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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
Director Howard Hawks casually referred to Air Force (1943) as his 'contribution to the war effort.' It's also a masterpiece, standing with John Ford's They Were Expendable as the best WWII films Hollywood made while the war was still on. On the evening of December 6, 1941, a B-17 flies out of San Francisco on a routine peacetime training mission to Hickam Field in Hawaii. While en route, the officers and crew overhear radio traffic of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor ('Whatcha got there,' somebody asks the radio operator, 'Orson Welles?'). They touch down in a smoking world like a vision out of Dante, then hop from one Pacific outpost to the next as the clouds of war roil. The plane itself, the Mary Ann, is the movie's main character; the biggest star, John Garfield, actually gets last billing as her newly assigned tail gunner. Air Force is one of Hawks's supreme guys-doing-their-job movies, and the definitive war-movie portrait of America as a melting-pot of diverse individuals and types making common cause. The ensemble (Garfield, Gig Young, John Ridgely, Arthur Kennedy, the great Harry Carey, et al.) is superbly directed, there's a strong Dudley Nichols screenplay (with an uncredited contribution by William Faulkner) and breathtaking editing of the battle scenes (which won George Amy an Oscar), and the camerawork is by James Wong Howe in peak form.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Air Force
Who could go wrong with Howard Hawks? A fanciful propagandistic tale set in the days surrounding the Pearl Harbor attack. The "Mary Ann" goes more places in a few days and even leads a counterattack on the entire Japanese fleet only a few days later. Still, it is one of my favorites, I dig the B-17C/D and the cast, featuring a lot of second-line Warner Brothers actors for the time, except Harry Carey, is tight. Commentary would have made this even better.
Rating: - A good buy
I wanted to buy this film because I heard the Lux Radio Theatre version of it, and it was not only enjoyable, but the story began at Maither Field, which is not very far from where I live. And...I wasn't disappointed, but I do think the ending drags a bit. However, it's a valuable film because it gives the viewer a good survey of the first few days of World War II. Many people don't know that Pearl Harbor was only one of the places attacked by the Japanese on December 7th and 8th. I sure didn't until ... Read More
Rating:  - Off We Go....
Ahhh to hate those from Japan! How easy it was to twist the facts to put the fear of God into the average American! This attempt at propaganda had it all...the proud father, the tough kid, the boy next door, and even the cute dog! Too bad it was over the top. Still...it is a popcorn movie that could be used to open talk on fear and racism in the 1940's as well as what people will do to win you over to their cause. I enjoy watching it and would recommend it for a collector. Most others would be put ... Read More
Rating:  - A fantastic classic World War II movie
This is a classic must have for all lovers of history and World War II.
Rating: - Air Force
As a fan of most flying films and military ones in particular, this was a good movie. Naturally because it was produced during WWII it was very slanted in its language and portrayal of the Japanese. As I desire to have as many classic WWII flying films in my liabrary as possible, I am happy to have this one.
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