Touching the Sky
Added 8/11/2010
This movie "The Tuskegee Airmen" as presented by Home Box Office is an outstanding work of craft, art, and talent depicting the beginnings and lives of brave and courageous men from Alabama who defended and protected our country during the height of WW II. They were separated from their families, emotionally separated from the country which they protected, and physically separated from other African American brothers but yet they persevered with due diligence to continue forward through flight training performing at the highest quality level and certified as professionally trained fighters and support staff. In spite of the racism and the lack of repect they received on an ongoing basis at that time, none of these superficial barriers stood in the way of accomplishing their specified goals. I salute you for without your determination and sacrifice, the USA and its citizens would not enjoy the democratic entitlements it enjoys today.
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DISCRIMINATION OF THE BLACK MAN IN UNIFORM
Added 8/10/2010
THIS MOVIE WAS GREAT TO WATCH BECAUSE THE ACTORS WERE FAVORITES OF MINE....DEALING WITH DISCRIMINATION OF THE NEGRO IN UNIFORM AND WHAT IT TOOK TO UNSEGREGATE THE NEGROES WITH THE WHITE MEN COUNTER-PARTS....IN WARTIME IN THE EUROPEAN THEATRE OF WAR...
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Excellent film
Added 6/10/2010
This film depicts a mostly forgotten part of American history. Following the cadets from wannabe Army-Air Corps pilots through training (and some failures) through to their unmatched conduct in WW II is must viewing for all Americans. The racism is a lesson for all, both in the stupidity of its existence (Negroes aren't smart enough or talented enough to fly complex airplanes) to what can be productively accomplished when it is not used as an excuse for quitting. The famous "Red Tails" never lost a B-17 to enemy fighters and they were not a welcome sight to Luftwaffe pilots. More persistent than their white counterparts, the B-17 crews came to ask for their unit specifically to fly escort.
The film captures all of this. Andre Braugher is outstanding as Benjamin O. Davis. Courtney B. Vance is excellent as the liaison Lt. Glenn. Laurence Fishburne's composite character (including that of of the person Charles Alfred Anderson) is superb.
Worth buying and watching repeatedly
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Fun to watch repeatedly.
Added 6/1/2010
THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN, stars Laurence Fishburne, known for playing an aggressive character (Ike Turner) in WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT, and a gentle, reclusive professor in AKEELAH AND THE BEE. This film also stars the equally versatile Cuba Gooding, who happens to be a household word in America.
THE FILM IS BASED ON THESE EVENTS. The Tuskegee program began with the formation of the 99th Fighter Squadron at the Tuskegee Institute. After basic training the airmen were placed under the command of Captain Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., then one of the few black graduates of West Point, then was transported to Casablanca, Morocco, on the USS Mariposa and to participate in the North African campaign. From Morocco they traveled by train to Oujda then to Tunis, the location from which they operated against the Luftwaffe. Flyers and ground crew alike largely were isolated by the racial segregation practices of their initial command, Colonel William W. Momyer. The Tuskegee Airmen were credited with 112 Luftwaffe aircraft shot down, the German-operated Italian destroyer TA-23 sunk by machine-gun fire, and destruction of numerous fuel dumps, trucks, and trains. The Tuskegee airmen flew more than 15,000 sorties on 1,500 missions. On a mission flown March 24, 1945, they escorting B-17s to bomb the Daimler-Benz tank factory at Berlin, Germany. During the action its pilots were credited with destroying three Me-262 jets of the Luftwaffe's all-jet Jagdgeschwader 7 in aerial combat that day.
STORYLINE OF THE FILM. The film begins with several young African-Americans who meet on a train on their way to aviator school. They encounter a dose of reality during the trip, when they are required to move to a special blacks-only car on the train, to make room for white people (the white people are German prisoners of war). They encounter more doses of reality on the military base, where one of the officers, Major Joy, refers to them with the "n word," and sees it as his personal mission to sink the entire Tuskegee training program. At any rate, Major Joy does not succeed, and the Tuskegee airmen travel to north Africa, where they see huge quantities of combat action. Laurence Fishburne survives, but Cuba Gooding crashes during a mission.
The film is characterized by its occasional stylized dialogue and by its didactic script. Overall, the film is geared to people of the ages ten and up. The entire script seems to be about 25 pages long, as there are no lengthy dialogues. The violence is kept to a minimum. There is a minimum of bad words. This would make an excellent teaching device for a civics class, for middle school students.
THEATRICALLY STYLIZED and DIDACTIC SCENES. The recruits spontaneously derive nicknames from the men's background, and spontaneously begin using these nicknames. Mr.Fishburne is called "Iowa" because his character is from Iowa. Cuba Gooding exclaims, "Hey Iowa, are you ready for all this?" Other nicknames are "Stick" and "Train." In a scene typical of countless sports movies, Cadet Leroy expresses self-doubt about finishing training, in view of the fact that 1/3rd of the men had already dropped out. But Mr.Fishburne give him a pep-talk. At first, Leroy expresses self-doubt saying, "I don't know." Then, Mr.Fishburne give him more pep-talking, and Leroy half-heartedly answers, "Yeah, I'm going to make it." Finally, after more pep-talking, Leroy exclaims affirmatively, "I'm going to make it." Another didactic theme, found in this movie, and in other movies such as BILLY BUDD by Herman Melville, OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN with Richard Gere, and A SOLDIER'S STORY starring Adolph Caesar, is humiliation and abuse from the officers directed to new recruits. Thus, if you don't mind that your movie entertainment is sometimes preachy or didactic, then you won't mind these excesses in THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN.
QUOTABLE QUOTES. The film contains a number of quotable quotes:
(1) For example, after a crash kills one of the cadets, the liaison officer tells the other cadets, "If you don't believe in God, you'd better find a damned good substitute."
(2) In a confrontation between Major Joy, who wants to see the Tuskegee program eliminated, we find this exchange. The Major exclaims, "There's a war on," meaning that America should not be tinkering around with an experimental program to train black fliers. The Colonel replies to this with, "And I'd prefer that war not be on this base," meaning that it is not the Major's business to dictate military policy to the Colonel.
(3) Another great line is delivered by an older member of a chain gang, cutting tall weeds in a field by a country road, under the supervision of redneck guards with toting rifles. Two of the cadets, Cappy and Hannibal, experience engine trouble and they land on a country road by the chain gang. "Just a little engine trouble," explains Hannibal (Mr.Fishburne) as he climbs out of his plane, and pulls off his goggles. Of course, this surprises the rednecks as well as the members of the chain gang. An older member of the chain gang smiles broadly, and quietly utters, "They're colored fliers." This low-key scene is likely to instill more pride in the viewing audience than a dozen touchdowns at the Superbowl. To repeat, the great line is: "They're colored fliers."
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Tuskegee Airmen
Added 3/30/2010
Excellent movie about what the Tuskegee Airmen had to deal with in order to serve their country. Too bad it took this long to give them the credit and praise they are due.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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