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1927 Movie "Wings" Restored / Remastered


zepher11
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I was just watching CBS Sunday morning. As they were talking about the Oscars, there was a segment on the first film to win best picture; The WWI epic "Wings"

 

They used today's technology to update the film and it looked great. They added suttle color for the flashes of the machine guns and for the flames from the planes. The clarity of the picture was outstanding as well. They also added additional sound effects and so forth.

 

Not having heard of this updated version, I apologize if someone already posted this, but it really looks great and worth a second look if one is a WWI air war buff! I looked it up on Wiki and with all credit to them, here is what it says about the updated version.

 

"As the original negatives are lost, the closest to an original print is a spare negative stored in Paramount's vaults. Suffering from decay and defects, the negative was fully restored with modern technology. For the restored version of Wings, the original music score was re-orchestrated. The sound effects were recreated at Skywalker Sound using archived audio. The scenes using the Handschiegl color process was also recreated for the restored version. [15]

 

The restored and remastered version of Wings, presented in high-definition, was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on January 24, 2012, coinciding with the centennial anniversary of Paramount."

 

Regards,

 

Zeph

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I saw CBS Sunday Morning also - you must have been reading my mind also !!

 

You have the same name as my Grandfather also!!

 

Thanks for the info

 

Bill

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I saw CBS Sunday Morning also - you must have been reading my mind also !!

 

You have the same name as my Grandfather also!!

 

Thanks for the info

 

Bill

 

Hi Bill,

 

Well, Zeph is a nickname for me. My real name rhymes with the most popular room in the house. ;)

 

I have watched Wings before, and I recall that it was very grainy. Fortunately, I had my war movie goggles on. This new version looks very cool. I loved the story where William Wyler (director) required the two lead actors to get flying lessons so that they could fly the planes. No stunt pilots in the single seaters. He wanted the cameras to record the actors flying in order to make it more realistic and authentic. The actors also operated the onboard cameras. So, with only like two hours of flying experience, the actors took to the air. Neat little piece of movie trivia.

 

Not a lot of people into silent films, but I think I will order a copy. Looks like the DVD runs around $18. I'm happy that there are people out there willing to preserve these pieces of history...

 

Regards,

 

Zeph

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  • 11 months later...

I just watched this courtesy of Netflix.

 

The story is a bit hokey... buddies go off to war, same unit, in love with the same woman, etc.

 

But once you get past that... it is a movie of superlatives.

 

I watched the Paramount commentary that came with it first. This movie was made in 1927 for what was then the insane sum of $2 million dollars.

 

When it toured the country, often with a full orchestra, the price of the ticket was an unheard of $2.00.

 

It was one of the first, if not the first, made with the full cooperation of the US Army, who saw it as promoting the service. Thousands of troops, acres of ground at Ft. Sam Houston and up to 200 aircraft...

 

As noted above, the movie was once thought to be lost. The version I watched was not crystal clear, and that might disappoint some folks.

 

But it is a bonanza for anyone who wants to see the equipment of the WWI and immediate post war era.

 

Below is a publicity photo, from a scene that never took place in the movie, of the three principle stars, Clara Bow, Buddy Rodgers and Richard Arlen. Gary Cooper also made a brief but center stage appearance that helped launch his career.

 

One of the things that made the film realistic was that a number of the actors and stunt men had served in WWI, including the director William A. Wellman, who had flown during the war.

wings-at-tiff.jpg

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I've never watched Clara Bow before, but her talent as an actress really comes out. There are some real subtleties to her performance that would make her viable today. She plays an irrepressible girl next door later to become a volunteer ambulance driver. I will need to watch more of her work. She is the one who coined the phrase "The It Girl" based on her charisma.

Wings 1 small.jpg

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The ground troops are covered in detail as well...

 

One thing about Wellman's scenes... things were always moving in the background... troops, trucks, tanks...

 

The "French Village" of Merville was built on Ft. Sam Houston, complete with a church and 33 other buildings.

Wings 9 small.jpg

Wings 6 small.jpg

Wings 7 doughboy small.jpg

Wings-4 Merville small.jpg

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My last note is that the Germans in the movie were not overplayed stereotypes...

 

For its time, the movie has some rather adult themes, many which were later prohibited by Hollywood restrictions.

 

It's a long movie at 2 hours 21 minutes, but if this period interests you, there is a lot to see. With the coming 100 year anniversary of WWI, the film's restoration could not be more timely.

Wings 15 Germans small.jpg

Wings 5 Awards small.jpg

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I have a "short snorter" signed by two pilots who flew in the movie and played extras. Unfortunately, they are not credited and I have no way of identifying them in any of the scenes. I watched a fair amount of the movie so I am sure I saw them at some point.

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Paul Mantz and Frank Tallman were both in it I believe... both who would be legendary flyers and air racers for years. After WWII, Paul Mantz bought so many surplus aircraft he ended up with the 12th largest air force in the world. Unfortunately he could not afford the gas to fly all of them to a holding area, so he ended up scrapping many of them. However, he ended up making a profit in the end selling B-26 plex noses back to the USAF when the Korean War broke out and parts were in short supply!

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Cool photos. I knew Tallman and Mantz were in the movie, but not the fact that the actors learned to fly... Guess I'll hunt up a copy..

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