On M List of Movie Reviews
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Memphis Belle (1990)
Rate:
9
Viewed:
1/03, 7/04, 11/13, 8/20
11/13:
One day, I stopped by Wings Stop in Port Isabel, Texas, and looked at the wall which showed an old-style plane.
I immediately recognized it as Memphis Belle because I saw the different gun turrets at specific locations and
finally the picture of a woman by the side of the cockpit. The reason why I knew is that I saw the film.
Memphis Belle is excellent which depicts the job that bomber crews went through during World War II.
It's a dramatic show because their lives were at stake to serve their country. There's no glamorization at work; it's just
a set of straightforward facts of how the job was done. I like the star-studded cast, and there's a great deal of teamwork.
The final hour is exciting, I must say.
All in all, it's a shame Memphis Belle isn't recognized enough.
8/20:
Although fictional, Memphis Belle is one of the best aerial war pictures made.
Despite the slow first half, there are a lot of things to like: the high production values, the esprit de corps, the thrilling
second half, and the aerial photography. The B-17's are marvelous to look at as the filmmakers took advantage of five out
of eight still-functioning bombers as of the late 80's.
No director has done a good job of giving enough character development for as many as ten men like how Michael Caton-Jones did
for Memphis Belle. I appreciate how he made sure of the function of each crew member on
the bomber. What a cast. It includes Matthew Modine, Tate Donovan, D.B. Sweeney, Billy Zane, Eric Stoltz, Reed Diamond,
Courtney Gains, Sean Astin, Neil Giuntoli, Harry Connick, Jr., David Strathairn, and John Lithgow. Their performances are
uniformly great. According to Wikipedia in regard to the origins of the plane's name:
"The aircraft was named after pilot Robert K Morgan's sweetheart, Margaret Polk, a resident of Memphis, Tennessee. Morgan
originally intended to call the aircraft Little One, which was his pet name for Polk, but after Morgan and copilot Jim
Verinis saw the movie Lady for a Night, in which the leading character owns a riverboat named the Memphis Belle, he
proposed that name to his crew. Morgan then contacted George Petty at the offices of Esquire magazine and asked him for
a pinup drawing to go with the name, which Petty supplied from the magazine's April 1941 issue."
All in all, I've seen Memphis Belle many times going back to 1990 and will continue to do so.