Red Tails (2012)

A crew of African American pilots in the Tuskegee training program, having faced segregation while kept mostly on the ground during World War II, are called into duty under the guidance of Col. A.J. Bullard.

Director:

Anthony Hemingway

Writers:

John Ridley (story), John Ridley (screenplay),

Stars:

Cuba Gooding Jr., David Oyelowo, Andre Royo

2 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Terrence Howard	...	Colonel A.J. Bullard
Cuba Gooding Jr.	...	Major Emanuelle Stance
Nate Parker	...	Marty 'Easy' Julian
David Oyelowo	...	Joe 'Lightning' Little
Tristan Wilds	...	Ray 'Junior' Gannon
Ne-Yo	...	Andrew 'Smokey' Salem
Elijah Kelley	...	Samuel 'Joker' George
Marcus T. Paulk	...	David 'Deke' Watkins
Leslie Odom Jr.	...	Declan 'Winky' Hall
Michael B. Jordan	...	Maurice Wilson
Kevin Phillips	...	Leon 'Neon' Edwards
Andre Royo	...	Antwan 'Coffee' Coleman
Method Man	...	Sticks (as Cliff Smith)
Bryan Cranston	...	Colonel William Mortamus
Lee Tergesen	...	Colonel Jack Tomlinson

Storyline

Italy, 1944. As the war takes its toll on Allied forces in Europe, a squadron of black pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen are finally given the chance to prove themselves in the sky - even as they battle discrimination on the ground. It's a tribute to the unsung heroes who rose above extraordinary challenges and ultimately soared into history.

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Plot Keywords:

african american | battle | italy | tuskegee airmen | nazi | 

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Taglines:

Courage has no color

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sequences of war violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian German

Release Date:

20 January 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Eskarda 'Czerwone Ogony'

Filming Locations:

Croatia

Box Office

Budget:

$58,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$18,782,154 (USA) (20 January 2012)

Gross:

$49,875,589 (USA) (1 June 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Lucasfilm, Partnership Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an interview with The New York Times, George Lucas stated that the personalities of Easy and Lightning are based on Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, respectively.

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Goofs

In the loudspeaker broadcast the woman says she is Axis Mary, however, the broadcaster's radio name was Axis Sally (not Mary)

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Quotes

Leon 'Neon' Edwards: When you get upset, when you get mad, you turn red, right? When you get envoius, or sick, you turn green. When you become cowardly, you turn yellow; and ya'll got the nerve to call us colored?

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Connections

Referenced in Tosh.0: Bad Breakdancer (2012)

User Reviews

Not even worth a rental

This is a very unfortunate attempt to tell an important story and is a disservice to the men who lived these historic events. The character development is non-existent and portrays these men in a stereotypical light. The portrayal of the German pilots creates a comic book atmosphere, you can almost see the dialog bubble above their heads saying "Curses! Foiled again!" as they sneer at their adversaries. The flight sequences remind me of those from 1940s and 1950s films where the "planes" are plastic models on cables with the cameras panning the model to depict motion. The only flight sequences which are realistic are the landing and take-off scenes. I am extremely disappointed in this film and expected much more from Lucas.