight over, and show a bit of what the flights were like as they flew the northern route to England.

Episode 2-England.  Getting to their base, meeting the Brits, initial training and orientation to the conditions in the ETO, maybe a first loss in training so death is up close but not combat.  Finish up with the briefing for their first combat mission.

Episode 3-First Combat-A chance to go further into how it was forming up over England, as it could be chaos.  Maybe a run to a shorter target in France and possibly seeing their first combat loss.

-Episode 4-The Grind.  Mission after mission.  Show the consistant losses, wear and tear on the crews, the ground crews, the planes etc.  Have the viewer just as tired at the end of watching it as the crews.  maybe have a crew have to go into the Channel and introduce the air sea rescue stuff.

-Episode 5-Flak Happy-Time to send a crew or two to the Flak Shack or off to explore England on Leave.  Time for the wartime love interests, meeting the locals, exploring how each man dealt with the effects of combat, how it impacted on different crews.

-Episode 6-Escorts-Time to introduce the fighter boys a bit, both the RAF and USAAF.  Maybe someone's brother is with the 8th Fighter Command.  Show how the escorts impacted on the missions for the bomber guys.

-Episode 7-Shot Down!-Focus on one mission and a crew that doesn't come back.  Since often crews didn't all survive it can deal with the impact back home as well as introduce the notion of being a Prisoner of War and how the folks in occupied Europe either tried to help or abused American airmen.  Could be someone gets home via the underground, while someone gets lynched by a mob as well as some being POWs

-Episode 8-POW- Self explanatory.  Follow some of the POW airmen through their interrogation to the POW camp and what life was like.  Steal a bit from 12 O'Clock High and connect it to the still flying crews by having a mission flying over the POW camp and the view from above and below.

-Episode 9-Final mission-another one that's fairly obvious.  The stress increases as they get closer to finishing their tour.  Show a crew's final mission and their reactions.  Going home?  Signing up for a second tour.

-Episode 10-Home!  Seems clear.  Getting home, dealing with the relationships back home again after everything that's happened.  A bit of "Best Years of our Lives" condensed.

-Episode 11-Who they were-Similar to the Documentary bit from Band of Brothers.   

Dan I'd gladly help with the fighter script  :aok you know what I'm talking about  :D
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: Ack-Ack on November 15, 2012, 05:54:35 PM
"The Eagle Has Landed" is more of a spy thriller, but also deserves to be mentioned:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddNYvUVCpjI

It's a theme in all Jack Higgin's WW2 thrillers, there is always a sympathetic, honorable German and in the Eagles Has Landed novel/film a squad of them.

ack-ack
Title: Re: Band of Brothers - In the air war???
Post by: Guppy35 on November 15, 2012, 09:19:03 PM
You're hired...get to writing, Dan! lol

#S#



Josh

Close as I'll ever get.  15th AF B24 Crew.  An old Airwarrior buddy put it on his website.  Lived and breathed those guys for a bit.

http://www.worldwar2pilots.net/b24intro.htm

http://www.worldwar2pilots.net/b24chapt00.htm