Okay. I saw Red Tails today. George Lucas, aka Papa Jedi, has been trying to make this film forever, and here’s my review, as promised. First, a bit of background for all my SOH friends. When I was in grad school I was part of a roundtable with author Marge Piercy, who’d just published a novel taking place during WWII. She explained to the class the necessity of knowing things like basic aerodynamics, ammo load and combat radius. One of my classmates, who had a streak of the contrarian in her, asked "Who would know all that?" Myself, not having yet become the shrinking violet I am today immediately said, "The thousands o active duty and retired military, aviation enthusiasts, and history buffs who are going to be the core audience of her novel." I had to stop myself before I went into the development of the P-51 Mustang and its mating with the Rolls-Royce Merlin. I did understand the class was about Ms. Piercy and not me, but I think you can guess by now where I’m going with this. Ms. Piercy obviously felt in order to be considered credible, she needed to get the details as close to correct as she could without turning her novel into a tech manual, but the same cannot always be said of some very famous moviemakers, and it drives, well, people who frequent flightsim/aviation sites crazy. Me, I had a heart attack some years back, so I simply cannot get upset over every inaccuracy.
I have one of the real Tuskegee Airmen on VHS commenting on the historicity of the 1995 HBO film, The Tuskegee Airmen. Once upon a time, before the History Channel was overrun by documentaries on ancient astronauts, they would show movies containing actual historical content, featuring interviews with living participants during the intermissions, and this was such an occasion. The Airman generally approved of the film but gave a few examples of some things that were historically inaccurate, such as the film showing the 99[SUP]th[/SUP] being equipped with P-51s from the very beginning of their combat tour, rather than transitioning from the P-40, and P-47 and then the Mustang, and that they never attacked with drop tanks still attached to their aircraft. He then went on to say that his daughter had asked him, "Who would know all that other than you guys?" which was the same question my friend had asked Marge Piercy. I mention all this to illustrate the great divide between those who have a deeply invested area of interest and those who do not share that interest.
All that being said, Red Tails is a very old-fashioned movie, with a good deal of sentiment, and religiosity. It reminded me very much of Flying Leathernecks, with Cuba Gooding Jr playing the John Wayne role. At the beginning of the film the screen displays "Based on Real Events" in that blue Lucasfilm Star Wars font so as to inform the audience they’re not going to be seeing a straight-up documentary. The names of the principal officers in the 332[SUP]nd[/SUP] are altered. The CO, played by Terence Howard, is called Col. Bullard, instead of the real Benjamin O. Davis Jr, in what I’m guessing is a nod to famous WWI aviator Eugene Bullard, and Gooding’s Major appears to be based primarily upon George S. "Spanky" Roberts. The Luftwaffe pilots are as scowling and scar-faced as they would have been in the movie matinees Papa Jedi grew up watching. One of them actually says, "Die, foolish African." I don’t know, maybe German pilots facing the 332[SUP]nd[/SUP] in combat actually talked like this. The Luftwaffe are portrayed as competent fliers, however, and it’s worth remembering that the Nazi regime was fighting a race war, where it was no longer enough to be white; one now had to be ultra-white. I’ve read as much of Mein Kampf as I can get through, and it’s like trying to breath vaseline.
Racism is depicted in the movie, some of it especially ugly. According to my uncles’ recollections of the period it could have been much more so and been completely accurate, but as George Lucas said on Jon Stewart: "This is not a movie about victims; it’s about heroes." The film faithfully depicts what the Tuskegee Airmen were up against even getting into combat. Some of their staunchest enemies wore American uniforms, and the 332nd’s CO spends a fair amount of screen time fighting bureaucratic battles even as his men are fighting the Germans. The racial incident I expected to see was not depicted, which was interesting to me personally because IMO our current psychopathia does not agree on what constitutes racism. Some Americans see racism everywhere, and I do mean everywhere, while others prefer not to perceive it at all, becoming hostile whenever it’s mentioned. At the risk of sounding like Brother Cavil here, I see this selective hearing, eyesight, and recall as a uniquely human characteristic. Maybe salamanders, barn owls, and Northern Pike can do it too, but if so, I’m unaware of it. A lot of people still have trouble dealing with the fact that the same man who wrote the words, "All Men Are Created Equal" not only owned slaves, but believed dark skin originated with a virulent, and somehow congenital, form of leprosy. Some of us don’t really like our history to have facets; people are supposed to be angels or devils. I suspect most of people are a bit of both. Something I’ve observed firsthand is once a person adopts a world-view and identifies it as Self, it can be a very hard thing with which to compromise. I thought this was very well portrayed in a scene where the Red Tails receive a limited acceptance from some of the Caucasian pilots. Seeing these Terror of the Skies types waiting for the other foot to drop was almost as tense as the aerial combat. At the end of this particular scene is a brief preview of the 21[SUP]st[/SUP] Century. "We say ‘Colored’ and you get upset. What are we supposed to call you guys?"
