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Product Description In 1914; "The Great War" - WWI - began in Europe. By 1917; the Allied powers of France; England; Italy and others were on the ropes against the German juggernaut. Some altruistic young Americans disagreed with the war. They volunteered to fight alongside their counterparts in France; some in the infantry; some in the Ambulance Corps. A handful of others had a different idea: they decided to learn how to fly. The first of them - a squadron of only 38 - became known as the Lafayette Escadrille. This is their story. Forced to abandon his family's ranch; Blaine Rawlings finds his future in a newsreel chronicling the adventures of young aviators in France. At a small train station in rural Nebraska; William Jensen promises to make his family proud. In New York; spoiled Briggs Lowry embarks on a trans-Atlantic passage. Meanwhile; in France; black expatriate boxer; Eugene Skinner; vows to repay his debt to his adopted racially tolerant country. Together; these American boys arrive at an aerodrome in France; eager to learn how to fly. What they didn't realize was that they were about to embark on a great; romantic adventure; becoming the world's first combat pilots. .com World War I aviation action gets an impressive digital upgrade in Flyboys, a welcome addition to the "dogfight" sub-genre that includes such previous war-in-the-air films like Hell's Angels, Wings, and The Blue Max. While those earlier films had the advantage of real and genuinely dangerous flight scenes (resulting, in some cases, in fatal accidents during production), Flyboys takes full (and safe) advantage of the digital revolution, with intensely photo-realistic recreations of WWI aircraft, authentic period structures, and CGI environments requiring a total of 850 digital effects shots, resulting in an abundance of amazing images, many of them virtually indistinguishable from reality. Unfortunately, the film's technical achievement is more impressive than its screenplay, which conventionally and predictably tells the fact-based story, set in France in 1916, of the daring young pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille, a pioneering French air-combat unit that welcomed American enlistees prior to the United States' entry into the war.There's a familiar cliché to match every thrilling scene of aerial combat, but director Tony Bill manages to keep it all interesting, from the romance between a young American maverick (James Franco) and a pretty French girl (newcomer Jennifer Decker) to the exciting action in the air, which includes a stock variety of heroes (many of them composites of real-life WWI pilots) and an intimidating villain known only as "The Black Falcon," whose Fokker Dr-1 triplane (one of many in the film) recalls the exploits of German "ace of aces" Manfred von Richtofen, the dreaded "Red Baron" of legend. With impeccable production values that will impress even the most nit-picking aviation buffs, Flyboys (like Superman Returns and Apocalypto, also released in 2006) was also one of the first feature films to be shot with Panavision's state-of-the-art Genesis digital cameras, resulting in beautiful images that meet or exceed the visual nuance of film. Flyboys also benefits from painstaking attention to physical detail, making it easier to forgive its shortcomings as a generic and formulaic slice of romanticized history. So while some viewers may have wished for a more realistic and grown-up depiction of the Lafayette Escadrille, it's safe to say that Flyboys will be thrilling its target audience for many years to come. --Jeff ShannonExtras from Flyboys Director Tony Bill on Filming Dogfight Sequences ...On throwing away the script for pilot training ...On the real-life stunt pilot who stars in the film Beyond Flyboys More "War in the Sky" Films SPA124 Lafayette Escadrille: American Volunteer Airmen in World War 1 More "Military and War" Films Stills from Flyboys
J**N
The Story of America's First Fighter Pilots
James Franco stars in this exciting movie based on the true story of the Lafayette Escadrille, a group of American pilots flying for the French in the early days of World war I.Franco portrays Blaine Rawlings, a young rancher from Texas who's family ranch has just been repossessed. While watching a movie at the local moviehouse, he sees a newsreel about pilots fighting in Europe. He decides to enlist with the French Lafayette Escadrille and battle the Germans. Soon, Rawlings and fellow pilots William Jensen (Philip Winchester), Lyle Porter (Michael Jibson), Eddie Beagle (David Ellison), Eugene Skinner (Abdul Salis), and Briggs Lowry (Tyler Labine) are on their way to France. All have come from different backgrounds and circumstances, but they all share one common goal; to fight and defeat the Germans.Upon arriving in France, they are met by Capt. Thenault (Jean Reno). It's Thenault's job to train the American pilots proper tactics in order to battle the Germans. There are already some American pilots in France. One is Reed Cassidy (Martin Henderson). He has become one of the best pilots in the Lafayette Escadrille, already having shot down over twenty German aircraft. The lead pilot for the Germans is the menacing Black Falcon (Gunnar Winbergh) and his group of skilled pilots. All of the Germans fly the famed Fokker triplane, painted blood-red. All except the Falcon's, who's is jet black.After completing their training, the