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For those of whose are really aviation fans and have Apple TV+, "Masters of the Air" about bomber pilots in WW2 is a great series. Today the 8th part was released.
The good: The aviation, the depiction of the aircraft was impeccable. A multi-engine pilot friend of mine gushed about the "perfect sideslip when landing in a crosswind with differential power". The missions were amazingly depicted in their surreal beauty and intense brutality. They did not pull their punches. The acting was at times superb - the cocky pilots coming face to face with the brutal reality and their realization that they were statistically unlikely to live through it. Some elements that aren't always well covered got their moment, too - the fate of downed airmen, for instance.
The so-so: Some minor plot elements felt a little formulaic. The fistfight against the locals outside a pub. The intense one-night-stand with a beautiful, spirited woman (with her own tragic backstory) while on leave. The obligatory concentration camp montage. The Tuskegee Airmen subplot - while, again, very well done - felt tacked on.
The not-so-great: One can't help but compare to Band of Brothers or The Pacific. And while that's a high bar, admittedly, I feel Masters of the Air places way behind the other two. The material is difficult. The amazing courage shown by the crews is that of men rolling loaded dice for their lives. They fly a predetermined route in tight formation and when the flak or the fighters zoom in, skill barely enters into who lives or dies. There is no Cpt. Winters or Ack-Ack to make split-second decisions. It's hard to film. The narrative arc is ultimately not very satisfying.
For a CGI production they were lazy. Mistakes like not using later models of B-17s with chin turrents as the months pass or using the iconic D models of P-51s when portraying the Tuskegee Airmen getting them instead of the B model razorbacks.
[*]The so-so: Some minor plot elements felt a little formulaic. The fistfight against the locals outside a pub. The intense one-night-stand with a beautiful, spirited woman (with her own tragic backstory) while on leave. The obligatory concentration camp montage. The Tuskegee Airmen subplot - while, again, very well done - felt tacked on.
I read special attention was given to researching the airmen’s stories and that is was a detailed, accurate representation as to what actually occurred. That said, despite accuracy and great aerial scenes, I thought the writing a bit lackluster (but it was a good series anyway). The dude who portrayed Crosby is in Manhunt as well (as John Wilkes Booth).
I read special attention was given to researching the airmen’s stories and that is was a detailed, accurate representation as to what actually occurred. That said, despite accuracy and great aerial scenes, I thought the writing a bit lackluster (but it was a good series anyway). The dude who portrayed Crosby is in Manhunt as well (as John Wilkes Booth).
It's a conundrum - reality doesn't always make for a good narrative. As terrifying as it must have been to live through, perhaps television just isn't the medium for it? Then again, what do I know - nobody ever trusted me with $250M to make a series.
And by the end of the war the mighty B17 was obsolete and even the newer G models were destined for the scrap heap so the aluminum could be recycled for civilian use. The jet age had arrived. A few were used by the Israelis during the war for independence.
The old bird soldiered on for a while in non military use. Air Sea rescue in the 1950’s especially during the Korean War. And even later as tankers to drop water and chemicals on forest fires. Just a few remain in museums a testimony to the brave young men who flew them in combat.
It's a conundrum - reality doesn't always make for a good narrative. As terrifying as it must have been to live through, perhaps television just isn't the medium for it? Then again, what do I know - nobody ever trusted me with $250M to make a series.
I think that instead of claiming a single source history/memoir like Band of Brothers multiple sources like in The Pacific could have been credited and then shoehorning in of the Tuskegee Airmen and the SOE spy might have felt more organic as an air war as opposed to a 100th Group daytime bomber series
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