And please, I'm sorry , but The Red Baron was friggin' awful.

You are right, there have been some great films, but they are few and far between. As far as realism goes, Hollywood is about selling dreams and a bit of "enhancement", is often part of that. But how far it goes is up to the director and the producers.

That said, I can enjoy a movie based on nothing more than real planes flying through the air. One of my favorites "Strategic Air Command" is nothing more than a paper thin plot and glory shots of SAC bombers flying through the clouds, and I've watched that twice in a row on occasion.

Basically, the only aviation movies that disappoint me are the ones where the planes hardly leave the ground. In those cases, the plot and acting have to be first rate.

"Basically, the only aviation movies that disappoint me are the ones where the planes hardly leave the ground. In those cases, the plot and acting have to be first rate."

Like "Twelve O'clock High."

That is exactly the film I was thinking about!

Why do you say that?

When it comes to WW1 aviation films, nothing comes anywhere near "The Blue Max".

"Pretty Boy's" plane had the yellow nose that they recognized as the flight leader. Even his ME-262 later had a yellow nose.

It wasn't a horrible movie, but I definately liked HBO's "Tuskeegee Airmen" better.

I'll have to watch again, but when they escorted the bombers to Berlin didn't they say they needed external fuel tanks to make the trip? I'm not sure if I saw any fuel tanks.

So it's a bad move. I am wondering how bad is it better or worse then Perl harbor (that had one or two redeeming features) ?

I've given up waiting for a good WW2 movie that doesn't make me cringe when I watch it.

What's happened to The Dambusters,is that still a going concern?

It's a different kind of movie, really: Pearl Harbor was primarily a romantic drama set during the war. Comparing Red Tails to Fly Boys is much closer to the mark, both in style and substance.