Americans are finally ready to take to the skies and do battle with the Germans. During the course of the movie, there are several thrilling aerial combat sequences between the Americans and Germans, especially the sequence where the Germans send a zeppelin to bomb Paris. Relationships develop among the pilots as well. Rawlings becomes the de facto leader of the group, and many of the other pilots look to him for support and advice. Rawlings has also developed a relationship with a local French girl named Lucienne (Jennifer Decker). She bandaged Rawlings' leg after a flying accident, and he became attracted to her. However, she can't speak English and he can't speak French. But the language barrier can't hide the feelings between the two.The missions become more and more dangerous for the Americans, and soon, some of the pilots are lost in combat. But the Americans keep going up to fight it out with the Germans despite their lack of experience. Their will to fight and courage is unquestioned as these heroic men continue to do battle with the enemy.This is an outstanding movie. The story of the famed Lafayette Escadrille is told with complete historical accuracy. The acting, especially by James Franco and Jean Reno, is excellent. The plot is well-conceived, and the amazing aerial combat sequences are the highlight of the film. The romance between Rawlings and Lucienne his handled wonderfully. It does not become so out of control as to take over the movie. Rather, it is allowed to grow at a slower pace that holds the viewer's interest.I give this great movie my highest recommendation. History fans will enjoy it for its great combat sequences and attention to detail. Laypersons will enjoy the romance between Rawlings and Lucienne. Watch "Flyboys" and see how a group of inexperienced American pilots became one of the most feared squadrons of World War I.
J**L
Movie review
Its a great movie
V**.
Movie.
The movie I ordered was good, no problems.
L**D
WW1 Flying Aces. Good all around movie.
True Story as well as a good Movie. You will enjoy it.
T**S
testament of youth
Impressive is the realistic romance that was portrayed for that time in history with our hero the cowboy (James Franco) and the french girl (Jennifer Decker). This reminded me of a book i read by Vera Brittain the "Testament of Youth" of how innocent and cavalier this generation was at that time. Her most intimate memory of a man she loved was the warmth of his hand she felt through her gloved hand was similar to the courtship in this movie. For the sake of being a pilot and doing flight simulation with aircraft i'll never get to fly this is a time period movie i enjoyed as much since the film "The Blue Max" for the romance of flying has been a real treat to see the souls that pioneered in the Great War with aircraft that are agile as a ballerina but fragile as a butterfly when handled. This being maneovers that involve piroettes because of the slower speeds compared to jets that generally use a 5 mile turning radius. Jet fighters that are built to handle at least 10 times the weight in horizontal or vertical turns the World War I fighter could easily rip apart it's canvas fabric or wooden structure is shown in the flying sequences. The french Nieuport is very pleasing to the eye as the fine figure for a woman. The vertical tail looks as if the french flag was hung off the end with the corners edges rounded off just as also the german Fokker's horizontal tail is shaped like a falcon's is a treasure trove to visualize in this film. I greatly appreciation that the director took to explain and portray these men and flying machines during this era how they were both utilized. It is my regret that not many people saw this film in the theater to care and understand the spirit of adventure that parallels or own lives.
K**S
Even better than 'Top Gun'
'Flyboys' is one of the best films I have ever seen, period. I was a skeptic of the movie at first, there have been so many good war movies made already, what could this one do to top any of them? While watching however, I was pleasantly surprised by not only the acting and storyline, but the soundtrack by Trevor Rabin put this one over the top.Also, 'Flyboys' is based on the real life adventures of the Escadrille Lafayette, created during the early years of WWI by the French to allow volunteer American pilots to fight even though the U.S. had not entered the war. The fact that every character in this film was real makes it hit home. You really become attached to each of the main characters as they struggle to live and fight honorably in a war with very little purpose behind it.'Flyboys' is the first 'modern' era film to attempt a portrayal of this particular story, and it does an AMAZING job. The effects, particularly the dogfights, are epic, and as mentioned, Trevor Rabin's soundtrack compliments the movie perfectly. The film summarizes itself succinctly during the opening titles..."Though the airplane was only recently invented, it was quickly adapted for war. The young men who flew them became the first fighter pilots, and a new kind of hero was born..."This movie is a must have for any cinema enthusiast or history buff, and spring an extra couple of bucks for the collector's edition, it comes with some neat postcards.
R**2
Movie good, DVD faulty
The movie is good, but the DVD was unfortunately faulty and froze an hour and a half into watching. Had to return the DVD
Trustpilot
3 weeks ago
4 days ago