Memphis Belle (1990)

World War II and as the battle for the skies rages, the youthful crew of B-17 Bomber Memphis Belle embark on their 25th and final mission...David Puttnam co-produces with Catherine Wyler and Michael Caton-Jones directs this poignant and gripping WWII story. The crew of "Belle" are made up of a youth inflected cast of actors headed by the likes of Eric Stoltz, Sean Astin, Billy Zane and Matthew Modine, while John Lithgow and David Strathairn provide the mature acting weight on the ground hoping that the boys come back safely.In truth it's all a bit too predictable, but never insultingly so, though research into the real exploits of the brave heroes involved reveals that Hollywood has, well, been Hollywood. Tech credits are a mixture of the brilliant and the poor, but when it involves the aerial sequences the film is stunning, and the makers do a sterling job of making "Belle's" final flight suspenseful and emotionally potent. 6.5/10

World War II has many memories in it's huge archives. But the ones which stand out in an audience's mind are the ones which recall family members who actually experienced them. This movie " Memphis Belle " reaches deep into the human Psyche and rekindles a plethora of war time conflicts. The actors chosen for this masterpiece are incredible as they superbly resurrect the dangerous era of the courageous men and their historic aircraft. Matthew Modine plays Capt. Dennis Dearborn, a stern commander who exhibits a tough veiner, but is inwardly aware and concern with every man in his crew. Tate Donovan is Lt. Sinclair, anxious to experience bravery as a necessary element to achieve fame. However when the war touches him, he realizes, it's not as glorious as he imagined. Eric Stoltz, D.B. Sweeney, Billy Zane, Sean Astin, Harry Connick Jr., Reed Diamond, Courtney Gains and Neil Giuntoli play the crew. Rounding out the cast, adding prestige and enhancing the over-all story are David Strathairn and John Lithgow. Together, this superior ensemble and the dramatic talent of the special effects specialists allowed the 'Belle' to rise center stage and display its last wartime flight. The result is nothing short of extraordinary. Behind the men and their plane is the memory of the thousands of brave airmen who gave their lives for their country. In short, their sacrifice becomes the lasting monument which continues to this day as a lasting tribute to our freedom. A great film which is sure to become a military Classic. Highly recommended! ****

This movie has a lot going for it but it isn't as good as it could have been.The aircraft, the uniforms and the sets were great, but the acting was 1990s. You knew these guy were the grandsons of the men that flew the missions. The actors were part of the "ME" generation and they acted it.They were self absorbed. They were emotional. They were soft. This is more like a movie made about a Time Warp where Generation X is put into the "Way Back Machine" with the dials set to WWII with the cameras running.If you want to see a good WWII movie about B-17 crews and a good movie about leadership watch Twelve O'Clock High. That is a bomber movie.Having said that Memphis Belle is easy to watch. The acting is average. The plot is OK. The sets and props are excellent.I wish they could have used the sets and props for a better script and better director.

I take a bit of an exception to "trapper"'s comments that people from Australia wont find much to enjoy in this film. Not to be mean, but you don't know what you're talking about mate.As an Australian (note, in case you've lived under a ROCK for the last 60 years, Australians fought in WWII as well, including my own grandfather) I feel indescribable gratitude towards those brave men and women who stood up for all of us. Without them, the nation of Australia would not exist today, because Australia would have been conquered by Japan, and would be a very different country today.It doesn't take much internet surfing or reading (yes, i still actually go to the library) to find out that the incidents portrayed in this film did actually take place, just not all on the same mission and not all happened to the Belle herself. (FYI, the Belle's real last mission was not to Bremen, it was to a target in France, and the mission went without a hitch, text-book-perfect, not really something worthy of a movie...quite boring actually despite it's significance to the crew). Yes some stuff was made up...but all in all, Catherine Wyler (William Wyler's daughter) has done a fairly exceptional job of telling all the stories she wanted to tell. She said her father (or grandfather one or the other it's been a while) told her heaps of stories about heaps of bomber crews and she wanted to tell them all, but settled on a few very dramatic ones she thought would work well for this film, and they do.Technically, give the film a break...they did a great job of making 6 real B17's look like 150. Without CGI this was a lot harder to do than it seems.I give war films the benefit of the doubt when it comes to things like dialogue/realism etc simply because *drum roll* I WAS NOT THERE, therefore I don't know sh*t and so I don't try to pretend that I do. My grandfather never said much about his time in North Africa and Crete during WWII, except that I always got the impression he tried to REMEMBER his friends that were there with him, and to FORGET everything else, all the horrible things he saw and did. Things he HAD to see and HAD to do at the time. This film shows very well the camaraderie that my late grandfather held so dear.But...by all means keep bashing this film...I don't mind its low rating because I have it on DVD so what anyone else thinks of it is kinda irrelevant to me, and the naysayer comments are oh so entertaining. Like the one (Robert J Maxwell) that raves about the dog in this film...man, I had to rack my brain to even remember the dog, but this reviewer seems to feel the dog has a pivotal role in the film and ruined his enjoyment of it...whoah dude...you need to calm down man! Repeat after me...IT'S...JUST...A...MOVIE.