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., Gerald McRaney, David Oyelowo

2 wins & 9 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 Mack Wilds	...	Ray 'Junior' Gannon (as Tristan Wilds)
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:

pseudohistory | magical negro stereotype | 20th century | year 1944 | 1940s | 

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Taglines:

High-Octane Action and Daring Dogfights!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sequences of war violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tristan Wilds auditioned for the role of Lt. Joe "Lightning" Little.

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Goofs

During the bombing mission, immediately after the Red Tails get the P51s, one of the B17s has the star and white bars insignia surrounded by a red border. This style of insignia was used from June to September 1943.

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Quotes

Joe 'Lightning' Little: Nothing's difficult. Everything's a challenge. Through adversity to the stars. From the last plane to the last bullet to the last minute to the last man - we fight. WE fight! We FIGHT!

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Connections

Featured in Lost in Adaptation: Die Hard (2015)

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Soundtracks

Soldier Boy
Written by Keith Nichols
Courtesy of APM Music

User Reviews

A weaker version of the 1995 film Tuskegee Airmen

My biggest problem is that I saw the 1995 film Tuskegee Airman and loved it. I had to compare this current film to that and unfortunately found it extremely lacking.

I don't feel any connection to the characters in this film. Live or die, who knows or cares.

Contrasting that with the Tuskegee Airman, when people died in that film, you felt it. You cared about each single character and were emotionally invested with them.

So my saying, wait for DVD, and if you want a much better film, buy the Tuskegee Airman. You wont be disappointed.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian German

Release Date:

20 January 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Red Tails

Filming Locations:

Croatia

Box Office

Budget:

$58,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,782,154, 22 January 2012

Gross USA:

$49,876,377

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$50,365,498

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Lucasfilm, Pakt Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital Auro 11.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1