The CGI was much MUCH better than I expected from viewing the previews. There was a bit of Return of the Jedi going on in the aerial scenes but most of them were kosher, at least to my eye. It’s obvious from the Star Wars and American Graffiti movies that George Lucas has a love of velocity. There’s one huge exception to the general aerodynamic credibility: a Red Tail copies a maneuver from a Luftwaffe pilot that would have torn apart a Mustang or P-40, and especially the 109 in which it’s originally performed. SOH members will know exactly what I’m talking about the instant they see it. On the whole, however, I was pleasantly surprised. Several of the incidents occurring in the film are composites, meaning something like them actually happened, but the incidents are strung together in the what I assume was in the interest of screen time. This film could have been much longer than it was, and I’m already hearing gossip about a prequel, if Red Tails proves a commercial success.
There’s a good deal of conversation on this forum about Hollywood stereotypes, and this film has its share. Members who’ve seen Top Gun, Flying Leathernecks, or watched Black Sheep Squadron on TV, and you know you all did, will recognize them immediately. 30 minutes in you’ll suspect who’s going to live, who’s going to die, and who’s going to be captured by the Germans, and your suspicions will probably be accurate. There’s the hot-dog Maverick-type who falls in love with the pretty local girl; in a relationship that would have been potentially lethal back in 1940s America. There’s the section leader who drinks too much. There’s the young pilot who really shouldn’t be flying, and there are several paternalistic commanding officers. I’ve given some thought to the perseverance of these archetypes (stereotypes?). Some of them are there because this is what Hollywood believes the audience wants, but some of them are also accurate. Gregory Boyington was a notorious binge-drinker, and also a great fighter pilot. My own family has every ethnic group you can possibly imagine married in to it, largely because of military service.
I'll definitely be wanting this movie when it comes out on DVD, although apart from the production values I really don’t think it’s any better than the HBO movie dealing with the same subject matter. I have a good deal more to say, but want to wait until more of you have seen it. Hope I wasn’t too windy.
JAMES
I have one of the real Tuskegee Airmen on VHS commenting on the historicity of the 1995 HBO film, The Tuskegee Airmen. Once upon a time, before the History Channel was overrun by documentaries on ancient astronauts, they would show movies containing actual historical content, featuring interviews with living participants during the intermissions, and this was such an occasion. The Airman generally approved of the film but gave a few examples of some things that were historically inaccurate, such as the film showing the 99[SUP]th[/SUP] being equipped with P-51s from the very beginning of their combat tour, rather than transitioning from the P-40, and P-47 and then the Mustang, and that they never attacked with drop tanks still attached to their aircraft. He then went on to say that his daughter had asked him, "Who would know all that other than you guys?" which was the same question my friend had asked Marge Piercy. I mention all this to illustrate the great divide between those who have a deeply invested area of interest and those who do not share that interest.
All that being said, Red Tails is a very old-fashioned movie, with a good deal of sentiment, and religiosity. It reminded me very much of Flying Leathernecks, with Cuba Gooding Jr playing the John Wayne role. At the beginning of the film the screen displays "Based on Real Events" in that blue Lucasfilm Star Wars font so as to inform the audience they’re not going to be seeing a straight-up documentary. The names of the principal officers in the 332[SUP]nd[/SUP] are altered. The CO, played by Terence Howard, is called Col. Bullard, instead of the real Benjamin O. Davis Jr, in what I’m guessing is a nod to famous WWI aviator Eugene Bullard, and Gooding’s Major appears to be based primarily upon George S. "Spanky" Roberts. The Luftwaffe pilots are as scowling and scar-faced as they would have been in the movie matinees Papa Jedi grew up watching. One of them actually says, "Die, foolish African." I don’t know, maybe German pilots facing the 332[SUP]nd[/SUP] in combat actually talked like this. The Luftwaffe are portrayed as competent fliers, however, and it’s worth remembering that the Nazi regime was fighting a race war, where it was no longer enough to be white; one now had to be ultra-white. I’ve read as much of Mein Kampf as I can get through, and it’s like trying to breath vaseline.
