Flyboys [DVD] [2006]

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• This item: Flyboys [DVD] [2006] DVD ~ James Franco

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• Aces High [DVD] [1976] DVD ~ Malcolm McDowell

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• Hells Angels [DVD] DVD ~ Ben Lyon

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Amazon.co.uk Review
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 romanticised 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 Shannon

Synopsis
FLYBOYS is a good old-fashioned historical drama concerning the Lafayette Escadrille, a French regiment of American volunteer airmen serving the allied cause in WWI before the US became officially involved. James Franco plays Blaine, a Texas rancher; he bunks with Eugene (Abdul Salis), an African American boxer whose been living in Paris as an ex-patriate to get away from American racism. Other fighters include a pampered New York scion (Tyler Labine) and a lanky, lazy Kansan (David Ellison). They all train under the patient hand of the French commander, succinctly embodied by the wondrous Jean Reno (LEON). Martin Henderson (TORQUE) is good and brusque as a jaded flier with a bunch of kills under his belt and an obsession with an ace German fighter; he wont let the new kids drink in the officer's club until they’ve shot down their first planes. It all unfolds in a no-nonsense linear narrative that reminds one of early films like THE DAWN PATROL (1930) and WINGS (1927); and there's a comfortingly familiar orchestral score that's heavy with the cloud-invoking wooden flute. But the CGI-enhanced aerial dogfight scenes are the crux of the feature, and history fans should be frothing at the mouth with all the zeppelins, dogfights and enemy chivalry. There's plenty of well-researched period detail and even some romance in the form of a good girl gone semi-bad from a nearby brothel (the very charming Jennifer Decker).

