Von Richthofen and Brown

Given the very negative comments by others on IMDB about this film, I wasn't really expecting much, especially given that it was directed by Roger Corman, who, whilst he certainly has his talents, would not really be expected to helm a period piece with high production values. Actually I found this film not at all bad. Certainly its narrative plays fast and loose with historical details. But it is quite authentic in many respects - the planes themselves, and the nature of air combat depicted, are reasonably accurate (better, for example, than the planes in The Blue Max, which often look like very thinly disguised Tiger Moths). And fair chunks of the dialogue seem to be taken almost directly from the writings of actual WW1 flyers. Even the rather melodramatic plot does have roots in historical truths, and functions well enough to engage the viewer's attention throughout. I'd say it's definitely worth a look, and compares surprisingly well with the generally much better regarded The Blue Max.

This is not the greatest WWI movie ever made. But it's still pretty good. The special effects and the flying sequences are superb. And Roy Brown not only is identified as a Canadian --- rare for Hollywood --- but he also is presented as the prickly and difficult character he was. That's also rare for Hollywood which tends to ignore the warts on its heroes. The movie is also reasonably historically accurate.

Roger Corman leaps beyond crab monsters and biker chicks to the skies over World War1 France. The film takes right off with flying sequences, which are surprisingly good. Characters are introduced at an overwhelming rate with little or no development. Both John Philip Law and Don Stroud appear uncomfortable in their flying ace roles. In their "spaghetti westerns" they look and act like they belong, but here they seem lost and out of their element. Romantic female characters are introduced, only to never be seen again. The air battles are definitely the strong point of "Von Richthofen and Brown", but even they become redundant. - MERK

It is pointed out that "goofs" were made in the making of this film. (A) Von Richofen is depicted flying a Fokker D-VII over a year before the plane was actually introduced (and prior to flying the Triplane) (B) Brown's squadron is shown flying SE 5s when in actuality, they were equipped with Sopwith Camels.

I suspect these were intentional choices on the part of the director. Von Richtofen's plane in early 1917 was actually an Albatros D5 - an improvement over the earlier D3, but having an unfortunate tendency to shed its wings in a dive. Even if this were corrected in a modern reproduction, the Albatros design is nose-heavy and difficult to control.

The Sopwith Camel, while an effective fighting machine, was called th "Widow-maker" for good reason. It's extremely high-torque rotary engine made it very difficult to fly and very unforgiving of mistakes. The SE 5 and 5a, on the other hand were fairly stable craft and easier for novice pilots (they've been used exclusively in other WW I films).

Only hard-core WWI historians would have noticed these inconsistencies, and I suspect the choices were made for the safety of the stunt pilots. Don't let them stop you from enjoying some great aerial combat scenes.

Incidentally, the events that were reversed were the circumstances of von Richtofen's crashes. In the first one, he is depicted as crash landing, while in the second (fatal) one, the plane actually lands quite well by itself (this would NEVER have happened in a Fokker triplane!)

It was actually the other way around. The first time, the wounded von Richtofen managed to bring his Albatros to a landing. The second time -already dead before he hit the ground - the plane crashed in no-man's land near an Australian unit who may indeed have hit him from the ground.

Von Richthofen and Brown (1971)

** (out of 4)

John Phillip Law plays Baron Manfred von Richthofen and Don Stroud plays Roy Brown, the famous dog fighters of WW1 who would eventually meet in the air. This Corman production takes a look at the two men's lives leading up to that day in the air. This is a rather strange film because on one hand it's easy to recommend to people because the stuff in the air is downright brilliant yet on the other hand, everything on the ground is a complete bore. This would turn out to be Corman's final film as director for nearly two decades so it's an interesting film to go out on. For the most part he handles the material quite well but I can't help but wish he had spent a few more dollars on the screenplay and delivered a more interesting story. I must admit that my mind kept wondering around and losing focus because everything that happens on the group is just downright boring and at times it's hard to figure out what's going on. History buffs say the film isn't that true to reality but I can live with that. I do wish that Corman had done something more because what we get just isn't enough to work as a bio flick or as any type of human drama. What does work are the amazing aerial shots that are quite thrilling. Apparently all of the aerial things were filmed over a two week period and they are so well made that they certainly make you feel as if you're up there in the air fighting yourself. The cinematography that captures all of this is exceptional as well. The violence is quite bloody throughout but it's realistic. Both actors turn in decent performances but they can only work with what they got. In the end, action fans might want to check this one out for the amazing battle scenes but history buffs will probably be upset with the film.