The Tuskegee Airmen

Starring:Laurence Fishburne, Allen Payne, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Courtney B. Vance, Andre Braugher, Christopher McDonald, Daniel Hugh Kelly, John Lithgow, Cuba Gooding Jr., Mekhi Phifer, Christopher Bevins, Eddie Braun, Max Daniels, Jack Dwyer, James Field, Vivica A. Fox, Bennet Guillory, David Harrod, Brett A. Jones, Johnny Judkins
Director: Robert Markowitz
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

This true story of the black flyers who broke the color barrier in the U.S. Air Force during World War II is a well-intentioned film highlighted by an excellent cast. Proud, solemn, Iowa-born Laurence Fishburne and city-kid hipster Cuba Gooding Jr. are among the hopefuls who meet en route to Tuskegee Air Force Base, where they are among the recruits for an "experimental" program to "prove" the abilities of the black man in the U.S. armed services. Fighting prejudice from racist officers and government officials and held to a consistently higher level of performance than their white counterparts, these men prove themselves in training and in combat, many of them dying for their country in the process. Andre Braugher costars as a West Point graduate who takes charge of the unit in Africa and in Italy (where it's christened the 332nd). The film is rousing, if slow starting and episodic, but it's periodically grounded by a host of war movie clichés, notably the calculated demise of practically every trainee introduced in the opening scenes (ironic given the 332nd's real-life combat record--high casualties for the enemy, low casualties among themselves, and no losses among the bombers they escorted). Ultimately the Emmy-nominated performances by moral backbone Fishburne and the dedicated Braugher and the energy and cocky confidence of Gooding give their battles both on and off the battlefield the sweet taste of victory. --Sean Axmaker

Description

Featuring an all-star cast headed by Laurence Fishburne, fireballs of high speed air action explode off the screen in this exciting story of the "Fighting 99th," the first squadron of black American pilots to be allowed to fight for their country. Based on the true story.

Customer Reviews:

Military film.......2007-05-14

Great flic. Some liberties taken with regard to the Tuskeegee situation, but overall gives a fair representation of the attitudes of the time. Good action scenes,with a very good performance by Fishburne. Highly recommend the film.

Well worth it.......2007-05-07

My father was one of the men who were depicted in this movie. I thought it was well worth watching, it will be a legacy to pass on to my children, thanks to the well acted script.

black saviors.......2007-05-07

this is one of those movies everyone should own. this movie depicts how the african american group of soldiers played a major role in winning parts of a war when african americans were not even considered to be real soldiers in the american armed forces.

WONDERFUL!.......2007-04-18

I'm a huge mark for History movies, so it was quite a shock that I'd never heard of this movie before seeing it on cable TV for the first time. Now I'm bordering on obsessed. It's a good thing I can watch it anytime I want.

The real story of colored men and their contributions to World War 2. Their triumphs, tragedies and all the obstacles they overcame to contribute to America's victory in the Great War. It's clear to anyone who studies history that the valiant contribution of these brave men could have literally spelled the difference between victory and defeat. Their bravery in the face of adversity ON THEIR OWN HOME SOIL hardened them... battle-readied them... in a way that no white flyer could say he was hardened.

Men boarded those planes to fly off to battle... heroes landed the planes, returning from the mission.

Truly one of the best WWII films out there!.......2007-04-16

One of the most underated, action filled, educational and entertaining films from World War II out there!

Nightfighters: The story of the 332nd Fighter Group, Tuskegee Airmen

Average customer rating:

Nightfighters: The story of the 332nd Fighter Group, Tuskegee Airmen

Nightfighters: The story of the 332nd Fighter Group, Tuskegee Airmen
Starring: Nightfighters-Tuskegee Airmen
Manufacturer: Xenon
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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( N ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

The Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen - They Fought Two Wars
Black Knights: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen
A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman
Benjamin O. Davis Jr., American : An Autobiography

ASIN: B0000714F0
Release Date: 2003-01-14

Customer Reviews:

Nightfighters: The story of the 332nd Fighter Group, Tuskegee Airmen.......2006-11-12

This DVD covers the origins of the Tuskegee group through interviews of the pilots. How they were loved aircraft before WWII and the politics of black airmen at the time. The interviews started with Chief Charles Alfred Anderson interview while flying a cessna172RG. Harry Sheppard, Spann Watson, Woodrow Crockett, Luke Weathers, Louis Purnell, & DR. Brown were some of the others interviewed through out the DVD, starting with telling their feelings on Davis and expectation from Davis during the training period. The 99th went to North Africa for first deployment, then onto Italy and Cicely missions. Mostly showing P-51B's on the clips with once and awhile a P-40 with no regard to time frame. Next they talk about the addition of more aircraft and the beginning of the 332nd. Not many shots from P-47's and no story of the P-47 group that I was hoping for. They talked about the success of bomber protection and the disappointment of the end of the war to what they had to return to. Two big signs, colored this way, whites that way. This makes for a good PBS show.

