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Brother 2 (Russian: Брат 2, translit.Brat 2) is a 2000 Russian crime film. It is a sequel to the 1997 film Brother, taking place about a year after the first film.

Plot[edit]

The film opens with Danila Bagrov (Sergei Bodrov Jr.) being interviewed on television with two friends from the army. All three now live in Moscow, where Ilya Setevoy (Kirill Pirogov) is a programmer at a history museum, Konstantin 'Kostya' Gromov (Alexander Dyachenko) works in security for a bank.

After the interview, the friends retire to a bathhouse where Kostya reveals that his twin brother, Dmitry Gromov, is an ice hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks and is being blackmailed by American kingpin Richard Mennis (Gary Houston). According to Konstantin, Dmitry once played for his home club he was invited by the NHL and emigrated to the United States. After he moved, the Ukrainian mafia moved in on him, demanding protection money. Dmitry (also portrayed by Alexander Dyachenko) was desperate and appealed to Mennis for protection. Mennis took him under contract, but it left Dmitry as an indentured servant as all proceeds are paid to Mennis. Konstantin informs that Mennis has come to Moscow to meet his employer, Valentin Belkin (Sergey Makovetsky) to discuss a business proposal.

In Priozersk, Danila's brother Viktor (Viktor Sukhorukov) watches the interview with their mother. Seeing how her older son has turned into a drunken policeman, she pleads that Viktor travels to Moscow and seek his brother there. After the bathhouse, Danila meets up and begins an affair with pop singer Irina Saltykova (playing herself), who he met at the TV station.

The next morning, Kostya approaches Belkin and pleads to remind Mennis about his brother. Belkin agrees, but Dmitry Gromov is of little concern to both of them. Belkin, being a Russian kingpin himself, wishes to cooperate with Mennis to legalise their assets. That evening, Danila stops at Kostya's apartment to discover him shot dead.

After being briefly arrested and getting into a fight in jail, Danila and Ilya begin planning their revenge in the museum. On the black market, they purchase a CD with personal information about Belkin. They also purchase guns from a neo-nazi friend of Ilya's. Meanwhile, Viktor has arrived in Moscow and manages to find Danila in the museum, where he agrees to join their plans, and helps them steal a car.

As it is the start of the school year, the gymnasium where Belkin's son Fedya is studying is holding its opening ceremonies. Arriving at the school in the stolen car, Danila introduces himself as Fedya's new teacher and invites Belkin to the staffroom for a private conversation. He confronts Belkin at gunpoint and interrogates him about Kostya's murder. Belkin reveals that it was not his doing, but that of Mennis. Danila leaves Belkin after he pleads for his life.

The trio clear the museum, and Danila gives Ilya his remaining money to procure passports and tickets to Chicago. It is revealed that Kostya's murder was due to a misunderstanding, as he only wanted him fired. However, the stunt in the school now threatens his whole operation with Mennis. Belkin's thugs and his police contacts begin to search the city for Danila. Danila decides to lay low at Saltykova's apartment and brings Viktor with him. Meanwhile, Belkin's thugs discover the stolen car in the building's parking lot. Saltykova's chauffeur Boris warns Danila, and the Bagrov brothers ambush the mobsters and then lead them on a chase through the town and into a closed alley, where they make quick work of the thugs. News of Bagrov's success concern Belkin's partners, who begin doubting the security of their operation. Learning of the bought tickets under Bagrov's name, Belkin alerts the Ukrainian mafia in Chicago.

To avoid capture, the brothers fly to America separately, and Viktor arrives in Chicago without any suspicion. Danila instead takes a flight to New York City where he arrives in Brighton Beach. There, he buys a cheap car to travel to Chicago by road, but it breaks down just outside Pennsylvania. Stranded, he hitches a ride to Chicago with trucker Ben Johnson (Ray Toler). Despite Danila's limited English, the two become close friends and on his way to Chicago, Ben shows Danila much about American life. Upon their arrival in Chicago, Ben drives by prostitutes, one of whom, Marylin, turns out to be a Russian named Dasha (Darya Urgens Lesnikova).

