Spielberg Hanks Reunite For HBO Mini-Series "Masters of the Air"

[DrumBob]

Unless it's sold as a documentary, of course they are going to take liberties with the history in order to display 24 months in 11 hours. I don't mind if the model of P-51 isn't exactly correct.

I do find it irritating that they should shoehorn the Red Tails into a story that really has nothing to do with them.

Thank you for that reasonable reply. You're exactly right. Some people think they should stick to the straight facts, without any embellishment. That's simply unrealistic. MOTA is NOT a documentary. It's a drama made for mass consumption.

Admittedly, I don't get the Red Tails' inclusion either, but it's one of the artistic liberties the producers have taken.

The bottom line is, enjoy the series for what it is, and don't complain because it's not 100% spot-on factual.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Thank you for that reasonable reply. You're exactly right. Some people think they should stick to the straight facts, without any embellishment. That's simply unrealistic. MOTA is NOT a documentary. It's a drama made for mass consumption.

Admittedly, I don't get the Red Tails' inclusion either, but it's one of the artistic liberties the producers have taken.

The bottom line is, enjoy the series for what it is, and don't complain because it's not 100% spot-on factual.

I'm not watching it -- I won't get Apple just for this. I am following the controversies. I think the critics are missing the most important part of accuracy, which is that it be accurate about the human experience being depicted -- the emotional fidelity of it.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Lets all try and relax a lil. No need to get into a pissing match over this. Everyone has their own opinion on it.

 

[special ed]

I understand in episode 9 the 332nd will be flying the first P-80s delivered to the Italian front.

 

[Lucky13]

As long as they don't go...."hold my beer"!

 

[drgondog]

And I'm truly ungrateful at your terse, condescending response. You just don't get get what this series is about or the way programs of this type are created.

You should be honored. You're the first wiseguy I'll put on my ignore list here. I suggest you do the same.

i'm touched - but consider your reply to me earlier. "It's ok to create a fairly tale - get over it!"

That said, my feelings survived and I am not going to ignore you.

So many snowflakes need safe spaces but I promise to be gentle.

 

[Lucky13]

I need as to ask though, when it comes to movies and shows like this, aren't WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, whatever armed conflict people are doing, interesting enough, action filled enough....whatever, for them to take certain liberties to entertain the public, when did accuracy, history, come to mean as little as it does to some?

With all that we know today and with the help of CGI (done properly), what is actually stopping us?
I'm sure that there's plenty of people out there, that would make something accurate, a massive hit....

Now, time for Pearl Harbor (2001), there's a classic if there ever was one....(sarcasm)....

 

[Erich]

the Tusks were from the US 15th AF. they were in the southern part of the Reich/Italy. the movie has several mis-conceptions

 

[Barrett]

Jeez - historically crap. The 332nd didn't fly P-51B/C until July 1944. P-5D/K in December 1944. AFIK, nobody in 8th AF or 15th or 12th or 9th AF ever flew a rocket attack mission in a P-51D-20 (kit) or P-51D-25 (production).

USN and RN were flying carrier based attacks to support Dragoon.

The only P-51B/D populated missions from Italy (Foggia) over southern France were the return legs of the UK based Frantic missions between July and Sept 22nd, 1944. My father led the last one. The latest model P-51D in combat at that time was P-51D-10-NA.

Looks like Gulf War re-enactment to go after radar sites - with no GPS, just typical fighter pilot navigation skills (notoriously low) to find needle in haystack targets with as yet unavailable and historically in-accurate rockets.

Far cry from Band of Brothers. Disappointing is an understatement.

What Bill said.

One of my writing colleagues (with a Pulitzer on his I-love-me wall) is a history fan. As he's oft noted, IT DON'T COST MORE TO DO IT RIGHT. He has no sympathy for those who excuse egregious flaws as "Chill out. It's just a movie."

Neither do I.

The most recent Midway movie being a case in point. I knew four of the people depicted, and the only one authentically portrayed was Dick Best's daughter.

