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Thread: FAVORITE aviation movie of all time?

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    FAVORITE aviation movie of all time?

    The forums seem a bit slow of late, so to stir up some conversation - what's your pick for best aviation movie of all time and why? Action flicks, war movies, documentaries...they are all fair game. Now that I've posted the question, I'll have to think on it a bit. "Always" is definitely amongst the top of my list.

    Zack

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    Mike Switzer's Avatar
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    The story was only so-so, but as far as the aircraft involved & the photography, Strategic Air Command has to be near the top.

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    The Spirit of St Louis, there's a few parts in there that still give me goose bumps.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zack Baughman View Post
    "Always" is definitely amongst the top of my list.

    Zack
    Sorry Zack, IMO, Always was a chick flick masquerading as an aviation movie.

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    How about "The Right Stuff".... and for shear fun "The Rocketeer"

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    CarlOrton's Avatar
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    Zero Hour / Airplane! Memphis Belle

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    rmock's Avatar
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    I recently saw "The Right Stuff". What an amazing movie.

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    1943's "Air Force", directed by Howard Hawks, starring John Garfield, Harry Carey, John Ridgely, Arthur Kennedy, Gig Young and James Brown(not that James Brown). The story of a B-17 crew flying from San Francisco to Pearl Harbor on December 6, 1941. It's a raw-raw propaganda type film but it's a damn good propaganda film. Found a Trailer: http://youtu.be/_Xyol4b9Law

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Floatsflyer View Post
    Sorry Zack, IMO, Always was a chick flick masquerading as an aviation movie.
    And you know what they say about opinions... Chick flick or no, it's a great movie with a lot of great aviation going on. One that I like that not very many people seem to have seen is "Dark Blue World." It tells the story of Czech pilots flying in the RAF during WWII. Although technically not a movie, I have high hopes for the new Spielberg and Hanks HBO series being produced that is based on author Donald Miller's Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought The Air War Against Nazi Germany.
    Last edited by Zack Baughman; 10-23-2013 at 07:29 AM.

  10. #10
    EAA Staff / Moderator Hal Bryan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zack Baughman View Post
    Chick flick or no, it's a great movie with a lot of great aviation going on.
    And the "chick" is Holly Hunter, which makes that movie almost perfect...

    Quote Originally Posted by Zack Baughman View Post
    One that I like that not very many people seem to have seen is "Dark Blue World." It tells the story of Czech pilots flying in the RAF during WWII.
    Amen to that!

    Consider this my "second" for "The Rocketeer" and "Strategic Air Command" as previously mentioned as well. "Battle of Britain" is one of my all-time favorites, and, of course, "The Great Waldo Pepper", "Wings", "The Dambusters", "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and "Reach for the Sky" are all right up there.

    John Wayne as "Spig" Wead in "Wings of Eagles" is fantastic, and I'll always love the flying scenes in "Air America." For my north-of-the-border friend Floatsflyer, I have to mention "For the Moment" (1993), which is not only a "chick flick", it's thoroughly Canadian! Not an especially spectacular movie but a decent look at life in the BCATP during WWII. The same goes for "Captains of the Clouds" (1942), except the words "chick flick" and "Jimmy Cagney" don't really go together...

    1942's "Thunder Birds" is very good, and the B-17 scenes shot for "The War Lover" will absolutely blow your mind. The movie that's known as "the French Top Gun", "Le Chavaliers du Ciel", has some of the most amazing aerial cinematography I've ever seen - Mirage IVs and AlphaJets aren't normally what I'm looking for in an aviation film, but this footage is absolutely stunning. Odds are you've seen clips on YouTube without necessarily knowing where they came from.

    Others that come to mind are "The Blue Max", 1935's "Ladies Crave Excitement" (this one caused my wife to raise an eyebrow when it was added to the collection) which includes footage of Johnny Miller looping a Pitcairn autogiro, and "The McConnell Story", even though I (spoiler alert!) get sad at the end. "The Hunters" is a fun Korean War-era film with Robert Mitchum at his gruff best, and "Only Angels Have Wings" is also a longtime favorite.

    With respect to television, the newly remastered "Steve Canyon" TV-series is an absolute must for anyone with even a passing interest in the USAF during the cold war, and the BBC's miniseries adaptation of "Piece of Cake" gets my highest recommendation. If you've seen a clip on the web of a Spitfire flying under a bridge, that's from "Piece of Cake." I've also been having fun lately with episodes of "Whirly Birds" and "Ripcords." Finally, if, like me, you have a soft spot for bad 80's television, the short-lived "Blue Thunder" TV series is full of bad acting, terrible writing, and great flying.

    As far as documentaries go, Paul Glenshaw's "Barnstorming", starring our own Andrew King, is one of my absolute favorites, along with Russ Munson's "Flying Route 66." (Full disclosure: Paul, Andrew and Russ are friends of mine.)

    It's all-but-impossible to find (my copy was an Emmy screener I found on eBay), but if you get the chance to watch "Carnauba: a Son's Memoir", you'll be rewarded with some of the most beautiful flying scenes ever filmed. The same can be said for "Winged Migration", though the subjects there are birds, not airplanes, so it may not count. "The Great Circle Air Safari" deserves a mention - great footage of a trip around Australia in vintage biplanes.

    Sigh - I could go on and on. In fact, I just did...

    Hal Bryan
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    EAA—The Spirit of Aviation

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