George Peppard plays a German working class infantryman in WWI who gets into pilot training and becomes a flight officer, the rest of whom are mostly aristocrats. He easily dispatches enemy airplanes in the sky, but on the ground against the upper class of Germany he is the perennial loser. James Mason is excellent as his mentor and puppet master, and Ursula Andress is, well,
..Ursula Andress.
Aviation purists may question the types of airplanes used in the story line, but they are real and accurate to a detail. Excellent aerial photography throughout. Indeed, while in the air the Earth is lush and verdant, with bright blue sky and fluffy clouds. On the ground, the Earth is a barren war zone, with blown-out buildings and hungry suffering people. Only the aristocracy seem to be able to keep their earth-bound world intact with their fancy mansions and parties.
Note that after the breathtaking aerial scenery and lush sets, the final scenes are shot in a stark bare-walled military office, with only the dialogue and faces of the actors, along the sounds of an air-show crowd outside, telling the audience what is happening. It is the most tense, drama-filled part of the movie.
Aviation purists may question the types of airplanes used in the story line, but they are real and accurate to a detail. Excellent aerial photography throughout. Indeed, while in the air the Earth is lush and verdant, with bright blue sky and fluffy clouds. On the ground, the Earth is a barren war zone, with blown-out buildings and hungry suffering people. Only the aristocracy seem to be able to keep their earth-bound world intact with their fancy mansions and parties.
Note that after the breathtaking aerial scenery and lush sets, the final scenes are shot in a stark bare-walled military office, with only the dialogue and faces of the actors, along the sounds of an air-show crowd outside, telling the audience what is happening. It is the most tense, drama-filled part of the movie.