The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (1944)
*** (out of 4)
William Wyler directed this documentary that takes a look at a group of B-17 flyers on their 25th and final mission over Europe. Like many of the WWII documentaries from this era, it's true that they've been replaced in terms of some quality because in recent years people like A&E and The History Channel have been able to produce some spectacular documents of the war. With that said, there's also no doubt that these documentaries serve a great purpose because they show so many important stories and we get to see many historic battles. This documentary doesn't give you a great idea of who The Memphis Belle were as there's very little information given about them but this here is made up by the wonderful footage that we get. Shot in glorious Technicolor, this documentary contains some terrific footage of the men, what they did when not in the air and of course the battle footage. There are some terrific images from the air where we look down on the European countryside and it's so beautiful to look at that you often have to remind yourself that there's a war going on. The bombing scenes are breathtaking as are the scenes dealing with wounded soldiers. There's one sequence where a soldier is getting a blood transfusion and narrator Eugene Kern makes it clear that the blood could be from anyone in America, which was a clear cry for people to keep doing their part by giving blood.
*** (out of 4)
William Wyler directed this documentary that takes a look at a group of B-17 flyers on their 25th and final mission over Europe. Like many of the WWII documentaries from this era, it's true that they've been replaced in terms of some quality because in recent years people like A&E and The History Channel have been able to produce some spectacular documents of the war. With that said, there's also no doubt that these documentaries serve a great purpose because they show so many important stories and we get to see many historic battles. This documentary doesn't give you a great idea of who The Memphis Belle were as there's very little information given about them but this here is made up by the wonderful footage that we get. Shot in glorious Technicolor, this documentary contains some terrific footage of the men, what they did when not in the air and of course the battle footage. There are some terrific images from the air where we look down on the European countryside and it's so beautiful to look at that you often have to remind yourself that there's a war going on. The bombing scenes are breathtaking as are the scenes dealing with wounded soldiers. There's one sequence where a soldier is getting a blood transfusion and narrator Eugene Kern makes it clear that the blood could be from anyone in America, which was a clear cry for people to keep doing their part by giving blood.