![]() And that’s been the case for many years running: Tora! Tora! Tora! However, there is one Pacific Theatre film that stands out way above the rest. Wild Blue Yonder and Unbroken both have great bomber-centric-moments, as does Howard Hawks’ Air Force, while both versions of Midway have worthy plane vs. The kinetic-but-silly Pearl Harbor has dogfights over both oceans. There aren’t quite as many entrants here. While the Battle of Britain was raging in Europe, an entirely different set of battles colored the skies in the Pacific Theatre, and Hollywood made the movies to match. Tora! Tora! Tora! - World War II: Pacific It is a rare dogfight that is both poetic and climactic, but Battle of Britain pulls it off and then some. But it is the music’s placement at the forefront of the sequence that tells the dramatic story of the aerial carnage better than any explanatory dialogue or intertitle ever could. There is a world of agile hit-and-runs and desperately fragile vulnerability to often a single well-placed counterattack. The camera swoops and soars like its heroes, each in their own aerial corvette - meticulously restored for the shooting of the film - and nimbly jockeying for guns-on position. Both films focus on cooperation in aerial combat, but in two very different ways.Īnd while Memphis Belle’s air battles are deeply rewarding in their inter-ship coordination, Battle of Britain’s final battle - with no dialogue or sound effects but for the roaring classical score - is one of cinema’s all-time best. Memphis Belle put us inside an unescorted American B-17 Bomber under attack, while The Battle of Britain instead located us inside the cockpits of the intercepting Spitfires. The dogfighting sequences of The Battle of Britain and Memphis Belle both offer reversed perspectives on fighters attempting to interdict an attack run. But we think we ever so slightly prefer the climactic dogfight of The Battle of Britain. The War Lover gives us a great window into the flying fortress versus fighter duels that took place over Europe, as does The Memphis Belle. However, we think it’s a little more successful as a structural element in the greater story than as a standalone, action-packed dogfight. Next up, we’re fast-forwarding a decade or two, passing by The Great Waldo Pepper in a rare but phenomenal interbellum dogfight without guns, and landing at World War II’s European theater.ĭunkirk's real-deal IMAX footage is absolutely stunning. Wings is an utterly astonishing accomplishment - hardly beaten to this day - and it’s a must-include on any dogfight list. ![]() ![]() ![]() Shot with real military planes and pilots from the Air Corps (the predecessor to the Air Force), an unprecedented percentage of the footage was captured in the actual air, often with actors actually flying the planes, with meticulous compositions of wingmen or pursuers in the very same frame behind them without any visual effects tricks or rear projection. Decades ahead of its time, it practically invented aerial cinematography (at least as far as combat was concerned) and most of the cinematic grammar we still use when shooting fighter pilot scenes today was created here.ĭirected by William Wellman - an actual pilot in World War I - the film is just about as real as it gets. The action moves slowly enough and happens at close enough range that, compared to later engagements with BVR (Beyond Visual Range combat) combat at Mach 1, there’s little need for pilot chatter to orient us as to what’s happening.Īnd in that respect, Wings - the epic story of a love triangle cut in two by the war - is just the best of the best. Without radios, there was no need for dialogue. World War I is the perfect period for aerial dogfights done in silent fashion. The Blue Max and Aces High both make a fantastic compromise between early visual effects and actual-aerial footage, and we are continually astonished by Howard Hughes’ insanely ambitious ability to darken the sky with his enormous dogfights in Dawn Patrol and Hell’s Angels, but as far as World War I goes, we still don’t think it gets any better than the very first dogfight from Hollywood’s very first Academy Award winner: Wings.
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