The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (1944)

Absolutely the worst movie.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

1943 and the allied bombing campaign is at its peak. The Memphis Belle is a B-17 "Flying Fortress" bomber in the US 8th Air Force. Its crew have completed 24 missions - one more and they go home. A documentary film crew captured their 25th mission, from preparation on the ground onwards.Superb documentary, directed by William Wyler. Captures very accurately the day-to-day lives of US bomber crews in Europe, including the dangers and sacrifices made. Good detail of the mission itself.Great footage, shot specifically for the documentary. The lives of the documentary crew were also in danger...Narration is stirring and brings home the importance of the bombers' roles, as well as how endangered the crews' lives were. Very sobering and emotional.The documentary inspired the great 1990 feature film, Memphis Belle.

The Memphis Belle (1944) is a War/History documentary about "The Memphis Belle" which is the 25th & last bombing mission of a B17 in Germany. It is directed by William Wyler and I think that he did a wonderful job. The documentary is clear, easy to understand, entertaining, interesting, and informative which is just about everything you could want in a documentary. I feel that this film would be suitable to show in schools in history class since it is easy to understand so students would probably learn from it.The documentary explains who is working on each campaign and gives lots of additional information about the campaigns in the introduction. The narrator is sure to include their plans and how they ensure to defeat the Nazis. The documentary shows you the people who are working in the American Army at the time of the mission and who they are and what they did before joining the military. Although the documentary is old, the imagery and shots are stunning. You can see clear birds-eye views of the bombing missions and are able to see the range of how much destruction they cause. You can see a first-hand perspective of fighter planes flying and getting ready to shoot while the narrator explains exactly what is going on. You can also hear the dialogue between the pilots and crew.

The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (1944) *** (out of 4)William Wyler directed this documentary that takes a look at a group of B-17 flyers on their 25th and final mission over Europe. Like many of the WWII documentaries from this era, it's true that they've been replaced in terms of some quality because in recent years people like A&E and The History Channel have been able to produce some spectacular documents of the war. With that said, there's also no doubt that these documentaries serve a great purpose because they show so many important stories and we get to see many historic battles. This documentary doesn't give you a great idea of who The Memphis Belle were as there's very little information given about them but this here is made up by the wonderful footage that we get. Shot in glorious Technicolor, this documentary contains some terrific footage of the men, what they did when not in the air and of course the battle footage. There are some terrific images from the air where we look down on the European countryside and it's so beautiful to look at that you often have to remind yourself that there's a war going on. The bombing scenes are breathtaking as are the scenes dealing with wounded soldiers. There's one sequence where a soldier is getting a blood transfusion and narrator Eugene Kern makes it clear that the blood could be from anyone in America, which was a clear cry for people to keep doing their part by giving blood.

To really appreciate this documentary, one must also read "The man who flew the Memphis Belle", written by Bob Morgan the pilot of the memphis Belle, and find out what it was like to be over there. Not only did Morgan and his crew complete 25 missions over Germany with the Eight Air Force, but after a bond tour in the US, he then went to the Pacific theater where he completed 26 missions flying B-29s over Japan.Thanks to Morgan, and men like him, we are free to see any movies we want, and give our opinions freely and in English, not German.