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The U.S. Air Force -- Heritage Hollywood Thirteen
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	Wings (NTSC Import) Buy used from: $15.99 Shows 1918, made in 1927. Air Force heritage and movie history in one film! B&W and silent, but it was the first film to be named 'Best Picture' in Oscar's first year. See the AEF's Air Service in France -- fighters, bombers, balloons. Great flying scenes of the dogfights. Gushy love story woven in. Remember -- real men and real women can watch silent films! Hope for a U.S. DVD soon.
	The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell Buy new: $13.49 / Used from: $7.99 Shows 1921-25, made in 1955. Critics say this is a courtroom drama without much flying, a middling biopic, and the screenplay takes some liberties with the history. But this movie shows the price BrigGen William Mitchell paid in the 1920s for the independent USAF of 1947. Best line: 'Suppose some other country throws away the book!'
	Tora! Tora! Tora! (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) Buy new: $16.49 / Used from: $9.04 Shows 1941, made in 1970. The attack on Pearl Harbor. Shows events from all vantage points -- Japanese, US Navy, US Army Air Forces, the codebreakers, and Washington leaders. Simply terrific flying scenes, even though it's our team that takes most of the hits. Big cast of Hollywood greats. No gushy love story.
	Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo Buy new: $13.49 / Used from: $11.09 Shows 1942, made in 1943. Still one of the top American films of all time. The B-25 "The Ruptured Duck" takes off from the USS Hornet to bomb Tokyo in the Doolittle Raid. There's prep and training, farewells to the wives, the takeoff from the carrier and the bomb run, the crash in China, and evading the Japanese with the help of brave Chinese. Won the Oscar for best special effects.
	Twelve O'Clock High (Special Edition) Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $9.51 Shows 1943, made in 1949. The great film of U.S. bombers in the assault on Hitler's Europe -- and the great film on the stress of command. You'll never see a Toby mug again without thinking of this film.
	Memphis Belle (Snap Case) Buy used from: $3.98 Shows 1943, made in 1998. Fly a mission with the crew of the B-17 'Memphis Belle,' the first to finish 25 missions in Europe. The screenwriter took all the astonishing tales from the Eighth Air Force, and packed as many as possible into one mission. Compare it with the original 1944 'Memphis Belle' documentary, and appreciate what Hollywood can do.
	The Great Escape (2-Disc Collector's Set) Buy new: $14.49 / Used from: $5.23 Shows 1944, made in 1963. Exciting tale of the escape of imprisoned British and American aircrew from prison camp Stalag Luft III in Germany. The whole camp pitched in to prepare clothes and fake documents for the escape. All but three were recaptured; 50 were executed. Steve McQueen! James Garner! Charles Bronson! Richard Attenborough! James Coburn!
	The Tuskegee Airmen Buy new: $5.98 / Used from: $2.46 Shows 1942-1945, made in 1995. Follows the first African-Americans in the WWII Army Air Forces -- from aviation cadet training in Alabama to combat in the P-51 Mustang over North Africa and Europe. The historians' recent debate over bomber losses takes nothing away from this film and or from the achievements of these great pioneers.
	The Best Years of Our Lives Buy used from: $6.91 Shows 1945, made in 1946. Bombardier Dana Andrews is one of three WWII veterans returning home to 'Boone City.' They didn't call it PTSD back then, but all three have it. Three good women (Myrna Loy! Teresa Wright! Cathy O'Donnell!) help them through it. No kidding, if this film doesn't move you, you have a heart of stone. Won the Oscar for Best Picture.
	The Big Lift Buy new: $7.98 / Used from: $2.35 Shows 1948, made in 1950. Our hero Montgomery Clift is a C-54 loadmaster, bringing in supplies during the Berlin Airlift. Fascinating scenes of a Germany not yet rebuilt. Not your usual love story -- Clift's German girl friend only wants a green card. No Oscars for acting in this B&W film, but you will be amazed by the flying scenes. Also gives a great look at air traffic control.
	Strategic Air Command [VHS] Buy used from: $26.45 Shows 1949, made in 1955. Major league pitcher and USAF reservist Jimmy Stewart is yanked off the mound by Uncle Sam as the Cold War heats up -- a big pay cut! June Alyson stands by her man as he retrains in the B-36 and takes command of a B-47 squadron. Conveys the spirit of the Strategic Air Command in its early years. Agitate for this film to be available on DVD.
	The Hunters Buy new: $10.99 / Used from: $4.79 Shows 1952, made in 1958. The Korean War. Stunning flying scenes of F-86 Sabres and F-84s filling in for the MiGs. Major Robert Mitchum makes some moves on his wingman's wife (Mae Britt), but in the end she honorably gives, and he honorably takes, 'no' for an answer. Our three heroes evade and escape after they go down in North Korea.
	The Right Stuff (Two-Disc Special Edition) Buy new: $8.66 / Used from: $5.96 Shows 1947-1965, made 1983. From breaking the sound barrier to orbiting the earth, this great film on the test pilots in the high California desert and the Mercury 7 astronauts is made with real dash and style. Stars: Ed Harris, Fred Ward, Sam Sheperd, X-1, F-104. Watch for the cameo of the real Chuck Yeager. Hey, Ridley, got any Beemans? Who's the best pilot you ever saw?