Aces High [DVD] [1976] DVD ~ Malcolm McDowell 4.2 out of 5 stars (17)  £5.18

Days Of Glory [2006] [DVD] DVD ~ Jamel Debbouzel 3.1 out of 5 stars (27)  £4.98

Hells Angels [DVD] DVD ~ Ben Lyon 4.0 out of 5 stars (3)  £4.98

The Blue Max [DVD] [1966] DVD ~ George Peppard 4.3 out of 5 stars (7)  £4.98

The Last Legion [DVD] [2007] DVD ~ Colin Firth 2.6 out of 5 stars (45)  £3.98

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27 Reviews 5 star:  (1) 4 star:  (7) 3 star:  (3) 2 star:  (7) 1 star:  (9)           Average Customer Review 2.4 out of 5 stars (27 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   13 of 15 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars LIKE A TV MOVIE BUT WAIT ............, 11 Oct 2007 By  DJ ANSKOVICH - See all my reviews STRANGE FILM THIS COULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH BETTER BUT THERE ARE MOMENTS OF BRILLIANCE. I WOULD CALL THIS THE TV VERSION OF SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. I AGREE THAT IT DOES NOT GRAB YOU LIKE MOST FILMS DO BUT YOU STILL THINK ABOUT THE FILM AT THE END. WOULD I WATCH IT AGAIN ??? YES !!!!! A BIT CRINGY IN PLACES BUT I HAVE SEEN WORSE. I WOULD ADVISE WAITING UNTIL SOMEONE SELLS ONE FOR £5.00 OR UNDER THEN BUY IT. THIS WAS THE FIRST DVD I BOUGHT ON THE DAY OF RELEASE EVER BUT I AM STILL GLAD I BOUGHT IT ! Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   4 of 4 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars A "soft" introduction to WW1, 19 Jan 2008 By  Jonathan, Denmark ""Critic"" (Coldville) - See all my reviews If you take this film at face value it's watchable entertainment, The flying scenes were well made, but I'll agree the story line is a little thin and predictable...one scene in which our "hero" lands in the middle of no man's land is particularly ridiculous....as if !!!....but all in all if was a typical "Hollywood" view on War. The most important aspect for me, is it introduced the whole concept of WW1 to my children. The utter stupidity of the "War to end all wars", a subject often skirted over in our modern day world...If it inspires them to dig a little deeper into the subject That's worth 4 stars in itself... Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   15 of 18 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Not a great movie, but very watchable, 16 Oct 2007 By  Maciej K. "Darth Maciek" (Belgium) - See all my reviews This is a story based on true events, about American volunteers who came to fight in France before their country entered the war and who became fighter pilots in the, now legendary, Escadrille Lafayette. I am a little surprised by the very poor reviews this movie is getting, because I rather liked it, although I am the first to recognise that it could be much, much better. The strong point of this movie are the computer generated planes and air fights. WW I airfights were a great movie material, because of their short range, personal character - in fact, strangely enough, they are a little reminding me the STAR WARS fights between X-Wings and TIE fighters. Here the planes look really like real ones and the effect is great for any fan of aviation: Nieuport and Fokker fighters, Handley-Page and Gotha bombers and the gigantic L32 Zeppelin, they all give a great show. The movie is quite realistic and stresses well the incredibly idiotic decision of allied high command to NOT provide pilots with parachutes (Germans, Austrians, Bulgarians and even Turks had them, from the beginning of the war) on the incredible assumption, that pilots will jump from their planes at the first occasion!! That explains why the casualty rates in French, British, Italian and later American aviation were so high. There are some very weak spots. Relations between pilots and especially all the conflicts are too pinky easy and sweet, which takes away most of the realism. The main hero accomplishes alone all the most incredible things, the rest of the unit being mostly his sidekicks. There is of course a lot of typically American references of sons trying to fit their fathers shoes... The ending is a little too previsible. The love story is going nowhere and we do not even know why. There is only one really bad guy in the movie and of course he is German, etc., etc.; Jean Reno indeed is not very much used but this is a nice effort from Hollywood to hire a French to play a French officer, rather than just use an American and make him speak with a French accent... On this point, let's stress that this movie is a welcome pause in French bashing, which seems to be a kind of national sport in Hollywood this last years.... But instead of all those weak spots, I forgive to this movie a lot, for the scenes, when the Escadrille Lafayette takes off and is flying over the beautiful French landscapes, together with a flight of cranes... And then there is this unique scene, when a whole horde of red painted Fokkers emerges from the sunlight to butcher the unsuspecting American rookies, with the Black Falcon in the lead (yes, you guessed right, the Black Falcon is the plane of the BAD GUY). There is also some good humour moments in this movie - a mascot lion named Whiskey, an American pilot who simply can not shoot straight no matters how much he tries, until.... well, no, no hints here, you will see by yourself. And the decorations of the planes, with my favourite being a seriously deranged woodpecker... This is a nice war movie, and a must if you are a fan of aviation and can simply not resist the sight of a flight of Fokkers going after some heavy Handley-Page bombers.... Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 27 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 4.0 out of 5 stars Early To The Party The Escadrille Lafayette was formed in France before America joined the Great War; its name recollecting the part a Frenchman had in America's independence. Read more Published 1 month ago by Charles Vasey 2.0 out of 5 stars Another film about how Americans won the war...Only WW1 this time This film looks great, has some nice sequences and some nice little details (such as the pilots painting their own planes, having mascots, e.t. Read more Published 2 months ago by P. R. Nokes 5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Great flying sequences with great storyline, the aircraft were brillient and lots of flying action which kept me glued to my seat, although in stark contrast to 'Aces High'. Read more Published 3 months ago by Michael Lyons 4.0 out of 5 stars A war movie for everyone! I really enjoyed this movie and have to say I would like to silence all the critics out there. First of all it appeals to war movie buffs and just regular film watchers testament... Read more Published 4 months ago by H. L. Krantz 2.0 out of 5 stars Distinctly Earthbound Flyboys is rather a disappointment even if you're not expecting much. The Lafayette Escadrille - a French squadron of American pilots who fought in the First World War before the... Read more Published 7 months ago by Trevor Willsmer 3.0 out of 5 stars A good solid film with some good action I enjoyed this film, I liked the plane fights, although I was disappointed that there were not more and indeed prolonged fights as some of them tended to be over before they... Read more Published 10 months ago by Dazman 1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing I looked forward to seeing this film, and though I appreciate constraints that film makers work under, there were far too many inaccuracies for me. Read more Published 10 months ago by Mr. Roger Morris 1.0 out of 5 stars Oh dear! A genuinely fascinating subject has been dumbed down to an unbelievable level. The one positive (and there is only one!) is the nice-looking Nieuports, Gothas etc. Read more Published 11 months ago by Mr. R. J. Mcgregor 3.0 out of 5 stars Complete tosh but enjoyable If you are looking for historical accuracy and realistic flying sequences this is not for you. However as escapism masquerading as a history lesson then this is a... Read more Published 12 months ago by Paul 1.0 out of 5 stars Disrespectful nonsense It surely demonstrates a lack of regard for the fallen aviation heroes of the Great War to depict their courage within the bounds of this contemptible pantomime. Read more Published 15 months ago by Mr. Jamie P. Kitson Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 27 customer reviews...

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