graham-skan-240-370860
From other reviews I was expecting something of an experience, but I found it pedestrian, formulaic and unconvincing. It is understandable that 1990 technology can't match that of today (2015) but that doesn't fully explain the problem.Compare this with earlier productions such as "Battle of Britain", "The Dam Busters", "The Wooden Horse" and "The Cruel Sea" and you should see the point. Even "The Great Escape" was better entertainment, if less convincing.The general idea that very tight procedural disciplines can disintegrate under actual battle conditions is interesting, but is hardly innovative.
Desertman84
Memphis Belle is a fictionalization of the 1943 documentary Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress that tells the story of the 25th and last mission of an American Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber called the Memphis Belle that was based in England during World War II.It featured an all-star cast with Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, D.B.Sweeney and Harry Connick Jr. in leading roles. Having won fame with their exemplary war record and amazing lack of casualties, they expect their final assignment to be a cakewalk. Unfortunately,it was difference from what they expected as it they were assigned to bomb a heavily defended German city.It resulted loss of many lives.Memphis Belle is led by their experienced captain, Dennis Dearborn and the crew shoulders its responsibility despite mounting fears, while their commanding officer and a public relations specialist wait anxiously for their return. Things get interesting when it later found that medical officer Val Kozlowski has fake credentials.It was definitely clichéd and extremely predictable.The film was definitely made for entertainment for viewers who love films like Top Gun and Iron Eagle.Aside from that,it lacks realism as things that happen in it were definitely far from what probably happened in real life.it was obviously a fictionalization as I have stated in the first paragraph.Despite of it,the film manages to rise above it as it had great actors who delivered great performances.It definitely could provide a feeling of patriotism especially for people who did service in the military.Overall,it is still a war film worth viewing.
dimplet
If you haven't already seen Memphis Belle, go ahead and watch it before reading this review; it's reasonably entertaining, and I don't want to spoil it for you with my comments. Spoiler alert:I have watched Memphis Belle several times over the years, and it looks weaker each time. When it came out on VHS I gave a copy to a friend who was a long-time pilot, and he didn't think much of it. And I see from the review by Author: ianlouisiana from United Kingdom, someone who was there in England at the time, that the acting just doesn't match the way people behaved back then. My first thought on my latest viewing is that she is right, and almost everyone was over-acting, presumably at the insistence of the director, Michael Caton-Jones. Most of the performances are corny, even, sadly, John Lithgow's. But there is a deeper problem: All of the crew, except the pilot, behave like they were 12 years old. This is not how people behaved back then, and certainly not in the military during World War 2. Back then, graduating from high school was more like graduating from college is today; people were far more mature, because they had to be -- they had to find a job, and in the Depression. Being in the military aged you fast during WWII. Just look at the documentaries from the war. My guess is it added 10 years to your age in maturity. Plus, being in a flight crew was special duty, which, I assume, required extra maturity, given the danger, responsibility, and price of the airplane. I can't imagine the Army allowing such infantile whiners into a B17, or that they would still be so immature after 24 missions. Putting an embarrassing sign on the back of your buddy and other mean-spirited horseplay during a mission over Nazi Germany is hard to imagine in real life. If this were pure fiction and you wanted to give it a MASH touch of absurd humor, that's a director's right. But this was based on a true story, and a remarkable one, so the acting and script should have been more realistic. The movie's strength is giving a sense of the danger in a bombing run over Germany. but there are plenty of movies that do that, and better. Of course, one of the best air battle movie is "The Battle of Britain," and it's companion BBC documentary. I admire period movies that get the sense of the time right. It's not just about avoiding anachronistic items, but of getting the feel, the mood, the character of the period. Visually, Memphis Belle gets it. In other respects, the movie comes close, but doesn't quite succeed in transporting you back in time to 1943. The childish acting and silly gimmicks like the fellow going on and on about opening a national hamburger franchise get in the way. You feel that what they know about WWII was based on watching some WWII era B movies. An example of a movie that did succeed in recreating the war and time, totally, was Das Boot. It, too, was based on a true story, written by the embedded journalist. Another is Yanks. In 1990, when Memphis Belle was made, there were enough people still alive from that time to tell those involved what it was really like, plus there was the original documentary. But I guess that's not the sort of movie they really wanted to make. Too bad. It could have been a classic.---As a side note, I am saddened by the persistently anti-American sentiment expressed by so many reviewers over virtually any American war movie that does not co-star their country. One states that despite a British director, etc.: "Fair enough but couldn't the characters have mentioned that WW2 was a joint operation ? Watching this you'll be left thinking America was fighting alone." I can assure you, Theo Robertson from Isle Of Bute, Scotland, that while we are a nation of drooling dolts and imbeciles, no American is so stupid as to think the U.S. fought WWII alone. We know Britain fought, too, and bravely. We even know who your wartime leaders were: Prime Minister Sherlock Holmes followed by Colonel Blimp. Anyone who gets their history exclusively from the movies is a fool, so they are beyond help. But even if they did, they would not be this misinformed. All they would have to do is watch Patton to know about Britain's valuable contribution in Africa! (Just kidding.) And then there's A Bridge Too Far, from MGM, if you want co-star billing (and that other Bridge movie). Look, Britain, America (and William Wyler) made "Mrs. Minniver," and without even once mentioning Lend-Lease, so get off our backs!!!Have a nice day.
