Warbird Information Exchange

That's an Albatros D.V (or D.Va) that crashes in the movie "1917". That aircraft and everything else in the movie seems to be marvelously authentic, one of the best war movies of all time IMHO. The tank hull seems correct, and was on that front by April 2017. The wear and details on the uniform are great, although I am no authority on such.

_________________
Kevin McCartney

Movie was Ok, am sure glad they didn't wreck it by trying to work in some love/romance scenes.

Really good watch. I liked that there wasn't much in the way of beginning and ending credits S*%T show.

_________________
There are some that think old airplanes fly on fairy dust and unicorn farts.

USN Ret
Recip FE

Xray wrote:



Actually, as with the fabulous "Gettysburg" movie, there is no romance whatsoever, and as one would expect for a war movie set on the front lines for that period, few if any females (1917 has one that I can remember, and who plays a significant if minor role). We can be reminded that this is true also of "12 O'clock High."

I hope 1917 gets Best Picture Oscar honors.

_________________
Kevin McCartney

I watched it yesterday and I thought it was a very well put together movie.

It's probably the best movie ever made to show the scale and scope of the Western Front.
You really get the feel that you're not just looking at a battlefield the size of a football field with nothing beyond it, as in any other WW1 movie I can think of (though the 1970s Richard Thomas "All Quiet of the Western Front" did a decent job with this as well).
That said, I thought it got a little silly in regard to how many things can happen to one guy in such a short timeframe. The only WW1 experience he lacked was getting gassed and riding on the back of a tank (British or German)!

_________________
Life member, 91st BG Memorial Association
Owner, 1944 Willys MB #366014
Former REMF (US Army, O3)

I couldn't agree more. I suspect the "a life in a day" aspect was just a way of making the most of the movie. I'll forgive them. When you bear in mind that some RFC pilots launched into a dawn patrol, got shot down in no man's land and spent a night under fire in the trenches then maybe it's not so unrealistic.

I just got around to seeing it...
A bit like the Memphis Belle remake, you can imagine the director and writers sitting around saying "What else happened to infantry in the war? Let's make everything happen to these two guys.".
In this film the answer seems to be everything happened except being chased by a locomotive, eaten by a shark or being shot by a jealous husband.

Anyone else notice what appear to be rivets on the German aircraft fuselage? They are pretty clear near the cockpit coaming.
If that's what they are supposed to be (and I can't imagine what else they could otherwise represent) obviously they shouldn't be there on a Pflaz or Albatross. Hard to imagine the film makers making such a mistake, but it has happened before.

Finally, the whole purpose of the two protagonist's mission seems a bit flawed. Simply... their mission is to deliver a message. Of course before the days of radio, that was easier said than done. Here film makers take a break from logic.
Since time is it the essance, why not drop a message by plane? The weather seems to be nice, we aircraft flying overhead and later a German aircraft plays a key part in the story. So why not drop a message. From what I have read of observation types, it was an accepted practice.

Along the same theme, why just send two guys on this vital mission?
I get it, two guys going quickly through no man's land, it wouldn't do to send a Division.
But really, just two? A sniper or well placed hand grenade could take them both out. Why not send a squad or whatever thet would be called in the British Army. Each with a copy of the message.That way all is not lost if the guy carting it gets pulverized by a shell.
See, I didn't even go to Sandhurst (although I am married to a former Captain in.The British Army...a nurse in the famous QARANC) and I have a better, more secure plan than Colin Firth.

Spoiler alert...
From what I have read of WWI pilots, or at least the popular perception of WWI pilots, would the German REALLY attack the guys that pulled him from a burning aircraft?
I think not...if for no other reason than he would have been pretty well out of it and the certainty even if he did kill an Tommy, the other Tommy would kill him. The attack seems illogical.
Remember, we are talking about the German elite, not Japanese soldiers in WWII for whom surrender was unthinkable.

Impressive visually, but overall a film for people who crave non-stop action over a real story.

_________________
Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.