RED TAILS [2012] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] From the Creators of Star Wars and Indiana Jones! Amazing and Adrenaline Fuelled Big Screen Action!
Academy Award® Winner Cuba Gooding Jr. and Academy Award® Nominee Terrence Howard, lead a powerful ensemble cast in this high-flying epic inspired by the real-life adventures of the first African American combat unit to serve in World War II in Italy in 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. Featuring jaw-dropping aerial action and thrilling special effects, ‘RED TAILS’ is a breath-taking tribute to the unsung heroes who rose above extraordinary challenges and ultimately soared into history.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 2012 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA: Nominated: Saturn Award for Best Action/Adventure Film. 2012 BET Awards: Nominated: Best Movie. 2012 Cannes Film Festival: Nominated: Golden Camera for Anthony Hemingway. 2012 Teen Choice Awards: Nominated: Choice Movie: Action. 2013 Black Reel Awards: Nominated: Best Actor for Nate Parker. Nominated: Best Original Screenplay or Adapted for John Ridley and Aaron McGruder. Nominated: Best Original Score for Terence Blanchard. 2013 Image Awards (NAACP): Win: Outstanding Motion Picture. Win: Outstanding Independent Motion Picture. Nominated: Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture (Theatrical or Television) for Aaron McGruder and John Ridley. Nominated: Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Theatrical or Television) for Anthony Hemingway.
FILM FACT No.2: Interview with Rick McCallum [Producer], 9th June, 2012: "When I first started working with George he told me about the story and the initial plan was to make this epic three or four hour movie. We wanted to start in the United States and show the full racism these guys had to go through, then go to the heroic story that we’re telling now and then come back and do the beginning of the Civil Rights movement. But it was just so unwieldy and also at that time, there was no way to have a roadshow three-hour movie in American cinemas. Every epic film had been a financial disaster, and we felt there just wasn’t an audience we could get the film out to. Then we got heavily into Young Indiana Jones, which ran for three or four years, then the Star Wars Special Editions and the prequels, but throughout we did continue talking. However, once we finished Episode III we decided to go and meet people in the black community."
Cast: Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Tristan Wilds, Ne-Yo, Elijah Kelley, Marcus T. Paulk, Leslie Odom Jr., Michael B. Jordan, Kevin Phillips, Andre Royo, Method Man, Bryan Cranston, Lee Tergesen, Gerald McRaney, Daniela Ruah, Matthew Marsh, Barnaby Kay, David Gyasi, Mark Bowen, Andrew Flach, Nathaniel Martello-White, Anthony Welsh, Gabriel Fleary, Rupert Penry-Jones, Byron Asher, Todd Detwiler, Brett Lipman, Brian Gross, Mike Bautista, Michael Dixon, Philip Bulcock, Justin Irving, Chris Riedell, Jesse Caldwell, Matt McEnerney, Sam Kennard, Daniel Cerv, Nick Hendrix, Michael Kern, Radim Jíra, Maximilian Selim, Tim Day, Howard Lotker, Michael Balcar, Kelly Nimm, Ondrej Hampl, Bertrell Smith, Myles Kwesi Hutchful (uncredited), Mark Lavell (uncredited), Bobbie Lee Jr. (uncredited), Matthew Leitch (uncredited), Devon Libran (uncredited), Michael Meyerson (uncredited) and Thomas Wright (uncredited)
Directors: Anthony Hemingway and George Lucas (uncredited)
Producers: Ales Komárek, Charles Floyd Johnson, Diego Zanco, George Lucas, Katerina Silna and Rick McCallum
Screenplay: Aaron McGruder (screenplay), John Ridley (story/ screenplay) and John B. Holway (book "Red Tails, Black Wings: The Men of America's Black Air Force")
Composer: Terence Blanchard
Cinematography: John Aronson (Director of Photography)
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 2.0 Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Running Time: 124 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Momentum Pictures
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: The story of the Tuskegee Airmen is one that has been told and retold several times through the years, mostly on television but occasionally in films. The story itself is memorable and deserves to be dramatically interpreted, to varying degrees of praise. ‘RED TAILS’ is a good story that George Lucas himself decided to be Executive Producer for it, but it would not be the first time he was attached to something, would he?
