Flyboys (2006)

Director:

Tony Bill

Writers (WGA):

Phil Sears (screenplay) &
Blake T. Evans (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

22 September 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | Romance | War

Tagline:

Inspired by a true story

Plot:

The adventures of the Lafayette Escadrille, young Americans who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered World War I, and became the country's first fighter pilots.

Plot Keywords:

American | France | Pilot | Training | Military

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

James Franco	...	Blaine Rawlings
Scott Hazell	...	Cinema Usher
Mac McDonald	...	Sheriff Detweiller
Philip Winchester	...	William Jensen
Todd Boyce	...	Mr. Jensen
Karen Ford	...	Mrs. Jensen
Ruth Bradley	...	Laura
Abdul Salis	...	Eugene Skinner
Jean-Philippe Écoffey	...	Skinner's trainer
Tim Pigott-Smith	...	Mr. Lowry
Tyler Labine	...	Briggs Lowry
Gail Downey	...	Mrs. Lowry
David Ellison	...	Eddie Beagle
Jean Reno	...	Capt. Thenault
Augustin Legrand	...	L.T. Giroux

Also Known As:

Fly Boys (International: English title) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for war action violence and some sexual content.

Runtime:

140 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #42281) | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Singapore:PG | Malaysia:U | UK:12A | Portugal:M/12 | Ireland:12A | New Zealand:M | Germany:12 | Finland:K-13 | Argentina:Atp | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Netherlands:12 | Peru:14

Filming Locations:

RAF Halton, Halton, Wendover, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Electric Entertainment

Trivia:

The personal insignia of Reed Cassidy is an eagle's head surrounded by the words "Je Vois Tout" meaning "I see all".

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the scenes where the pilot crashes into no-mans-land, the Germans soldiers are shown wearing spiked helmets. The Germans abandoned these helmets in favor of the familiar trench helmets in mid-1915. They would not have been in use during the time portrayed in this film.

Quotes:

Eugene Skinner: You still wanna rub my head for luck, Rawlings?

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Diary of a Miniature Stunt Pilot (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Madamoiselle from Armentieres

Twenty minutes worth

There are five combat sequences that make this flick worth your ticket--maybe 20 minutes worth seeing in the entire film. The CGI is excellent, especially the Gotha bomber. Wow. And the Zeppelin ain't bad.

Having said that: It's riddled with factual and historical errors, ALL of which were avoidable had the writers/director cared to pay attention. (It probably would have cost nothing to do it right.)

A short list would include: Nonexistent aircraft in 1916 such as the Fokker Triplanes (all of them red except the black one!), Sopwith Camel, SE-5, and Bristol Fighter.

The concept of training pilots to fly in a combat squadron is of course absurd but the director apparently thought it necessary as a plot device.

French airmen learning to fly in a British airplane (Sopwith Strutter) is equally absurd.

For the real hair splitters, the Gotha and some triplanes have the straight-edged Balkan crosses that appeared two years later. Other fingernails on the blackboard include "9mm Spandau" machine guns (they were 7.92 Mauser) and "canvas" covering on the wings when cotton or linen were used because canvas was much too heavy.

But beyond that, the script takes a pedestrian approach to what could have been a more evocative, even inspiring, film. There are no standout performances, and the syrupy, chaste romance goes nowhere. The only reason for including it probably was to draw in more of an audience as a date flick (not quite a chick flick.) For those of us who truly enjoy aviation films, this one proved a major disappointment but hey, within limits, almost any WW I flying flick is better than no WW I flying flick.