I rented this film in furtherance of my duty as something of a Roger Corman completist, and was very pleasantly surprised to find what I consider one of his very best films. Perhaps due to its lack of rubber monsters and scream queens (not to mention acid trips and biker chicks), this one has kind of slipped through the cracks of the director's massive output. It deserves rediscovery, as it is an excellent film featuring quality performances that I think rivals "The Intruder", his other attempt at serious film-making.
Some will complain I'm sure about this film's lack of historical accuracy. Hermann Goering (Barry Primus), for example, is shown fighting in the same air squadron as Baron Von Richthofen (John Phillip Law). I'm not very concerned with history myself because I think that history is better conveyed through books than film, and I would prefer for a film to have more focus and intent than a strictly accurate representation would allow. This film follows in the same line as great films like "Lawrence of Arabia" in choosing to throw aside historical accuracy in favor of what its writers considered historical resonance and perspective. It is not concerned with where Goering and Von Richthofen fought their battles, or even with who exactly shot Von Richthofen down in the end, but rather with the essential transformation that was taking place in the nature of combat in the early 20th Century. Goering and Von Richthofen were transposed because it provides a fascinating context as far as the kind of schism that was developing among warriors between the old and new ways. Von Richthofen is a man who prides himself deeply upon his aristocratic heritage and who insists at all points on fighting an honorable war -- for example when ordered to paint his airplanes in order to camouflage them from the enemy, he instead paints them all in bright colors and gives birth to the legendary "Flying Circus." He says to his superiors, "You can order us to die, but you cannot order us to hide from our enemy." He says that he is a knight who has traded in his horse for an airplane.
The contrast between Goering and Von Richthofen is interesting, and serves largely to make Von Richthofen more sympathetic than some of the other Germans, but it's the juxtaposition of Von Richthofen and the Canadian Roy Brown (Don Stroud) that is really at the heart of this film. Brown has a cynical view towards warfare, seemingly resigned towards the most brutal and callous aspects of war and deliberately eschewing all talk of "glory" and even "victory." "How can it be over? There's still some of us alive," he tells a reporter from Toronto in one of the film's most striking scenes. Von Richthofen and Brown each have an interview, which we hear on the soundtrack as we see them fly their planes in the sky. I was really struck by the writing in these scenes and the way that the contrast between their attitudes towards war was brought out by them.
I shouldn't end this comment without making mention of the excellent aerial photography that was used in this film. Today's audiences would demand some kind of over-the-top display of showmanship aided by CGI. Although I'm not completely against the use of CGI, in the case of a film like this I greatly prefer the way it was done back at the time this film was made, with what seem to be authentic airplanes of the period and some really exciting stunt flying. Von Richthofen's flying circus is truly a sight to see piercing its way through clear blue skies, and we don't need any digital manipulation to enhance the majesty of that vision.
I loved John Phillip Law in this performance. I've always enjoyed him in all the sci-fi films I've seen him in, as well as his sincere performance in "The Russians Are Coming! The Russians are Coming!". I think he showed his real leading man strength in this role, and his style was not patronizing towards the Germans in any way (in fact Law often worked as an actor in Germany in the 1980s and 90s). Don Stroud really amazed me because I've never particularly cared for him in all the biker movies I've seen him in, but he had the perfect amount of gravity for this role.
Kudos to Roger Corman -- other than a one-off return to directing in the early 90s, this was his swan song. He decided that if he couldn't make it as a top notch director that he would rather produce other director's films rather than go back to making schlock. And even though he was one of the greatest schlock-meisters, you have to respect that decision. And you have to wonder how different things might have been if this film had received the kind of attention that I think it deserved at the time it was made. Probably he did not make enough concessions to what he surely knew to be the popular taste -- there is only the smallest romantic element in this film, and it is a film more of ideas than of emotions.
Some will complain I'm sure about this film's lack of historical accuracy. Hermann Goering (Barry Primus), for example, is shown fighting in the same air squadron as Baron Von Richthofen (John Phillip Law). I'm not very concerned with history myself because I think that history is better conveyed through books than film, and I would prefer for a film to have more focus and intent than a strictly accurate representation would allow. This film follows in the same line as great films like "Lawrence of Arabia" in choosing to throw aside historical accuracy in favor of what its writers considered historical resonance and perspective. It is not concerned with where Goering and Von Richthofen fought their battles, or even with who exactly shot Von Richthofen down in the end, but rather with the essential transformation that was taking place in the nature of combat in the early 20th Century. Goering and Von Richthofen were transposed because it provides a fascinating context as far as the kind of schism that was developing among warriors between the old and new ways. Von Richthofen is a man who prides himself deeply upon his aristocratic heritage and who insists at all points on fighting an honorable war -- for example when ordered to paint his airplanes in order to camouflage them from the enemy, he instead paints them all in bright colors and gives birth to the legendary "Flying Circus." He says to his superiors, "You can order us to die, but you cannot order us to hide from our enemy." He says that he is a knight who has traded in his horse for an airplane.
The contrast between Goering and Von Richthofen is interesting, and serves largely to make Von Richthofen more sympathetic than some of the other Germans, but it's the juxtaposition of Von Richthofen and the Canadian Roy Brown (Don Stroud) that is really at the heart of this film. Brown has a cynical view towards warfare, seemingly resigned towards the most brutal and callous aspects of war and deliberately eschewing all talk of "glory" and even "victory." "How can it be over? There's still some of us alive," he tells a reporter from Toronto in one of the film's most striking scenes. Von Richthofen and Brown each have an interview, which we hear on the soundtrack as we see them fly their planes in the sky. I was really struck by the writing in these scenes and the way that the contrast between their attitudes towards war was brought out by them.
I shouldn't end this comment without making mention of the excellent aerial photography that was used in this film. Today's audiences would demand some kind of over-the-top display of showmanship aided by CGI. Although I'm not completely against the use of CGI, in the case of a film like this I greatly prefer the way it was done back at the time this film was made, with what seem to be authentic airplanes of the period and some really exciting stunt flying. Von Richthofen's flying circus is truly a sight to see piercing its way through clear blue skies, and we don't need any digital manipulation to enhance the majesty of that vision.
I loved John Phillip Law in this performance. I've always enjoyed him in all the sci-fi films I've seen him in, as well as his sincere performance in "The Russians Are Coming! The Russians are Coming!". I think he showed his real leading man strength in this role, and his style was not patronizing towards the Germans in any way (in fact Law often worked as an actor in Germany in the 1980s and 90s). Don Stroud really amazed me because I've never particularly cared for him in all the biker movies I've seen him in, but he had the perfect amount of gravity for this role.
Kudos to Roger Corman -- other than a one-off return to directing in the early 90s, this was his swan song. He decided that if he couldn't make it as a top notch director that he would rather produce other director's films rather than go back to making schlock. And even though he was one of the greatest schlock-meisters, you have to respect that decision. And you have to wonder how different things might have been if this film had received the kind of attention that I think it deserved at the time it was made. Probably he did not make enough concessions to what he surely knew to be the popular taste -- there is only the smallest romantic element in this film, and it is a film more of ideas than of emotions.