Based on a book from John B. Holway [Red Tails, Black Wings: The Men of America's Black Air Force], Aaron McGruder [The Boondocks] and John Ridley [Undercover Brother] adapted it into a screenplay which Anthony Hemingway, in his feature film debut after directing on several television shows. For those unfamiliar with the story in general, a group of African American pilots who graduated from the Tuskegee Institute's training program were given the opportunity to fly for the United States in World War II. However, their missions were primarily focused on harmless, unguarded targets, perhaps in part because the Pentagon felt they did not have the skills to fly more advanced missions to escort bombers. At the urging of the Airmen's Pentagon liaison Colonel Bullard [Terrence Howard], they get what they have been yearning for, and the squadron's commanding officer, Major Stance [Cuba Gooding Jr.] rounds up the pilots and gets them ready for what easily is their toughest combat challenge yet.
As for the pilots, each has their own personal eccentricities that they bring to the unit. The squad leader, whose call sign is Easy [Nate Parker] is neck and neck when it comes to being the most accomplished member of the group, though he tends to be a little more reserved. The more outgoing pilot on par with Easy is Lightning [David Oyelowo], who is my most least favourite actor of all time, who is a little more rambunctious and even has a girlfriend in the Italian town near where the squad is stationed. You also have Junior [Tristan Wilds] and Joker [Elijah Kelly] rounding the group out.
The group gets along well together, whether it is battling a literal battle-scarred Nazi pilot who serves as the face of the Third Reich, or whether they are battling forces on their own turf, whether it is in Italy or at the Pentagon, where a racist officer [Bryan Cranston], fits the bill. But Cranston is one of several different plot devices the story employs to make you buy into the journey the pilots take, along with their stereotypical personal demons, be it drinking, philandering or the like. And that is the big problem with the story, the characters are hardly memorable. We come into the film with them possessing a certain amount of justifiable swagger being part of the military yet getting sore from bumping their head on the ceiling, but the characters are constructed lazily and without care, almost as if this is Top Gun for the World War II sect.
There is no denying the dogfights are totally breath-taking and even provide some investment into characters one might not care about otherwise, but their time on the ground is about as prolonged and meaningless as the time in the air is exciting, and over the course of these two hours, drags the film down tremendously, to say nothing for its predecessors. And casting wise the ensemble of that one shows the one in ‘RED TAILS’ how to do work, simply put. You get the journey, you get the flights, and you get the emotional payoff. You also get Cuba Gooding Jr., which is an added bonus, to a really totally brilliant action packed Second World War film.
