Air Force – 1943
Air Force was a very good movie that had a lot of really intense battle sequences. To its credit, the movie had only one main plot. It was about the adventures of a B-17D Bomber, named the Mary Ann, and its fearless crew. There was no love story to bog the narrative down, though there were still some very touching moments when friends and family of the crew are injured or even killed. In fact, even several members of the crew are killed in various ways.
The story took place around the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, Wake Island, and Clark Field in the Philippines. The action was almost non-stop. The bomber arrived at, or actively engaged in, one battle after another, constantly putting the lives of the brave soldiers inside her at risk.
As expected, there were a lot of rear projection shots, but they were cleverly done and really thrilling to watch. When a gunner was firing at a target, we got a POV over the man’s shoulder, looking down the barrel of his machinegun. We see the projected Japanese planes bearing down on the Mary Ann, intent on bringing her down. But then we see the enemy planes either catch fire, or violently explode as the gunner does his job. Very awesome to watch!
There were stunt flyers creating exciting aerial battles, ground forces fighting with the attacking Japanese invasion forces, and a final climactic scene in which several squadrons of American fighter pilots engage both the Japanese airplanes and a naval invasion task force heading toward Australia. Bombs were dropped and battleships exploded in balls of fire. Japanese Mitsubishi A6Ms, called “zeros” could be seen going down in flames into the water.
This sequence was also notable for its use of real battle footage. It was only used a few times, but it was quite obvious when the sharp, clear images produced by the Hollywood cameras switched to the unsteady, grainy, hand-held images of the newsreel footage.
Another thing that Air Force did that caught my attention was something that was done to the images on the screen during the ground battles. To draw the audiences into the action just a bit more, whenever a bomb exploded, the focus shook for a fraction of a second. It was a very simple, yet completely effective trick, giving just a touch more realism to an already realistic scene of chaos and carnage.
And I have to say that the cast, among whom the biggest name was veteran actor John Garfield, was really put through its paces. The rolls were physically demanding, and they all did a fantastic job. This movie’s effects really strived for realism and I think they achieved it. It was a worthy nominee, and I’m sure the Academy voters had a tough time picking the winner. If not for Crash Dive, I think this movie might have won the Oscar for Best Special Effects.