As a bit of background, I'm a little out of practice reviewing movies although I used to do it all the time earlier in my career. Great fun to jet off to L.A. or NYC, screen a film then interview the cast. They're called Press Junkets.
That said, Red Tails was on my "Must-See" movie list as it's about the 332nd Fighter Group AKA the legendary Tuskegee Airmen. They were honored last fall by Wings over the Rockies Air and Space Museum with the annual Spreading Wings Award marking the 70th anniversary of this remarkable step forward in civil rights, aviation and our victory in WWII. I was lucky enough to be there for the event.
The film was a labor of love for George Lucas. He put up $56 Million to get it made. One report has the figure at $93 Million. That's a lot of love.
"Professional" reviews of the film weren't all that good, while loving the special effects creating incredible aerial scenes, most critics panned the script. I disagree a bit. Actually quite a bit.
Red Tails starts in Italy in 1943. Their base was totally segregated from pilots to the ground crews that supported them. They're flying routine patrols in P-40 Warhawks, a great aircraft but by this time in the war, definitely hand me downs. I would have preferred the movie starting where it all began; Tuskegee, AL. But Lucas had to cram a lot of action and storylines into the movie and it was his money. But if you read this George, that would have been my choice.
Other than Cuba Gooding Jr, the cast are pretty much unknowns. What works for me and the characters in the film, is that they're portrayed no different than if the movie had been made about a white fighter group. All were skilled, but had personal flaws like any human being. Some made it through their tours alive, others didn't. War doesn't discriminate even though at the time our own government did against these brave pilots and crew who volunteered to fight for it.
The aerial combat sequences are spectacular, you expect nothing less than from George Lucas. As the Red Tails prove themselves, fighting in the sky and back in Washington DC to see action, the fighter group transitions to the P-51 Mustang, escorting bomber groups to and from targets ranging to Ploesti Oil Fields to Berlin, the heart of the Nazi Reich.
If you love aviation, these action sequences will amaze you as the Red Tails escort huge formations of B-17's, fighting the Luftwaffe pilots and aircraft including the ME-262 jet fighter. It appears some real aircraft were used in making the film, but you'd be hard pressed to see the difference in what's real and what are special effects.
Through all this, the Red Tails earn the respect of the bomber crews they escorted. While the film concludes with a stirring finish (and rare applause from a movie audience) in real-life, many of the real Red Tails went home to Jim Crow. Many distinguished themselves despite it all, like their white counterparts taking leadership roles in building our nation, raising families despite bigotry and segregation.
Before we had an African-American President, before the Civil Rights Movement of the 60's, there were the Red Tails, blazing trails in the sky and for human rights. They were measured, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, for the content of their character and not the color of their skin.
For that reason, I hope you see the movie.
Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations
That said, Red Tails was on my "Must-See" movie list as it's about the 332nd Fighter Group AKA the legendary Tuskegee Airmen. They were honored last fall by Wings over the Rockies Air and Space Museum with the annual Spreading Wings Award marking the 70th anniversary of this remarkable step forward in civil rights, aviation and our victory in WWII. I was lucky enough to be there for the event.
The film was a labor of love for George Lucas. He put up $56 Million to get it made. One report has the figure at $93 Million. That's a lot of love.
"Professional" reviews of the film weren't all that good, while loving the special effects creating incredible aerial scenes, most critics panned the script. I disagree a bit. Actually quite a bit.
Red Tails starts in Italy in 1943. Their base was totally segregated from pilots to the ground crews that supported them. They're flying routine patrols in P-40 Warhawks, a great aircraft but by this time in the war, definitely hand me downs. I would have preferred the movie starting where it all began; Tuskegee, AL. But Lucas had to cram a lot of action and storylines into the movie and it was his money. But if you read this George, that would have been my choice.
Other than Cuba Gooding Jr, the cast are pretty much unknowns. What works for me and the characters in the film, is that they're portrayed no different than if the movie had been made about a white fighter group. All were skilled, but had personal flaws like any human being. Some made it through their tours alive, others didn't. War doesn't discriminate even though at the time our own government did against these brave pilots and crew who volunteered to fight for it.
The aerial combat sequences are spectacular, you expect nothing less than from George Lucas. As the Red Tails prove themselves, fighting in the sky and back in Washington DC to see action, the fighter group transitions to the P-51 Mustang, escorting bomber groups to and from targets ranging to Ploesti Oil Fields to Berlin, the heart of the Nazi Reich.
If you love aviation, these action sequences will amaze you as the Red Tails escort huge formations of B-17's, fighting the Luftwaffe pilots and aircraft including the ME-262 jet fighter. It appears some real aircraft were used in making the film, but you'd be hard pressed to see the difference in what's real and what are special effects.
Through all this, the Red Tails earn the respect of the bomber crews they escorted. While the film concludes with a stirring finish (and rare applause from a movie audience) in real-life, many of the real Red Tails went home to Jim Crow. Many distinguished themselves despite it all, like their white counterparts taking leadership roles in building our nation, raising families despite bigotry and segregation.
Before we had an African-American President, before the Civil Rights Movement of the 60's, there were the Red Tails, blazing trails in the sky and for human rights. They were measured, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, for the content of their character and not the color of their skin.
For that reason, I hope you see the movie.
Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations
