Brave young men who rode on the wings of victory.

Starring: Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Harry Connick Jr., Tate Donovan, D.B. Sweeney, Bill Zane, Sean Astin, Reed Diamond, Courtney Gains, Neil Giuntoli, David Strathairn, John Lithgow, Jane Horrocks

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ - good

"Captain, I just heard from C-Cap. They're dropping out of formation. We're in the lead now." - Staff Sgt. Danny Daly

Why watch this? This is a very good film about the young men who flew WWII bombing missions.

Plot Summary: If the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, The Memphis Belle, returns from her 25th mission, she will be the first to complete a tour of duty. Up to now, no crew has survived all 25 missions. Her target is an aircraft manufacturing plan in Bremen, Germany. The squadron will lose their fighter plane support for the last segment, supported only by the gunners within the plane. As Nazi fighter planes attack, the squadron is cut to pieces, losing several planes along the bombing run.

Dad's Preview: Bomber casualties during World War II numbered over 200,000. It was prestigious to be a flyer, but the work was dangerous. This story is loosely based on a 1944 documentary about the real plane's final mission. A lot of what happened on the Belle, happened on other bombers, but it is mostly accurate. This film features an excellent ensemble cast of young stars in Hollywood at that time, namely Modine, Zane, Stoltz, and crooner Harry Connick Jr. The crew's interactions are realistic, while the air battle scenes are intense and harrowing. We, as Americans, owe these pilots and crews, a debt of gratitude. They few the missions that helped us defeat the Nazi Third Reich.

Enigma Prod., Fujisankei Comm., British Satellite Broad.; Warner Bros