You're making some pretty big leaps based on two and a half minutes of a 2+ hour movie. You also have to keep in mind that this is the very first trailer.... the first ones rarely have anything of substance to them. They're usually just action-packed attention-getters. Looks interesting enough. Not a movie I would traditionally watch, but in recent years I've been finding that I've really enjoyed some of the recent the WWII "inspired by true events" movies, so I'll probably check it out for that.
I knew that Lucas had been wanting to do a movie about the Tuskegee Airmen for a number of years now--I think I first heard about it during the time of the Star Wars prequels--but I didn't know Red Tails was it. That trailer looked simply awesome--gave me goosebumps. I'm definitely looking forward to this...
This is a claim that seems to have become accepted knowledge but is at least an exaggeration. There was only one German destroyer in the Mediterranean in the war, a Greek capture that was knocked out in 1943. It's hard to find any confirming information on that sinking, but it's most likely that what the 332nd sank was a German-operated Italian torpedo boat, less than half the size of a typical WW2 destroyer. I don't know what that ship at the end of the trailer was supposed to be, from what I saw I'd guess an Italian battleship. --Justin
So Cuba Gooding Jr. pulls another black-man-struggles-against-adversity-in-the-military role? Two Navy, one Army Air Force, just leaving the regular Army and Marines? Ah well, I'll watch for awesome CGI dogfights. Can't do 'em for real anymore these days... However, I'd REALLY hope people will watch the one about the Flying Tigers when it finally makes it to screen. They made a movie about them already too, but it's got a slightly longer lag time between that one and the one coming. Mark
It probably comes down to a difference in designation between the US and Italy/Germany, not necessarily an exaggeration of the size of the ship. When someone says "torpedo boat," while correct, they inevitably picture something similar to the relatively small (80 foot, 56 tons fully loaded) wooden torpedo boats operated by the US Navy in WW2 and popularized by JFK's PT-109. In reality, the Italian Ariete Class Torpedo Boat Auriga (which after being captured became Torpedoboot Ausland-27 or TA-27 in German service) was 273 feet 11 inches long and 1,100 tons fully loaded. Compare that to some of the older and smaller contemporary American destroyers and it's right in the same size range and performs many of the same duties, which may be why it was identified and credited as a destroyer by the USAAF. As to whether that's what's being depicted in the film, that was just a guess on my part. It is a fictionalized story, so the ship doesn't have to resemble it exactly or even be precisely based on the details of this incident (since they're flying P-51s there and not P-47s as I mentioned above). It could just be a made up story for the film, but the machine guns setting off a huge detonation which could be mistaken for a bombing (as the Germans thought happened to TA-27) seemed reminiscent of that incident.
I ran across an interesting article on the considerations taken in filming Red Tails in the Czech Republic, and the decision to release the film in time for Black History Month 2012. Also, it discusses that the VFX are being done primarily in the Czech Republic, and not by ILM.
OTOH, when someone says "sank a destroyer" one thinks of a ship that was comparable to other then-modern destroyers, or at least serving a similar role, which the Italian torpedo boats were certainly not. I agree the distinction between a seagoing torpedo vessel -- which died out early in English-speaking navies -- and a coastal torpedo boat can be problematic. Many writers specify "PT boat," "E-boat" etc. But calling a vessel a destroyer when no contemporary navy, allied or enemy, considered it to be one is misleading. A lot had changed in 20 years, and WW1-era destroyers were nowhere near as capable and versatile as 1930s and later destroyers had become, and were not considered adequate for filling destroyer roles in a modern fleet. In US Navy reports similar Japanese vessels are often specified as "old destroyers" if not as "escorts," which was their normal role. But that's beside the point, as the vessel in question was not considered a destroyer (Zerstörer) by the Germans or the Italians (cacciatorpediniere or"torpedo boat hunter"). As to credit, my books are Pacific and navy-heavy and there was no JANAC for the Atlantic/Mediterranean, so I'm going by web searches, but I can't find how it was officially credited. I'm not even sure it was TA-27, since the 332nd FG claim is usually specified as near Trieste, but this source, cited in the Wikipedia article, says she was sunk near Portoferraio, on the other side of Italy. This is to take nothing away from the airmen in question; sinking a 1000 ton vessel with .50 machine gun fire is quite an accomplishment. But being specific about what the vessel was doesn't hurt anything, IMO. --Justin
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/mov...ks-george-lucas-film-delays-and-reshoots.html So Hemingway wasn't fired after all, nor was he ever excluded from the creative process. Sorry haters, maybe next time.
I remember hearing a while back that they were shooting for a $30 or $35 million budget. To get the film to look like that for $30 million is impressive.
New trailer is out: http://www.mtv.com/videos/movie-trailers/682506/red-tails.jhtml Looks pretty damn amazing, if you ask me.
Here's another link to the trailer, along with the theatrical poster, which looks pretty damn cool. http://www.s2smagazine.com/stories/2011/08/new-red-tails-teasers-released
I'm not worried about historical accuracy...much. It's a war movie. I'll go see it cause people is shootin' bullets at each other. I'll worry about "celebration" and special effects later.
Around 1:00 I notice the "Indiana Jones" vehicle explosion SFX sound. Which is expected since this is a Lucas produced movie
The movie will be released in two weeks. The website appears to have been updated since last I looked, and has some interactive elements to unlock content. There are also three trailers.