Movie Review: 'Memphis Belle' (1990)

Memphis Belle (1990)

On October 12, 1990, Warner Bros. released Michael Caton-Jones’ “Memphis Belle,” a fictionalized account of a U.S. B-17 bomber’s 25^th and final mission over Nazi-occupied Europe in the spring of 1943. Starring Matthew Modine (“Vision Quest”), Tate Donovan (“Argo”), Eric Stoltz (“Mask”), and Sean Astin (“The Lord of the Rings”) and written by Monte Merrick (“Mr. Baseball”), “Memphis Belle” is a throwback to such classic World War II aerial combat films as “Twelve O’Clock High” and “Command Decision.”

“Memphis Belle’s” U.S. premiere (it opened in Great Britain on September 7) took place just as American forces were involved in Operation Desert Shield, the biggest deployment of U.S. military might since the Vietnam War. Partly due to the war clouds hovering over the Middle East at the time, the film was not a big hit. It earned $27 million in the U.S.; considering that “Memphis Belle” had a budget of $23 million, it barely broke even in the all-important domestic market.

Though the film was inspired by William Wyler’s 1944 documentary “The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress,” it is an old-fashioned Hollywood production that depends on every cliché of the aerial warriors-vs.-the-Nazis war movie genre. Each member of the 10-man crew (four officers, six enlisted men) is a stock character; we have the by-the-book pilot, the cocky copilot who wants to command his own plane, the traumatized, death-obsessed navigator who insists his number is up, the handsome tail gunner who can croon like Frank Sinatra, the sex-obsessed crewman who has never gotten laid, and the tough bad-tempered kid from the wrong side of the tracks.  We’ve seen these guys before in “One of Our Aircraft is Missing,” “Battle of Britain,” and the aforementioned “Twelve O’Clock High.” They’re not fully-developed characters; they’re essentially character traits being played by 10 actors in World War II era uniforms.

In Monte Merrick’s version of the Belle’s final mission, it is May, 1943. Lt. Col. Bruce Derringer (John Lithgow), a smarmy Eighth Air Force public relations officer, is assigned to take Capt. Dennis Dearborn (Modine) and the other nine crewmembers on a war bonds tour back to the States once the B-17 completes its 25^th combat mission.   

But at this point in the war over Europe, this is easier said than done. The Army Air Force lacks the long-range fighters to escort the B-17s on bombing missions deep in Germany, so the bomber crews based in England suffer horrendous casualties over the Reich. And because the Americans believe that daylight precision bombing is the key to victory through air power alone, fewer and fewer Flying Fortresses are coming back from raids over such targets as Schweinfurt, Regensburg, Wilhelmshaven, and Bremen.

The war-weary crew of the Memphis Belle knows this, so hopes are high that the brass will send them on a “milk run” (easy mission) over France. But Col. Craig Harriman (David Straithairn) knows that his commanders have other ideas to keep the pressure on the enemy’s war industry. As he says to his 24 bomber crews during the pre-mission briefing: “The target for today is…Bremen.”

Richard Rascal Moore: Uh, we ain't going to Krautville. Our plane's broke.

Eugene McVey: No, it's fixed.

Richard Rascal Moore: Christ, let's go break it.

“Memphis Belle” is not a historically accurate depiction of the famous B-17’s final mission. Instead, it’s a summary of all the calamities faced by Army Air Force bomber crews over German-occupied Europe. Here, planes explode during crash-landings, narrowly avoid collisions as they fly through cloud banks to get into their “combat box” formations, endure deadly Luftwaffe fighter attacks on the way to the target, and fly through flak so thick that – as the wartime cliché puts it – you could walk on it.

In spite of these clichés, or perhaps because of them, “Memphis Belle” manages to keep the viewer’s attention for its 107-minute running time. Director Michael Caton-Jones (“Rob Roy”) takes his time to introduce the crew and set the stage for the bombing mission. However, once “Memphis Belle” gets airborne, he and producer Catherine Wyler (William Wyler’s daughter) give the audience an E-ticket ride that is as exciting and dramatic as it is familiar. “Memphis Belle” is not a classic war movie on the same level as, say, “Saving Private Ryan.” It is, however, entertaining and serves as a reminder that World War II era aerial combat wasn’t easy, glamorous, or a triumph of technology over humanity.

Blu-ray Specifications

This Warner Home Video Blu-ray was released on May 6, 2014 as a single disc offering. It contains the feature film by Michael Caton-Jones, as well as William Wyler’s 1944 documentary “The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress” and the 1990 theatrical trailer.

Video

• Codec: MPEG-4 AVC (22.89 Mbps)
• Resolution: 1080p
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio

• English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
• German: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
• Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
• Czech: Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles

• English SDH, French, Spanish, German SDH, Czech, Korean

Discs

• 50GB Blu-ray Disc
• Single disc (1 BD)

Playback

• Region free