Your favorite aviation movie or T.V. series?

I'll throw some in that haven't been mentioned yet (at least, I don't think that they have!):

1941 - John Belushi topping off the tanks of a P-40 at a gas station. Hilarious!!!

Hart's War - Great scenes of P-51's busting the Luftwaffe and a train. Even includes the Tuskeege airmen.

Wing and a Prayer - Filmed during WWII, using actual carrier combat footage. Those are real Avengers flying in this movie. You oughta see how young Harry Morgan looks in this one. It's a GREAT movie!!!

The Great Santini - Robert Duvall as a Marine Vietnam-era fighter pilot flying F-4's. I've read the book, and, except for the aircraft (the book has Bull Meecham flying F-8 Crusaders), the movie is very close.

Saving Private Ryan - A quick scene of a P-51 busting a German tank, but, hey!! It does have an aircraft in it.....

Band of Brothers - Lots of C-47's, some P-47's, a few Spitfires, some P-51's..........................

It's hard to pin down down any ONE favorite movie or TV show. In addition to the above stuff, my other most-liked celluloid moving images are:

Flight of the Intruder

Final Countdown

Memphis Belle - both the documentary & the movie. I'm kinda biased on that one, as I'm from Memphis, and had the opportunity to climb around in the Belle as a kid when she sitting out at the Memphis International Airport rotting away back in the early '70's........I had no idea of the her historical significance at the time (I was only about 10 years old). I just knew she was a WWII bomber.

Discovery Wings Channel - My TV has permanent burn-in on the screen from this channel 8-))

And, does anyone remember a TV detective series called "Riptide", with Joe Penny and Perry King? They flew this old Vietnam-era Sikorsky helicopter (I think it was an H-34, but I'm not really sure). Hilarious show.

Strategic Air Command

Bombers B-52

The Bridges at Toko-Ri

Flying Leathernecks - Although, using F6F's as Zeroes was stretching it a bit.

The War Lover - Steve McQueen flying that B-17 like it was a fighter, buzzing the field, just makes you wanna start building a 1/32 Flying Fortress................... Anybody know where you can get that on DVD, by chance?

And don't forget the TV series "Ripcord"!!!

One decent movie about the AVG would have to be "GOD IS MY COPILOT".
Gawd, I still remember SKYKING and WHIRLYBIRDS, too.
FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER
BRIDGES AT TOKO-RI
THE MCCONNELL STORY
Ray

I can't beleive that more people didn't list the Iron Eagle trilogy!! #3 was the best one. I really liked that fictional German fighter!! I laso would have to list Tora and Pearl Harbor and Flight of the Intruder and........ well I could go on forever here. They've got airplanes in them, right? If it has airplanes I'll watch it, don't care how cheesy it is, how badly acted, how badly directed! (I've got Flying Tigers on video, pay attention to the squadron hack, it's a real plane and the only one built. Wings magazine did an article on it a few years ago. Unfortunately I don't remember what it's called!)

Buy a dish, then watch Discovery Wings channel for the rest of your lives

The "Iron Eagle" Trilogy.

I need to take my medication....

Everybody forget:

Mine would halft to Black sheep squadron and tora tora tora.

There are so many: Tora Tora Tora, Battle of Britain(would love to see it remade) Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, Flying Tigers(The Duke, enough said!), Airplane, Wing and a Prayer, etc.

I don't know if this fits the question but i LOVE the Discover wings channel!!!!!! All day , all the time-nothing but aviation!!!! It doesn't get better than that!

Hmm... might be "Hope and Glory". I remember watching that one-- it was a British film I believe. I'll have to check it out again to see....cmtaylor-- I was pretty sure it wasn't that one back when it was suggested-- but I rented it again and it wasn't the one. I hope I find it-- it's killing me not knowing LOL

Hey All!

My fav movies for accuracy would have to be Dambusters and Battle of Britian. Pearl Harbor is one of the worst I've seen in a long, long time. For starters, when Rafe's flying his spit over dover in the only decent combat scene in the movie, you'll notice two 20mm cannons on the wings. they weren't introduced until 1942 in North Africa!!! Also the J model B-25's on the Hornet too, another terrible inaccuracy! I had to watch the movie three times in three days at my cottage, and I almost coughed up a lung due to inaccuracy...............

The 12 O'Clock High series was and is a great series. They still have it on the History Television up here in Canada(eh!) just great.

Lancaster_lover

Bandit's!!! 12 O'Clock High!!!

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jeeves Maybe you guys can help me out here with a movie I have been trying to find. I rented it a few years back from a small video store that is now closed. It was set sometime after the Battle of Britain...and depicted London under attack from Hitler's Vengeance Weapons. In the beginning, you'd hear and see the V-1s buzzing and exploding in the city....and later in the movie-- they did a great job of showing the V-2s in action-- you'd see this HUGE explosion, and then shortly after hear the rocket engine noise. I have no idea of the cast or anything like that-- it reminds me a lot of the Battle of Britain film, but is later in the war. I know it isn't "Operation Crossbow"

It DOES sound very much like Operation Crossbow , with George Peppard, Tom Courtney, Jeremy Kemp, anthony Quayle and Sophia Loren.
The only other film about the V weapons that I can think of is 'Battle of the V1', starring Michael Rennie, in Black and White

QUOTE: Originally posted by Pixilater Was it the one with the children ? Their house was bombed and his toy soldiers melted ? The sister was dating a Yank ? I can't remember the title, but if it was this one, someone else may recognize it. Hope you find out which one it is !

