"The Few" Movie and other new air movies

Here is a little more on that Russian women pilot film, Night Witches (if it is to be believed) from http://www.countingdown.com/movies/2792302

No date is given to this info and notes it’s “in development”

Who’s in it? Anna Friel , Malcolm McDowell.

and this site
http://www.laqat.com/movie.cgi?id=3524
notes the writer director as Alexander Siddig

However I have heard that a script has recently been prepared for a new version of the “Dambusters”. Whether this ever gets made is pure conjecture.

Colin

I agree it would be great, but keep in mind the reality of the film business, it will be designed to make money. Be careful what you wish for…it could end up starring Hugh Grant or have a gay love story added :diablo:

Sometimes it’s best to leave a classic alone.

I decided to try to find out more about this film to be made about the Russian woman fighter pilots. So I signed up (under the auspices of GR_Hudson – my favourite aircraft!) to The Bastar*s Have Landed forum, which is an official Peter Jackson forum. I got an intresting result – a working title perhaps at least…

http://tbhl.theonering.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=qanda;action=display;num=1125659631;start=0

Hi

When I was a lot younger – I used to show dogs and at one Sydney Royal show I was showing my dogs and Mel, who was not then famous, was showing cattle and had young children who played with my daughter. The upshot was to fill in time we chatted about aircraft and he was very interested – I can tell you the story was no hoax , he always wanted to make that movie about the Dam Busters and from an Australian Pilots perspective as there were a few there. Not trying to name drop here – it was just something that happened – no great fan of Mr Gibson or Mr Crowe for that matter.

Has anybody seen the movie Mr Crowe made about the Empire training scheme in Canada – great footage of some rare types flying – lousy acting

Regards
John P

Was’nt that then remade by speiberg as “Always”?

No “Always” was a remake of “A Guy Named Joe” with Spencer Tracey.

I really enjoy Captain of the Clouds…but then I am a RCAF fan. I think it is one of the best aviation movies out there.

Btw, what does Mr. Jackson’s aviation collection consist of. I’ve heard of one or two WW1 planes, but just what does he have?

Jim

The title of the Cagney Air film was “Captain of the Clouds”

Was’nt that then remade by speiberg as “Always”?

Cagney Air Film

The title of the Cagney Air film was “Captain of the Clouds”

Just looked on the imdb website, name of film ‘Captain of the Clouds’ the first James Cagney film shot in colour and the first Hollywood film made in Canada in 1942, reviews aren’t great but probably don’t understand what it’s like to see a Fairy Battle in colour.

1995 Dambusters Remake was a hoax!

I am well aware of the 1995 story about the Mel Gibson “Dambusters” remake. I spotted this story in a special effects magazine in the mid nineties and passed it to the late Robert Rudhall who worked for “Flypast”. He checked it out and found it was a complete hoax!

However I have heard that a script has recently been prepared for a new version of the “Dambusters”. Whether this ever gets made is pure conjecture.

I agree that the CGI Stuka sequences in “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin” were excellent. Just compare them with the model Stuka sequences in “The Guns of Navarone” and you will realise how good they were.

Colin

A film about the Nuremburg raid (94 RAF bombers lost) would be my choice, from the viewpoint of a RAF crew and a Luftwaffe night fighter pilot.One things for sure,as CGI gets even better we should be in for some treats in the future, as long as the script writers stick to the facts.

Wasn’t this to be the original idea for the David Putnam film that became the Memphis Belle. I gather he was inspired by the colour footage of a Lancaster raid unearthed during the 80’s that I’m sure you’ve all seen. Unfortunately the lack of Lancasters and CGI put paid to this, probably something to do with the American market too. Probably a good thing as the ‘special affects’ in Memphis Belle are not too clever.
Changing the subject slightly, a must see film whose title I cannot remember.
Starring James Cagney and made about 1941, it’s about a group of Canadian coastal seaplane pilots who are trained up in the RCAF to become airforce and ferry pilots, the film is shot in glorious quality Technicolor and features Fairy Battles, Hurricanes, Baltimores, etc etc as you’ve never seen them before. Nice scene near the end is where the ferry pilots approaching Scotland are attacked by ‘messerschmits’ actually hurricanes painted black with black crosses and swastikas. I think it was a Canadian propoganda film with Hollwood support to try and get the USA into the war, a must see, will try and find the title.

I’d love to hear that ‘Bomber’ radio adaptation someday. I’ve never even seen the book here.

Can you not buy from Amazon out there?

A quick heads-up. I’ve just spotted that Derek ‘PoC’ Robinson has written a book about the ‘Sealion’ the planned 1940 invasion of Britain by the Germans. Fact, not fiction unfortunately, but should be interesting anyway.

Coming soon to a bookshop near you. But maybe not near Dave 🙁

Moggy

I’d love to hear that ‘Bomber’ radio adaptation someday. I’ve never even seen the book here.

