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thestilettoman
Reviews
The 49th Man (1953)
Remade in 1987 as "The Fourth Protocol"
None of the other reviewers seem to realize that this movie was "remade", using a somewhat different premise, but very similar in many aspects of the plot, including the last minute, down-to-the-wire ending. It was called "The Fourth Protocol", released in 1987, starring Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan.
Of course "The Fourth Protocol" had much bigger stars, bigger budget, better writers and better production values, and was certainly more believable. But we are comparing it with an early 50s B movie. It seems to me that the makers of the later movie must surely have seen this early one.
Flyboys (2006)
Historical accuracy is not the only issue of realism.
Some comments have criticized the use of airplanes that were not introduced until after 1916. That is valid, but not so important to me. More important is the issue of the pilot behavior in combat. When the fighter pilot looks back and sees the enemy on his tail, he is not going to sit there and think about for 10 seconds, or he will be dead. The reaction would be, within a fraction of a second, to have full aileron, full rudder, and pulling as many Gs as possible, attempting to shake off the enemy. This would be true in a biplane in 1916, a P-51 Mustang in 1944, or an F-4 Phantom in Vietnam.
These old biplanes had very low horsepower, and the climb angles depicted were much steeper than these airplanes could maintain for more than a few seconds.
The way so many airplanes were clustered together in the attacks was obviously to show the whole squadron, and is very typical of war movies. But that also was very unrealistic. You have to be ready to make very sudden and violent maneuvers - there is plenty to worry about without having to avoid running into your friends. I personally have done formation flying in air shows, and it is difficult enough when every move is carefully orchestrated.
And lastly, how many aviation flicks are they going to make with scenes showing someone spraying sparks with an acetylene cutting torch! It was ridiculous in Empire of the Sun, and even more ridiculous with these wood and fabric airplanes. You have to wonder about the intelligence of directors who do this nonsense.