Watched this film on Sky movies premier.
*SPOILERS*
I'm glad I did, I really enjoyed it. It had its flaws and no it wasn't perfect, but what movie is. I admit the first ten minutes were the best, the cgi wasn't great, but some of the cgi scenes I thought, were OK. It looked a bit flight simulator/ gamey to me, but i wasn't bothered as it served its purpose. I particularly liked some of the views and angles they used in the aerial shots. It wasn't all bad. Some of the shots had really depth to them, especially on the bombing run to Rome. If the cgi had been of higher quality this film would have been epic! I recently watched Memphis Belle again and i know it was made quite a few years ago, some of the cgi on that isn't perfect. Great film though.
I could see what the producers vision was. They wanted to tell the everyday story of a US B-17 Bomber crew while in North Africa during WW2. In my opinion they achieved this. The story was solid and made sense, unlike some DTV releases that make a complete mess of the narrative and even the simplest of story lines gets confusing. I liked the pacing of the movie and thought it flowed well. At no point was I bored. Sometimes the dialogue was a bit naff and cringeworthy. The actors did a good job overall, but sometimes the odd one or two were forcing it and going over the top, which was quite noticeable in parts. The back story about the hooch helped give the film another thread and I guess tried to add a bit of togetherness amongst the men and give them something to concentrate on between missions. Drinking amongst the men was riff in this story when they weren't flying, as there wasn't an awful lot to do as depicted in the film.
I liked the look of the film. The lighting and the film stock used for the most part gave it a more natural feel and looked good, really benefitting the look of the film and not cheap like other DTV films. A couple of scenes with the actors looked like the lighting was off, but it didn't detract from the film. The Director/ Cameraman used mainly close ups of actors keeping the shots tight in the plane and the outside scenes with only tents and airbase equipment etc in the background. You never see the crew getting into the plane. I imagine this was done to keep the budget down.
I noticed they added little details here and there like bullet hole damage to the glass on the underneath of the plane on the machine gun turret. It looks like they tried to think of everything.
The orchestral music was good for a low budget release but if I had one criticism of the music it would have been the use of generic fiddle music over and over again, plus the sound in the cockpit sounded very echoey and tinny like they were in a studio (which they were) rather than a cockpit. Liked the end credits song.
Overall they did a great job. It looked like a labour of love. The director,producers and cast and crew did an exceptional job. It is a solid movie and a fantastic example of low budget filmmaking. Their imagination and tenacity made this film happen.
At the very end of the credits, there is a disclaimer by the filmmakers stating they made the film to the best standard they could, taking into account limited resources etc. I liked that little touch.
I would recommend this film to war movie buffs even with its flaws, I've watched it twice now and felt it was even better on the 2nd viewing. With any luck it will be a big hit on BD and DVD and make some money back for the filmmakers. Imagine if they made a lot of money, they maybe tempted to spruce up some of the dodgier looking bits of cgi and re- release it. Imagine that!
Just a note to say don't compare it to a big budget war film as that would be unfair. This film doesn't pretend to be anything other than a low budget war film and should be enjoyed as such. Adjust your expectations and you will be pleasantly surprised. It is an enjoyable film and I liked it very much.
It might be making its way into my collection!
.
*SPOILERS*
I'm glad I did, I really enjoyed it. It had its flaws and no it wasn't perfect, but what movie is. I admit the first ten minutes were the best, the cgi wasn't great, but some of the cgi scenes I thought, were OK. It looked a bit flight simulator/ gamey to me, but i wasn't bothered as it served its purpose. I particularly liked some of the views and angles they used in the aerial shots. It wasn't all bad. Some of the shots had really depth to them, especially on the bombing run to Rome. If the cgi had been of higher quality this film would have been epic! I recently watched Memphis Belle again and i know it was made quite a few years ago, some of the cgi on that isn't perfect. Great film though.
I could see what the producers vision was. They wanted to tell the everyday story of a US B-17 Bomber crew while in North Africa during WW2. In my opinion they achieved this. The story was solid and made sense, unlike some DTV releases that make a complete mess of the narrative and even the simplest of story lines gets confusing. I liked the pacing of the movie and thought it flowed well. At no point was I bored. Sometimes the dialogue was a bit naff and cringeworthy. The actors did a good job overall, but sometimes the odd one or two were forcing it and going over the top, which was quite noticeable in parts. The back story about the hooch helped give the film another thread and I guess tried to add a bit of togetherness amongst the men and give them something to concentrate on between missions. Drinking amongst the men was riff in this story when they weren't flying, as there wasn't an awful lot to do as depicted in the film.
I liked the look of the film. The lighting and the film stock used for the most part gave it a more natural feel and looked good, really benefitting the look of the film and not cheap like other DTV films. A couple of scenes with the actors looked like the lighting was off, but it didn't detract from the film. The Director/ Cameraman used mainly close ups of actors keeping the shots tight in the plane and the outside scenes with only tents and airbase equipment etc in the background. You never see the crew getting into the plane. I imagine this was done to keep the budget down.
I noticed they added little details here and there like bullet hole damage to the glass on the underneath of the plane on the machine gun turret. It looks like they tried to think of everything.
The orchestral music was good for a low budget release but if I had one criticism of the music it would have been the use of generic fiddle music over and over again, plus the sound in the cockpit sounded very echoey and tinny like they were in a studio (which they were) rather than a cockpit. Liked the end credits song.
Overall they did a great job. It looked like a labour of love. The director,producers and cast and crew did an exceptional job. It is a solid movie and a fantastic example of low budget filmmaking. Their imagination and tenacity made this film happen.
At the very end of the credits, there is a disclaimer by the filmmakers stating they made the film to the best standard they could, taking into account limited resources etc. I liked that little touch.
I would recommend this film to war movie buffs even with its flaws, I've watched it twice now and felt it was even better on the 2nd viewing. With any luck it will be a big hit on BD and DVD and make some money back for the filmmakers. Imagine if they made a lot of money, they maybe tempted to spruce up some of the dodgier looking bits of cgi and re- release it. Imagine that!
Just a note to say don't compare it to a big budget war film as that would be unfair. This film doesn't pretend to be anything other than a low budget war film and should be enjoyed as such. Adjust your expectations and you will be pleasantly surprised. It is an enjoyable film and I liked it very much.
It might be making its way into my collection!
.