|
|
Post by phil82 on Dec 12, 2007 14:38:56 GMT 12
This ought to stir a few brain cells! Which, in your opinions, are the very best and very worst aviation-themed films you've ever seen? Without a doubt, for me, the best is"The Battle of Britain", with or without Susannah York in her frilly knickers, . The film is accurate, well-filmed, superb flying scenes, and great music. When it was shown in Wellington, they still played "God Save The Queen" before the film, any film, started, and most people stood up!
The absolute worst would be 'Pearl Harbour', which is complete, unadulterated, Hollywood crap. When you see films like that you wonder at just who the audience it was aimed at are.
'Top Gun "wouldn't be far behind in the rubbish truck.IMHO
In the 'Pearl Harbour" , Rafe is assigned/posted to an RAF Eagle Squadron prior to USA involvement in WW II by order of Jimmy Doolittle. That, of course would have been impossible.In reality, active duty personnel could not be assigned to serve with a belligerent nation while the US was neutral. He also turns up for duty in England wearing US uniform which again couldn't have happened because the US wasn't in the war in 1940. There were other huge mistakes, but I guess it was designed to show the audience how America won the war, including the Battle of Britain! Absolute rubbish of a movie.
In 'Top Gun' there were numerous scenes of Sidewinder launches from the deadly "blue tube' which in real life was a Sidewinder simulator which couldn't be launched of course. The Sidewinder firings were from other film.
During the briefing before the final scene, the Captain says, "The Migs carry the Exocet missile. They can fire that missile from a hundred miles away", which was true except the Exocet had a range of only 40 miles! Had they fired it from 100 miles out, it would have run out of zoom sixty miles short!
Tom Cruise is a dwarf, and that seduction scene would have had her feet extending way past his! Not a lot of people know that......
|
|
|
|
Post by flyjoe180 on Dec 12, 2007 14:46:30 GMT 12
Battle of Britain is the best, I agree entirely. Pearl Harbor, the biggest dissapointment this side of the moon for aviation fans. Iron Eagle is utter crap and holds the worst aviation movie prize from me.
Top Gun, however bad, is a cult movie and I can excuse bad research and acting for the flying and carrier scenes. The F14 was the only true star of that film. And to add to your Exocet comment, the MiG Beaureu uses odd numbering for designators, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, etc. MiG 28 my ar*e. Memphis Belle is another example of crappy acting and extremely poor research by those making the film, but the B17 is the star of that film too.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bruce on Dec 12, 2007 14:59:55 GMT 12
The "Iron Eagle" series were really bad. "Deep Blue sky" was excellent. Likewise "Tora Tora Tora" (how could this one and "pearl harbour" be compared!). "The Aviator" had some great flying sequences and was a great story, based on actual events. An oldie but goodie that I quite like was "Spirit of St louis" with Jimmy Stewart. It is interesting how films where aviation Enthusiast actors are involved (often real pilots) have that much more authenticity - for example the flying sequences in "Broken Arrow" with John Travolta, Top Gun with Tom Cuise, and Jimmy Stewarts aircraft movies (he did several) for example.
|
|
|
|
Post by flyjoe180 on Dec 12, 2007 15:04:55 GMT 12
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines was also a good film worthy of mention.
|
|
|
|
Post by FlyNavy on Dec 12, 2007 15:18:26 GMT 12
Most of "Top Gun" is truly cringeworthy for I hope obvious reasons, but the flying scenes are usually excellent for those times (now more than 20 years ago). I guess because these scenes are not computer generated they still look good today. I gather the "MiG28" reference in the movie was meant to explain away the US 'lookalikes'. Better than 'truckin' rubber dogdoo out of HongKong'. ;D AND "I feel the need for speed" has gotta get a prize.