Hope and Glory. It's a great film, but there's not much flying in it.

Regards,

-Drew

Has anyone see "Command Decision" with Clark Gable ? An actual veteran of the ETO in the 8th A.F., he also made recruitment films. I have to laugh when they show a model of the Me 262 and call it the "Lance Wolf One !" Where did they come up with a moniker like that ?

Movie has to be "Flight of the Intruder". Can't figure why it only gets one star in reviews?
T.V. Sky King he he, That's the Old Chief...

....Another just popped into mind - 'Always' ! Great flick for anyone who:

a) has a thing for the A-26 Invader or the PBY-5A Catalina
b) likes to see old warbirds still getting a workout in the modern world
c) wants to trick their wife or girlfriend into watching an aviation movie

'Always' was based on the old movie called 'A Guy Named Joe', which was also a good aviation film and featured P-38 Lightnings.

Here's an old TV show for you folks - 'Tales of the Gold Monkey'! Thank you Donald Bellisario!

Anyone remember that one? It wasn't exactly my favorite, but it was unique to say the least. Island hopping in the South Seas in a Grumman G-21A Goose with an ex-pat AVG pilot. Kind of a tongue-in-cheek Indiana Jones/ Alan Quartermain meets Magnum P.I. storyline - pretty corny but then weren't most of the TV shows in the early 80's?

I'm going to have to pick up the 1/72 kit from Sword now that I Googled for info on the show and build 'Cutter's Goose'!

Hmmm... I kinda like the movie "Those great men and their flying machines" I know it sounds funny and childish but the aircraft were really nice!! Simple yet enetertaining... In singapore we recieved a programme called Wings.. it was about many WW2 and post war aircraft incl F15's and other modern jets... Some footage was fantastic... Top Gun had nice shots of the F14 but their enemy aircraft tended to be F5 tigers if I aint wrong so realism was lacking(MiG 28s?????)!!!!

Cheers,

Nandakumar

I wonder why only atomr mention 'The Blue Max'. It was a great movie. The fighting scene was great. It must took them a lot of effort to preserve and use those precious WWI planes. They seems to be authentic to me. '633 Squadron' was also great, who can forget the climax part when the whole squad of mosquitos attacked the German base between two cliffs. Of course how can I forget 'Bridge of ToKo-Ri', great F-9F attack. BTW has anyone once watch a British TV series called "Piece of Cake'. It was shown in A&E Channel in North American 2-3 years ago. It was a war-drama about a squardron of British Spritfires pilots fighting the Germans from the begining of WWII to Battle of Britain. Some great fighting scenes and lots of Spirtfires in action, although some Spitfires Mk1 were subsituded by Mk5. The Me-109s were Spanish post WWII Me-109 I think.

Was it the one with the children ? Their house was bombed and his toy soldiers melted ? The sister was dating a Yank ? I can't remember the title, but if it was this one, someone else may recognize it. Hope you find out which one it is !

Maybe you guys can help me out here with a movie I have been trying to find. I rented it a few years back from a small video store that is now closed. It was set sometime after the Battle of Britain...and depicted London under attack from Hitler's Vengeance Weapons. In the beginning, you'd hear and see the V-1s buzzing and exploding in the city....and later in the movie-- they did a great job of showing the V-2s in action-- you'd see this HUGE explosion, and then shortly after hear the rocket engine noise.

I have no idea of the cast or anything like that-- it reminds me a lot of the Battle of Britain film, but is later in the war. I know it isn't "Operation Crossbow" as someone on another forum suggested as that was sort of a strange George Peppard flick ;) Thanks in advance....and I'll add my favorite--- 633 Squadron.

Movie. The Final Countdown. I would have loved to see the USS Nimitz tackle the Japanise fleet. They came back to their own time too soon.

TV series. JAG. There is some flying in it. If Catherne Bell had been on recruting posters when I was young, I would have joined the Marines and not the Air Force. I have always been told that 95% of the women in the Air Force are beautiful. I was always stationed with the other 5%.

DJ,

Don't you just love Tomcats splashing Zeros? Nice touch.
Forgot to add one of the greatest aerial combat sequences of recent history: Pearl Harbor. The bombing of the Arizona was classic.

demono69

I'd have to go with "The Final Countdown", starring Martin Sheen and Kirk Douglas. You get to see the airwing of the Nimitz in the late 70s with all the colorful markings.

DJ

Well! That didn't turn out the way I planned it! :)

QUOTE: Originally posted by Keyworth Gulfstream, the Robert Mitchum film was "The Hunters" Had Robert Wagner and Richard Egan in it as well. Someone should rerelease that one again. The only availability is a cheesy copy some guy sells on eBay for an exhorbitant price.

The ~~~~~~s, Bob Mitchum splashing Casey Jones' Thunderstreak ! in his Sabre

Lufbery,
I think that the very same F9 crashed in the hunt for red october after changing
from an F14.
Reach for the sky, Battle of Britain, Dambusters,633SQN,Flight of the Intruder,Blue thunder, remember the turkey ' wings of the Apache'.
Most of the black and white movies of the 40's,50's and 60's are shown on BBC2
and CH4 on weekdays, so I set the vcr when i'm at work and have a good movie at least once a week.

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Gulfstream, the Robert Mitchum film was "The Hunters" Had Robert Wagner and Richard Egan in it as well. Someone should rerelease that one again. The only availability is a cheesy copy some guy sells on eBay for an exhorbitant price.