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Amazon.ca
There was no better director than Howard Hawks at depicting group action. Because of his sense of character and pacing, Air Force transcends its propaganda purpose. It's well crafted all the way around, from the acting to the writing to the aerial fighting to James Wong Howe's painstakingly striking cinematography. A B-17 takes off from San Francisco in December of 1941 headed for Hawaii only to witness the Pearl Harbor attack from above, so it lands and takes off to thwart an oncoming attack. Reassigned to Manila, the crew (which includes the always cynical John Garfield, Gig Young, Arthur Kennedy, George Tobias, and Harry Carey) is thrust into the thick of battle. Incidentally, Hawks enlisted William Faulkner to rewrite a death scene that resulted in a sublime sense of honor. He also added some epigrammatic polish to some dialogue, such as Tobias's dismissal of California: "The sun shines and nothing ever happens, and before you know it you're 60 years old." --Bill Desowitz
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By J. Bryce
Format:DVD
This set contains: AIR FORCE (1943), COMMAND DECISION (1948), HELL TO ETERNITY (1960), THE HILL (1965), THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO (1944) and 36 HOURS (1965).
I won't try to review these 6 films individually but I do think it's a nice set of 6 - all previously unreleased on DVD. I think Amazon.ca might have taken the time to provide the titles in their listing instead of letting us find them on other sites or else squint to read the spine on the picture of the box. A key to this collection is the value - all six for $30.79 (pre-release price). Individually, these films are priced at $17.47, the cost of only two films being more than the price for all six when bought as a boxed-set (it would seem The Hill can only be bought as part of this set - there is no individual listing for it on Amazon)
I won't try to review these 6 films individually but I do think it's a nice set of 6 - all previously unreleased on DVD. I think Amazon.ca might have taken the time to provide the titles in their listing instead of letting us find them on other sites or else squint to read the spine on the picture of the box. A key to this collection is the value - all six for $30.79 (pre-release price). Individually, these films are priced at $17.47, the cost of only two films being more than the price for all six when bought as a boxed-set (it would seem The Hill can only be bought as part of this set - there is no individual listing for it on Amazon)
By kjmac
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This picture has good action in it. It has a lot of the great actors and my husband really enjoyed this movie.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By James L.
Format:VHS Tape
The legendary Howard Hawks directed this WWII classic about the Mary Ann, a B-17 bomber lead by Captain John Ridgely and featuring crew members Gig Young, Harey Carey, Arthur Kennedy, Charles Drake, George Tobias, Ray Montgomery, and John Garfield. On a routine mission to Hawaii, the crew arrives just hours after the Pearl Harbor attack and find themselves thrust into war. Other stops include Wake Island and the Philippines. Of course, one of the purposes of this film was to rally the American spirit, and it features some of the anti-Japanese dialogue you'd have to expect. But the film succeeds beyond the propaganda value. The action sequences are well filmed and exciting, with terrific aerial action and some good ground sequences, too. The camraderie amongst the crew is credible. Each member has his own small "back story" as you would expect, but these fine character actors make it all very believable (Harry Carey is a particular standout). This film is a true WWII classic.
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4.4 out of 5 stars
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