|
|
|
|
Post by dav3469 on Dec 12, 2007 15:59:23 GMT 12
I take a general view that i "like" all movies with a heavy aviation theme (no matter how bad) as so few get made. ;D Having said that......in addition to those above, I like "Strategic Air Command" (Jimmy Stewart), "The High and The Mighty" (John Wayne), and the other "The Aviator" (the late Christopher Reeve-based upon the Ernest Gann book) I love to hate "Pearl Harbor" (can't say that too loud as my wife worked post production on that one  ) The first Iron Eagle no matter how bad still brings back great memories of me and my best friend with our dates at the last showing/last use of the small town, home owned cinema in my home town. It sat derelict for nearly 10 years before a community betterment group restored it to its 1940's elegance, and its once again in use! Oh, and how about "The Great Waldo Pepper"?? Great barnstorming show.... |
|
|
|
Post by stu on Dec 12, 2007 16:08:07 GMT 12
The absolute worst would be 'Pearl Harbour', which is complete, unadulterated, Hollywood crap. When you see films like that you wonder at just who the audience it was aimed at are. Pearl Harbour, proof that a big budget does not necessarily make a good film ("but it's a love story and doesn't have to be historically accurate" say Disney) ..... www.moviemistakes.com/printfilm964Having said that, there are a few decent flying scenes in the movie - about 3 minutes and 22 seconds worth plus the Doolittle raid .... As for a few best and worst (and I'm sure I'll think of others once I've posted this and then looked at the DVD racks in the lounge), in the worst category Pearl Harbour is a given. The Iron Eagle series hit rock bottom and started digging. Top Gun .... hmmmm .... I kind of liked and disliked that one at the same time. Best - One Six Right, Battle of Britain, Dark Blue World, Tora Tora Tora, Dambusters, 633 Squadron, Right Stuff. Considering my Pearl Harbour and Top Gun comments, there are a number of movies that would fall into the utter tripe department but still have some redeeming flying scenes in them. By way of an example, Final Countdown ("splash the Zeroes"), the chase scene with the alien ship and F/A-18 through the canyon in Independence Day and even (gasp) the first Iron Eagle movie (for some reason the use of Queens "One Vision" when the F-16 began its attack kind of worked for me). Cheers, Stu.  |
|
|
|
Post by stu on Dec 12, 2007 16:13:36 GMT 12
I love to hate "Pearl Harbor" (can't say that too loud as my wife worked post production on that one ) No disrespect to your wife's skills intended by my comments |
|
|
|
Post by yak2 on Dec 12, 2007 18:39:39 GMT 12
Twelve O'clock High is one of my favs . It has also stood the test of time as a management training film. Strategic Air Command was good value. Reach for the Sky and the Dambusters hugely enjoyable ( showing my age here) Something special about British B&W war films.Worst was Pearl Harbour. The scene where the P40 pilot is flying with a girl on his lap, speaking normally although there was a mighty Allison roaring up front. That plus the trucks managing to stay in front of the strafing Jap planes flying knife edge along streets between buildings said it all for me!
|
|
|
|
Post by FlyNavy on Dec 12, 2007 19:31:04 GMT 12
I forgot my most laughable (worst) aviation film although must admit I have not seen the most recent films (av-wise) because I try to read reviews to save dollars. ;D What's my point? Oh, "Broken Arrow" or whatever it is called was just silly beyond belief. It should have been billed as a comedy. I think John Travolta played it that way.
|
|
|
|
Post by planeimages on Dec 12, 2007 20:16:32 GMT 12
May I include "A Piece of Cake"? Yes, I know it was a TV mini series. Sure there were some beat ups but most scenarios were based on actual events and I know that the Spitfires in France should have been Hurricanes but I just loved the characterisation and the flying scenes (except for some old cuts from The Battle of Britain film).
If you forget the cringe factor in Top Gun, nothing had ever shown aircraft low-flying and operating from a carrier like that before. Funny how Air Force people still quote lines from it 20 years on.
BTW what are the first words spoken in Top Gun?
If you look at TG as being a lampoon then maybe it all makes sense. The TG anthem still thunders from my stereo when I play the video. I just look the other way during the extended foreplay scene.
Dark Blue World was nice, too, once one got the gist of the story of the poor buggers interned in their own country afterwards.
Memphis Belle was entertaining. I still tell the story related in it about the downed allied pilot who progressively had to endure amputations of two arms and then a leg. The prison doctor asked him if he had any request and the Brit pilot asked for the Luftwaffe to drop his limbs over Britain on successive raids. The Germans did so for the the arms but when he asked for the leg to be similarly returned herr Doktor refused saying, "Nein, nein, vee zink you are trying to escape."
|
|
|
|
Post by b10m on Dec 15, 2007 22:32:19 GMT 12
Stu wrote from "Final Countdown"
("splash the Zeroes"),
or how about "Boogies are low and slow"
|
|
|
|
Post by rotoruian on Dec 17, 2007 16:33:38 GMT 12
Best: Strategic Air Command
Worst: Broken Arrow
|
|
|
|
Post by turboNZ on Dec 17, 2007 20:29:00 GMT 12
Another one worthy of mention in the good books is "Always".
I mean, who could forget that opening sequence with the Catalina fire-bomber picking up water from the lake with those 2 dozy fisherman in it's path !!
Lots of radial engined beautys !!
Other good ones: Love Dark Blue World, Strategic Air Command, even Air America ain't too bad.
Bad: Pearl Harbour, Iron Eagle sequels...I think they've all been mentioned here.
|
|
|
|
Post by alanw on Dec 17, 2007 23:24:32 GMT 12
Best Movies
Battle of Britain, Tora Tora Tora, Magnificent men, Blue Max,
Dive Bomber (real oldy), 633 Sqn, Damn Busters and Spitfire.
One I really do like is the Battle of Midway... It has lets say the right story just wrong aircraft (including a snap shot of a C 130...)
Top Gun: Great action shots (especially the F 14/A4 ACM shots, as said before cat shots), the MIGs well... glorified F 5's, hey it was the US Navy's poster movie to recruit.
Bad movies: Pearl harbor while US citizens served in the RAF during the BoB, the Eagle sqn came later. Cannon armed spits, 19 Sqn had them for about 2 months then traded them in for the eight gun .303 type, next Sqn to fly cannon armed was 92 Sqn after the BoB was over (Nov 1940)
The use of the fighter pilots to fly the Mitchell raid, only bomber pilots were selected by Billy Mitchell none were fighter pilots as in movie
|
|
) 