Racism is depicted in the movie, some of it especially ugly. According to my uncles’ recollections of the period it could have been much more so and been completely accurate, but as George Lucas said on Jon Stewart: "This is not a movie about victims; it’s about heroes." The film faithfully depicts what the Tuskegee Airmen were up against even getting into combat. Some of their staunchest enemies wore American uniforms, and the 332nd’s CO spends a fair amount of screen time fighting bureaucratic battles even as his men are fighting the Germans. The racial incident I expected to see was not depicted, which was interesting to me personally because IMO our current psychopathia does not agree on what constitutes racism. Some Americans see racism everywhere, and I do mean everywhere, while others prefer not to perceive it at all, becoming hostile whenever it’s mentioned. At the risk of sounding like Brother Cavil here, I see this selective hearing, eyesight, and recall as a uniquely human characteristic. Maybe salamanders, barn owls, and Northern Pike can do it too, but if so, I’m unaware of it. A lot of people still have trouble dealing with the fact that the same man who wrote the words, "All Men Are Created Equal" not only owned slaves, but believed dark skin originated with a virulent, and somehow congenital, form of leprosy. Some of us don’t really like our history to have facets; people are supposed to be angels or devils. I suspect most of people are a bit of both. Something I’ve observed firsthand is once a person adopts a world-view and identifies it as Self, it can be a very hard thing with which to compromise. I thought this was very well portrayed in a scene where the Red Tails receive a limited acceptance from some of the Caucasian pilots. Seeing these Terror of the Skies types waiting for the other foot to drop was almost as tense as the aerial combat. At the end of this particular scene is a brief preview of the 21[SUP]st[/SUP] Century. "We say ‘Colored’ and you get upset. What are we supposed to call you guys?"
The CGI was much MUCH better than I expected from viewing the previews. There was a bit of Return of the Jedi going on in the aerial scenes but most of them were kosher, at least to my eye. It’s obvious from the Star Wars and American Graffiti movies that George Lucas has a love of velocity. There’s one huge exception to the general aerodynamic credibility: a Red Tail copies a maneuver from a Luftwaffe pilot that would have torn apart a Mustang or P-40, and especially the 109 in which it’s originally performed. SOH members will know exactly what I’m talking about the instant they see it. On the whole, however, I was pleasantly surprised. Several of the incidents occurring in the film are composites, meaning something like them actually happened, but the incidents are strung together in the what I assume was in the interest of screen time. This film could have been much longer than it was, and I’m already hearing gossip about a prequel, if Red Tails proves a commercial success.
There’s a good deal of conversation on this forum about Hollywood stereotypes, and this film has its share. Members who’ve seen Top Gun, Flying Leathernecks, or watched Black Sheep Squadron on TV, and you know you all did, will recognize them immediately. 30 minutes in you’ll suspect who’s going to live, who’s going to die, and who’s going to be captured by the Germans, and your suspicions will probably be accurate. There’s the hot-dog Maverick-type who falls in love with the pretty local girl; in a relationship that would have been potentially lethal back in 1940s America. There’s the section leader who drinks too much. There’s the young pilot who really shouldn’t be flying, and there are several paternalistic commanding officers. I’ve given some thought to the perseverance of these archetypes (stereotypes?). Some of them are there because this is what Hollywood believes the audience wants, but some of them are also accurate. Gregory Boyington was a notorious binge-drinker, and also a great fighter pilot. My own family has every ethnic group you can possibly imagine married in to it, largely because of military service.
I'll definitely be wanting this movie when it comes out on DVD, although apart from the production values I really don’t think it’s any better than the HBO movie dealing with the same subject matter. I have a good deal more to say, but want to wait until more of you have seen it. Hope I wasn’t too windy.
JAMES
