In this fast-paced documentary we get a good, complete re-telling of how a strong-willed group of airplane enthusiasts braved the elements, financial difficulties and at times seemingly their own incompetence, to raise a P-38 from deep inside the Greenland ice-cap.
The documentary isn't shy about recounting the personal difficulties and conflicts in this (over time, changing) group of men, who first can't find the "lost squadron", and then has huge difficulties in raising one of the planes that crash-landed on the Greenland ice-cap in 1942.
After the P-38 is painstakingly extracted from the ice, it takes a full ten years to restore it to flight-worthiness, a time which is covered more lightly than the Greenland period. The triumphant first flight is the climax of the documentary, and it is a truly beautiful sight to see "Glacier Girl" take to the skies.
Only slight misgivings I have about the program, is that it can be difficult to separate the protagonists, sometime I had a hard time remembering who was who. Also, I would have liked to have it mentioned that Greenland is actually not US territory, it hardly comes through in the film that Greenland is much more than just a big pile of ice & snow.
Anyway, there's much to tell in a big story like this, and I think the choices made as to what should go into this 1½ hour are generally correct.
The story is not just one of technical challenges, but of personal hardship as well. Highly recommended!
The documentary isn't shy about recounting the personal difficulties and conflicts in this (over time, changing) group of men, who first can't find the "lost squadron", and then has huge difficulties in raising one of the planes that crash-landed on the Greenland ice-cap in 1942.
After the P-38 is painstakingly extracted from the ice, it takes a full ten years to restore it to flight-worthiness, a time which is covered more lightly than the Greenland period. The triumphant first flight is the climax of the documentary, and it is a truly beautiful sight to see "Glacier Girl" take to the skies.
Only slight misgivings I have about the program, is that it can be difficult to separate the protagonists, sometime I had a hard time remembering who was who. Also, I would have liked to have it mentioned that Greenland is actually not US territory, it hardly comes through in the film that Greenland is much more than just a big pile of ice & snow.
Anyway, there's much to tell in a big story like this, and I think the choices made as to what should go into this 1½ hour are generally correct.
The story is not just one of technical challenges, but of personal hardship as well. Highly recommended!