RED TAILS MUSIC TRACK LIST
IT’S BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME (Written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne) [Performed by Harry James and His Orchestra]
SOLDIER BOY (Written by Keith Nichols)
SEE SEE RIDER (Written by Ma Rainey) [Performed by Ne-Yo]
BLESS YOU (Written by Don Baker and Eddie Lane) [Performed by The Ink Spots]
BLUE SKIES (Written by Irving Berlin) [Performed by Maxine Sullivan]
COUNT THE STARS (Written by Gerhard Narholz)
BOOGIE WOOGIE BUGLE BOY (Written by Hugh Prince and Don Raye) [Performed by The Andrews Sisters]
MOODS IN BRASS [Performed by Robert Valentino]
THEY’RE RED HOT (Written by Robert Johnson) [Performed by Ne-Yo]
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL (Written by Katharine Lee Bates and Samuel A. Ward)
Blu-ray Image Quality – Momentum Pictures gives ‘RED TAILS’ a stunning 1080p image and an equally amazing 2.40:1 aspect ratio high-definition presentation which looks quite good. Lots of wide sweeping shots of the airbase brings out a lot of detail in the image, but there is also image detail in the foreground that looks impressive as well. With Lucasfilm being involved in the visual effects, the dogfights are breathtakingly sharp and lifelike, and you can make out the red on the planes vividly in the sky. In less hectic scenes the facial pores and threads on Army uniforms can be made out nicely also. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Not surprising we have a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack for ‘RED TAILS’ and again with Lucasfilm involved, expect to have your socks rocked. The big takeaway I got from the film was that with all of the sonic action, the soundtrack delivers precisely and efficiently. Dogfights are as immersive as expected, with bullet hits and planes whizzing past and around you on all channels, and for those who fall in battle, the subwoofer meets them to give crashing planes a low-end emphasis in their impact. In quieter scenes the dialogue sounds clearly and in 'louder' scenes like a bar fight they are transmitted clearly and without concern. About as perfect a soundtrack as I've heard on a Blu-ray disc so far.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Interview with George Lucas [Executive Producer] [2012] [1080p] [1.78:1] [3:00] Based on what's shown in this tiny feature, George Lucas appears to be the most hands-on executive producer of all time. I imagine that he had more say in the making of this 20-year project than anyone else. The funniest part is listening to him describe these as "real dogfights" while images of green screen cockpit footage is being shown. George Lucas also manages to work 'Star Wars' into his three-minute interview.
Special Feature: Interview with Anthony Hemingway [Director] [2012] [1080p] [1.78:1] [6:00] Likewise, Anthony Hemingway describes how he got involved with the project. We also get to see the cast meeting with some real Tuskegee airmen.
Special Feature: Interview with Terence Blanchard [Composer] [2012] [1080p] [1.78:1] [6:00] This feature shows a lot of talking. Terence Blanchard talks about his inspirations, goals and themes. I enjoy musical features, but this one is just a pure time-filler.
Special Feature: Double Victory: The Tuskegee Airmen at War [2012] [1080p] [1.78:1] [66:00] Narrated by Cuba Gooding Jr., this historical documentary is much better than 'RED TAILS' itself. This feature tells the real story of the Tuskegee Airmen, not the contrived bologna that makes up the movie. It features actual testimonials and archived footage along the way, very similar to the videos that accompany both 'Band of Brothers' and 'The Pacific.'
Special Feature: Movie Magic [2012] [1080p] [1.78:1] [5:12] With an hour of dogfights, there are between 1,600 and 1,700 effects shots in this action packed film. Yet we're supposed to get the grandeur of it all in this five-minute video. More time is devoted to showing that ILM [Industrial Light & Magic] couldn't do it all on their own and how they outsourced shots to foreign companies.
Theatrical Trailer [2012] [1080p] [2.40:1] [1:29] This is a very dramatic Film Trailer for the film ‘RED TAILS.’
BONUS PLUS: Here included is an insert leaflet, giving you the inside information and history of the Royal Air Force Museum located in Colindale in Central London.
BONUS SLIP COVER: With this Region B/2 Blu-ray, you get a fantastic beautiful designed 3D Slip Cover.
Finally, ‘RED TAILS’ has the right thoughts in mind, they just don't articulate them well, and expect you to be dazzled by the visual effects, which admittedly are pretty good overall. Technically the Blu-ray disc is totally amazing. If you are looking for a mix of a good demo disc and bonus material, then this actually turns out to be a decent Blu-ray value. What makes me upset is all the reviews I have read, gives such bad negative views on this film, mainly the American ones and to be honest I think they are totally embarrassed, because of how the American public treated these brilliant Black American Airmen in such a despicable racist manner, in making out they were subnormal, where instead us in Europe treated them as equals, so that is why I enjoyed this film so much more, as it informed me a great deal of the history of World War 2 that I had no idea happened and will give you endless hours of enjoyment, especial the amazing CGI trick photography. Another wonderful bonus with this UK release is the wonderful designed 3D slip cover that really makes this UK presentation so much more exciting, than its standard USA Region A/1 Blu-ray release cover. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
