Wrench's Movie Guide

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pilot at the box-office. Enjoy the movie!

Welcome Pilots! After seeing a trend on 'what avaition/military/war movies should I have'on several message boards, I decieded to create this page with a listing, as comprehensive as possible, on genre films available on home video.

The sections are broken down by eras, WW1, inter-war years, WW2, Korean/1950's era, Vietman, Modern Era. I'll also post a wish list, for films we'd like to see, but either can't or haven't been made. The list is in no particular order, just as the films came to memory, or from reference books (see at the bottom of the page)

I'll be marking the 'known availables' with colored stars. This will include those available both on home video (VHS or DVD), or shown on cable TV stations (example: American Movie Classics, Turner Classic Movies)

A star in green * indicates available
A star in red * indicates unavailable
A star in blue * indicates an unknown
Stars in black * are just my humble rating!

Please feel free to email me with suggestions, espically on foreign films not usually seen, or available in America!

This first section deals with ONLY films directly involving avaition and airpower.

WORLD WAR I

Wings (silent)
The Dawn Patrol (both versions)
The Blue Max *
Zeppilen *
Hell's Angels(silent?)*

Inter-War Years Only Angels Have Wings
I Wanted Wings
Test Pilot(Gable/Tracy>
Dive Bomber *
The Helldivers
Spirit of St.Louis ******
Great Waldo Pepper*

WORLD WAR 2 Victroy Through Airpower (Now on Disney DVD!!) *
Battle Of Britan **** *
The Dambusters (PAL only DVD)*
A Yank In the RAF ** (DVD) *
One of Our Aircraft Is Missing
The Battle of Britan DVD ***** *
633 Squadron DVD ***
Mosquito Squadron DVD** *
A Wing And A Prayer DVD *** *
I Bombed Pearl Harbor (Japanese)
Air Force (***** - one of my favorites!)*
A Guy Named Joe
30 Seconds Over Tokyo*
Bombadier
Fighter Squadron (N/A) ***
Memphis Belle (the 1944 original)*
12 o'clock High (*****)*
Command Decision
God Is My Co-pilot (VHS ONLY from Bell and Blade *
Piece of Cake (PBS series)
Above and Beyond (Enola Gay?B29's)
Tora, Tora, Tora *
Flying Leathernecks *
The Tuskegee Airman (made for cable)
Wild Blue Yonder (B29 Story)
Enola Gay (TV mini-series?)*
Captains of the Clouds (RCAF-Cagney>*

KOREAN WAR ERA/1950'S The Hunters (Now on DVD!!)*
The Bridges At Toko-Ri * (*****-a classic!)
Men of the Fighting Lady
Stratagic Air Command *
Flight From Ashyia
Toward the Unknown
On The Threshold Of Space
X15*
Fail-Safe *
Dr. Strangelove DVD *
Jet Pilot (well, the flying scenes are good!)DVD*
Bombers B-52 *
The Big Lift (Berlin Airlift)DVD*
Chain Lightning (Bogart!)*

VIETNAM ERA Flight of the Intruder (nuff said!) DVD!! *
The Great Santini (well, it DOES have F-4's) DVD*
Bat 21 DVD*

MODERN ERA By Dawn's Early Light (HBO Cable-now on DVD)*
Steal The Sky
The Final Countdown DVD RELEASED 4/04*
Top Gun *
The Right Stuff *
Blackhawk Down ***** *

NAVAL & GROUND WAR FILMS

These are in no order whatsoever!

Das Boot(one of the all time classics!) *
They Were Expendable *
Guadalcanal Diary *
Midway (well, not the best, but ok!)*
Pearl Harbor ** (good special effects) *
The Desert Fox (James Mason!--DVD) *
Pursuit of the Graf Spee PAL only DVD *
Operation Pacific*
Sink the Bismark (DVD)*** *
Battleship Potemkin (which I'v only seen bits of) *
Pork Chop Hill *
Battle of the Bulge
Patton (*****) *
Sahara (both versions)(Bogart version on DVD) *
Platoon *
Hamburger Hill *
Full Metal Jacket *
The Beast (Russian tank crew in Afganistan;Cable?)
Danger: UXB (PBS series)*
Cross of Iron *
In Harm's Way *
Apocalypse Now *
Mission of the Shark (USS Indinapolis)
What Price Glory? (WW1)*

OFF THE WALL MOVIES This section deals with 'off topic' types: satire, comedy, black comedy, or just really crappy military films.

Hot Shots*
Hot Shots II (although I found BOTH very funny!)*
Iron Eagle series (no comment!)
Catch-22

THE WISH LIST Flight of the Old Dog (hell, anyDale Brown!)
Red Storm Rising
The Wingman Series (well, I am predujdiced!)
Hell and High Water
Action in the North Atlantic

REFERENCES - LINKS "When Hollywood Ruled the Skies"
"Celluoid Wings"

Please note: both of these books are out of pirnt - so if you stumble across a copy GRAB IT!!!.

Many of these films are available, I've discovered, via mail or phone order from Belle & Blade. They can be reached at the address below:

Belle & Blade
124 Penn Av
Dover, NJ 07801
phone orders: 973-328-8488 7am-10pm EST
Fax orders: 973-442-0669

If they don't have a film, they will try to find it. I've spoken to them, and they seem like real nice people!

Got a suggestion? Drop me a note, removing the "NOSPAM", first!

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