 

[Peter Gunn]

I wish some of you would stop belly aching about historical accuracy. This is a Hollywood production, not a documentary. Of course, they are going to take some liberties with the historical facts. It's for mass television consumption. It's entertainment. That's the way it works. The average person watching this show doesn't care if they were flying P-51Bs, Cs, or Ds. If Hanks and Spielberg can get 75% of the story right, can give us the essence of what happened then, it's the best you're going to get. Deal with it, watch the episodes (or not) and accept it for what it is.

The problem is they don't even come close to 75%, more like 5% correct. Hanks himself said in an interview about Band that they were striving for something like 6% correct, so let that sink in.

And I've never understood Hollywood's fixation for screwing around with historical issues, it doesn't take any extra to portray what really happened. But some writers think they can tell a better story than what historically transpired, and they always fail miserably.

And the egregious inclusion of the 332nd is just pandering at its worst.

I must ask, have any other U.S. or RAF fighter groups, or even fighters for that matter shown up in this production? I mean, you know, the guys that actually won the air war?

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Meh, from an entertainment standpoint I thoroughly enjoy it.

 

[Ed Williamson]

I was most upset by the totally spurious insertion of the John Egan character into the otherwise reasonably accurate portrayal of the Russelsheim incident.

 

[wuzak]

I was most upset by the totally spurious insertion of the John Egan character into the otherwise reasonably accurate portrayal of the Russelsheim incident.

I think that was something they felt they had to include. And the Egan and CLeven stories are rather thin.

Remember that in Band of Brothers some characters were shown doing things that others had done because it would have become unwieldy to have all the members of Easy shown.

But at least they were from teh same company and the events were, more or less, shown at the correct time.

That incident, however, occurred 10 months after Egan had been captured.

 

[wuzak]

View: https://youtu.be/awZ9G7dikuM?si=ChI5cE2UaYpf_xJK

 

[wuzak]

There was long a rumour that Peter Jackson was going to do a remake of the movie "The Dambusters".

But I hope he, or anybody else, doesn't do that.

Rather, I would like to see a "Band of Brothers" style series based on the exploits of 617 Squadron. Because they certainly did more things than the Dams mission.

 

[wuzak]

There is a companion documentary to The Masters of the Air


View: https://youtu.be/ZkYOtyp3hKU?si=h6AGJVdbcmbH2ocj

 

[drgondog]

I was expecting and 8th AF epic about the battle for control of the air before D-Day. To me, it was an epic fail on almost every sub topic, but mostly the abundance of factual inacurracies when the adherence to facts would not have detracted from the story line. Harkens back to an old Southern comment "That stupid bastard will lie when the truth is better".

Perhaps the most puzzling omission of all was complete deletion of VIII Fighter Command from the storyline.

 

[wuzak]

They introduced the Tuskegee Airmen in episode 8, but didn't really do anything with them in episode 9.

They are still flying B-17Fs in 1945, even after VE Day.

"We flew over the continent uncontested"
Next scene "rocket incoming"

 

[wuzak]

I was expecting and 8th AF epic about the battle for control of the air before D-Day. To me, it was an epic fail on almost every sub topic, but mostly the abundance of factual inacurracies when the adherence to facts would not have detracted from the story line. Harkens back to an old Southern comment "That stupid bastard will lie when the truth is better".

Perhaps the most puzzling omission of all was complete deletion of VIII Fighter Command from the storyline.

No Oil or Transportation plan discussions/missions.

No unexpected encounters with new German aircraft, such as the Me 163 (yes, it killed more Germans, but must have given the bomber boys a start) or Me 262.

 

[wuzak]

In earlier episodes they showed some debriefing/interrogation scenes.

Mainly what was said in these was which bombers they saw go down, and the number of parachutes they saw.

Were the actual debriefings like that, or more detailed about strength and position of the flak defences, strength of the fighter opposition, what tactics they used, weather, etc.?