I did very much enjoy another Bomber Command radio adaptation recently on BBC7, H.E. Bates’ book “Fair Stood The Wind For France” about a crashed Wellington crew in France, starring Sean Pertwee in the lead role.

Sorry but that wouldn’t attract much of an audience. Individual “special” raids such as the Chastice operation catch the audience imagination, how would this particular raid do the same.

Bombing raids were long drawn out affairs, quite often just hours of tedium interspersed with moments of shear terror. How would you build it up, the Dam Busters featured the problem solving with the weapon, the crew selection and training, it would be hard to show this to any great extent about just one raid and keep the audience interested.

I was just saying that would be a film I would personally like to see made as the ultimate Bomber Command film has yet to be done.
I agree it wouldn’t sell as there isn’t any American angle,but a good script could easily build it up, the German pilot’s family in the target area etc.leading to the ultimate horror of over 600 RAF aircrew lost in one night.Ultimately I suppose if there isn’t a U.S audience then it wont get made.

The radio treatment showed how ‘Bomber’ could be translated into a drama and lost very little along the way.

It’s just I’m not sure that filming it would add anything. Many is the evening I’ve sat in my living room with a single malt and lived through that whole raid. Powerful in a way that a film never could be.

Moggy

thats right – the ex-Sloanes one which went to Flixton (didnt think to ask their on-site Museum first….grrr…

but am pretty sure there was a chopper at the end of The Mackenzie Break too in RAF camo….

TT

Bombing raids were long drawn out affairs, quite often just hours of tedium interspersed with moments of shear terror. How would you build it up,

Not that I’m Mr Deighton’ s literary agent or anything, but he manages to keep the interest going through the entire book by telling the story from the perspective of the RAF crews, their Luftwaffe counterparts and the Civilians of Altgarten. He spares no-one in portraying the suffering of aircrew (of both sides) and civilians.

He provides background stories for the major protagonists as well as going into the technicalities that went into planning a raid. In the book you also hear a lot more about the interpersonal relationships – Lanbert (main character and bomber pilot) and his wife, Lambert and his flight commander, the crew themselves and the lives they touch – same for the Germans.

One very interesting part is the last chapter which updates us with what happens after the raid to the town and the individuals concerned through to the present day

It’s a very densely written book – perhaps a little too complicated for Hollywood with no message other than war is suffering and a total lack of overplayed heroics (that’s not to say the crews aren’t heroes), there is no automatic black/white, good/evil – just people caught up in affairs beyond their control

Sorry but that wouldn’t attract much of an audience. Individual “special” raids such as the Chastice operation catch the audience imagination, how would this particular raid do the same.

Bombing raids were long drawn out affairs, quite often just hours of tedium interspersed with moments of shear terror. How would you build it up, the Dam Busters featured the problem solving with the weapon, the crew selection and training, it would be hard to show this to any great extent about just one raid and keep the audience interested.

From what I’ve been told by the widow of a three-time DFC winner who was on that raid, which apparently had the biggest losses in one night for the RAF, it was pretty ‘hot’ and full of excitement. Of the 57 raids he made this was the worst by far she said!

I think the idea is very good. It is a true event that hundreds of crews witnessed, and it had a profound effect on them and others in the RAF.

You could certainly have a lot of action that would catch the attention of the public given all the night-fighters shooting down that many planes. The film doesn’t have to show the whole raid, it could start just as they’re approaching the target. An innovative writer could do it. I believe most of the trouble was on the way home. You could create a fictional crew on the real raid and weave lots of real stories into it, ala Memphis Belle. Or you could probably find recorded memories of a real crew and recreate real events that one of the many crews experienced.

You could pick a crew that gets home. Or one that is shot down and has to evade capture. There are lots of options.

Think its a proctor matey – from memory there is a ‘wartime’ helicopter in it too – a widgeon i think…or was that the eye of the needle…anyway deffo a proctor!

Widgeon was in “eye of the needle”

On Togun Reject’s topic… I watched a film a few weeks ago called The Mackenzie Break about a british POW camp for German prisoners who were planning an escape. I found that quite novel as there are so many the other way round. It featured som nice flying shots from some sort of Percival or Miles thingy too.

Think its a proctor matey – from memory there is a ‘wartime’ helicopter in it too – a widgeon i think…or was that the eye of the needle…anyway deffo a proctor!

A film about the Nuremburg raid (94 RAF bombers lost) would be my choice, from the viewpoint of a RAF crew and a Luftwaffe night fighter pilot.One things for sure,as CGI gets even better we should be in for some treats in the future, as long as the script writers stick to the facts.

Sorry but that wouldn’t attract much of an audience. Individual “special” raids such as the Chastice operation catch the audience imagination, how would this particular raid do the same.

Bombing raids were long drawn out affairs, quite often just hours of tedium interspersed with moments of shear terror. How would you build it up, the Dam Busters featured the problem solving with the weapon, the crew selection and training, it would be hard to show this to any great extent about just one raid and keep the audience interested.