Product Description

Studio: Gaiam Americas Release Date: 04/27/2004 Rating: Nr

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8562 in DVD
• Brand: Gaiam
• Released on: 2001-05-15
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 45 minutes

Customer Reviews

Good show about a great fighter plane in World War II
This DVD has been taken from a early-forties era documentary film made with Stateside audiences in mind. It was probably shown in theaters before the main shows during the war years. One of the big pluses is that the film is in color, and that the color is strikingly good for a combat film. Directed by Academy Award winner William Wyler (best known for 'Ben-Hur' and the original documentary of 'The Memphis Belle'), the film depicts life--and death--in a P-47 Thunderbolt squadron based in Italy. It gives the viewer a good look at Italy, not just the base itself. The strafing runs are excellent, taken by a camera mounted in the planes on actual missions. For a wartime propaganda film, it is quite honest and deals with the suffering of noncombatants, showing bombed-out buildings, children playing near a burned corpse, and haggard, war-weary men and women. The aerial footage is excellent, the dialogue is good, and the quality of the picture is also good. The film also shows the tragic results of a Thunderbolt crash quite graphically, as if to remind the viewer that war is a dangerous game and that there is never any guarantee that the pilots will return from their missions. This color film runs around 45 minutes. It is well worth the price.

The "other" Classic WW2 Documentary in Color
Along with "Memphis Belle" this fine film stands up there with the best documentary features of the era. Using wartime film equipment, (no fancy Hollywood gear!) William Wyler (Ben-Hur) did his part for the war effort, with style and class (and a little humor!). A combination of propaganda and straight up honest filmmaking, 'Thunderbolt' is a film worth buying.

Shot on 16mm Kodachrome, You wont see ultrafine images or glorious sound. The color and contrast are sometimes harsh. But this was War, and filmmaking in a combat zone isn't easy, under harsh conditions Wyler's film survived to become the true classic it is today.

Enjoy!

Great Little Film
This is a great little documentary about an important part of WW II, the Italian campaign, that is too often over looked. Some of the footage is a bit out of focus but other sections have some great footage. The 57 FS "The First in the Blue" documented in the film was the first US air group engaged in the war fighting all the way from Palestine and across North Africa. I can't imagine there are many better $5 deals out there.