The Tuskegee Airmen - They Fought Two Wars

Average customer rating:

We stand stronger than time and space
"It's their country, too!"
Informative and interesting
Profile in Moral and Physical Courage

The Tuskegee Airmen - They Fought Two Wars
Starring: Tuskegee Airmen
Manufacturer: Pbs Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Biography | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

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Similar Items:

The Tuskegee Airmen
Nightfighters: The story of the 332nd Fighter Group, Tuskegee Airmen
Black Knights: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen
A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman
Benjamin O. Davis Jr., American : An Autobiography

ASIN: B0001L3MK8
Release Date: 2004-05-11

Customer Reviews:

We stand stronger than time and space.......2007-03-23

More enlightening historical data to further show you how strong black people are. Two wars is definitely what these brothers fought because they had to fight White america in addition to the enemy across the ocean. This documentary features some of the surviving tuskegee airmen and they get to tell their story in their own words. To hear the history actually from the person who experienced it makes the story even more powerful. This is a great documentary and is highly recommended!!!!!!

"It's their country, too!".......2007-02-08

The Tuskegee Airman - They Fought Two Wars - PBS, 60 min. (for a film of this historical event check out Laurence Fishburne's "The Tuskegee Airmen"

This documentary is a legacy to the men who fought two wars in WWII, the enemy abroad and racism at home. This documentary (along with others) is an important part to complementing the standard history books on American WWII era.

The Army had allowed the negros to try out for this flight program, only to see if the negro man was capable, mentally and physically, to make it thru pilot training. These were the elite of the African American community of those days, college educated negros. Negro is the term used during that era, and used in this review, only for historical purposes.

Starts off with the remaining living veterans aboard a bus going back to Tuskegee, Alabama - a veterans reunion. With scenes overlapping with recreated footage, one learns from the veterans what it was like to be a negro in pre-WWII America ("the white press did not publish anything favorable of the negros. The negros got their news and understood white America thru the black press"). The Intro. also mentions Bessy Coleman, as the first woman black pilot.

The vision the young educated negro cadets, to change their society thru their joined efforts to fight for their country and prove to white America that the negro man can fly and do a great job at that, is quite contagious. I could not, as a white Protestant, but just root for them and be glad that they proved their 1940 society, wrong.

SCENE SELECTIONS:
* Introduction
* Coming Home
* The Battle for the Right to Fight
* Welcome to Tuskegee
* Learning to Fly
* Winning their Wings
* Trial by Fire
* Victory for the Red Tails
* A Disappointing Homecoming
* An Everlasting Legacy
* Credits

It is so weird and ironic to learn, that today Tuskegee is a known town in Alabama, primarily because of the Tuskegee Airmen and the black Institute campus.

If you want to learn the real story, accurately, watch the PBS DVD (it is really well made). If you just want to watch a great film about a great story and with a plot that conveys the segregation and racism of the times (but without all the details being historically accurate), then watch the film by Laurence Fishburne. The PBS edition, also talks about what happened to the airmen after WWII, and one of the things mentioned is Truman's the bill for desegregation of the army.

The Tuskegee pilots of the 232 became known as the best in the business. Also, as "the Red Tails."

The message of this documentary is simply: "It's their country, too!"

Informative and interesting.......2005-10-30

This is a must see for all Americans. The story of these heros, and the ground that they broke for African Americans is the best you will see. The film that came out several years ago is a travesty to the honor that is due to these brave Americans. Nothing in this PBS documentary cheapens their accomplishments and their dignity. This is the best of educational TV productions, which is why PBS excells in this and others do not. The narration by Ossie Davis is done with the quality that one would expect from a distinquished American who along with his wife long fought for the rights of African Americans. These airmen loved this country. The young African American men that fly over the skies of Iraq for freedom for that nation can be proud of those Americans who made it possible for them.

Profile in Moral and Physical Courage.......2005-05-25

The stories of the 99th and the 332nd, the Tuskegee Airmen, are ones that should be heard by all Americans. As the subtitle states, they did fight two wars. They fought against the Nazis and they fought the civil rights war here at home.

This is a well done documentary that presents the story of the Tuskegee Airmen. Topics examined include the prewar state of affairs of black servicemen, their training in Tuskegee, Alabama, their air campaigns in North Africa and Europe and their less than triumphant return home after the war. At each step of the way, they had to fight individual and institutional racism and they did so in the best possible manner. They fought bigotry with sheer excellence. They remain the only fighter group never to have lost one of the bombers they were charged with protecting to enemy fire.

Participating in this documentary are some of the original airmen and their poignant recolections and anecdotes bring a very human face to go with their legendary exploits. These people include both pilots and the aircrews who kept them in the air. Ossie Davis provides narration and does a commendable job.

This documentary should be of interest to people interested in military history. It should also appeal to those concerned with the civil rights struggle. More than either of these, it should appeal to anyone who wants to see a true profile in courage.

Average customer rating:

The Tuskegee Airmen - They Fought Two Wars
Starring: Laurence Fishburne , Allen Payne , Malcolm-Jamal Warner , Courtney B. Vance , and Andre Braugher
Director: Robert Markowitz
Manufacturer: Pbs Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Biography | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

General | African American Cinema | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( T ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

All | PBS | Specialty Stores | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Tuskegee Airmen
Nightfighters: The story of the 332nd Fighter Group, Tuskegee Airmen
Miss Evers' Boys
Underground Railroad (History Channel)
A Soldier's Story

ASIN: B0000C23BA
Release Date: 2003-11-04

Description

This inspiring World War II story spotlights 450 men who fought on two fronts at once. A group of black American aviators, known as the Tuskegee Airmen, battled the Axis powers in Europe and North Africa and took on racism at home. Trained in the segregated military as an experiment to see if blacks had what it took to fly in combat, these fighter pilots made more than 15,000 sorties and 1,500 missions. Their success led to the integration of the U.S. armed forces.