Back in Moscow, Belkin is still determined to catch Danila, but a background check revealed that Viktor was on board the flight to Chicago. Paranoid, Belkin alerts the Ukrainian mafia in Chicago to find him. Meanwhile, Viktor arrives to the Ukrainian district in Chicago. Danila attempts to meet up with Dmitry and Viktor, but is unable to make contact with them. Badly needing a translator, he decides to find Dasha and travels to the neighbourhood where she works. Just before he can run away with her, he is savagely beaten by Dasha's pimp's henchmen. The Police let him go on the basis of recognizance and he gets revenge by tricking the same group into selling him weapons, which he steals by subterfuge. Afterwards, Dasha's pimp attempts to get even with her but is in turn killed by Danila, leaving Dasha no choice but to go with him.

Danila and Dasha finally meet up with Viktor and the three enjoy an evening campfire on the beach of Lake Michigan where they share their experiences and attitude towards American society. Dasha tells her story of how she came in the early 1990s as an exchange student, worked in escort service in New York before finally degrading into a street hooker. Viktor, on the other hand, is much too impressed with the power of money that drives America. Danila instead shows his patriotism and offers Dasha to come back home with them, replying to her 'what will I do there?' with the 'What have you achieved here?' inferring to her social status. As for Viktor, Danila reminds him there are things that money can't buy. This philosophical discussion is broken by a homeless black man, who stumbles across them and is insulted when Danila called him a negr (not knowing that the word is an insult in English). While waiting for a fight to come, Dasha replies that she believes that the aggressive primal nature of black people drives fear into white people, thus making them ultimately superior. This theory fails its test, when Danila's warning shots into the sand quickly forces the attackers to flee.

Regardless, Danila finally begins to move in against Mennis and first hits his front, the Club Metro. Expecting Mennis to be there he sneaks a weapon into the toilet, and during a Rock concert that evening, involving the Bi-2 band, he kills every member of Mennis' mafia he encounters in the basement. Mennis, alas, is absent. Viktor, himself picked up a tail by the Ukrainian mafia, draws them away and kills their hitman, but not before learning of the mafia's operations and headquarters. The next morning Danila climbs 50 or so floors on a skyscraper's fire escape to reach Mennis' office. He finds him in a game of chess. Killing his colleague, he finally confronts him alone. As if continuing the debate on the lakeside, in his monologue (in Russian) he asks the American if power really comes from money. Arguing that his brother (whose photo is lying next to the chess table) believes this theory, Danila instead thinks that power lies in the Truth. He (implying Mennis), can be rich, but not strong, as his money he stole from someone else. Thus the tricked person is right, so he is stronger. Almost weeping in fear, Mennis agrees. In conclusion, he demands all of the money he took from Dmitry to be returned.

Giving Dmitry his money, Danila sets off back home to Moscow driving through the Ukrainian neighbourhood he witnesses a police siege around the former headquarters of the Ukrainian mafia, where Viktor killed everyone inside. As he is dragged out handcuffed, Viktor shouts his intentions to stay in America. The film ends with Danila and Dasha taking off to Moscow, and the final call to Irina is not intercepted, as presumably, Belkin is also removed by his 'investors', who in an earlier scene, face to face told him, that the sum of money he set up in this operation is too much to be risked. At the airport, Dasha is told that she will never be able to enter the United States again due to the expiry of her visa, but she does not care, signalling an intention she will never come back.

Impact of the film[edit]

Similarly to the first film, Brother 2 was a success upon release. The film picked up on the changing attitudes of the Russian public in the late 1990s. It also shows the erosion of a common naive stereotype of the 'perfect' West, and in particular, America which is shown as not so perfect. The film depicts the immense divide between the black and white communities with the former ghettoised. Also, it shows that, like in Russia, high-profile businessmen can have very criminal activities too. One of the most powerful messages was the final confrontation when Danila asks Mennis if money really gives one strength and power, and instead argues that strength and power can only be found in the Truth.

At the same time, the film highlights positive elements about the United States, but from a different perspective in the American people who, like in Russia, come in all colours and social statuses. Examples are the black television presenter Lisa Jeffrey who has a short affair with Danila and the trucker Ben, who at the very end of the film, only accepts an audio cassette with Russian music which the two listened to whilst driving across the very picturesque landscape. Finally, on a humorous note, the film carried across the message that hardships and people's discomfort with life exist everywhere as shown by the two complaining taxi drivers both in Moscow and in New York.

Balabanov's epic picture mirrored the Russian awakening and growing sense of patriotism. Danila's character is once again the macroscopic personification of this trend. On the surface he is somewhat innocent, simple, laid back and confident (enough to land him in bed with a Russian celebrity and an American News reporter), underneath, however, is a solid righteous person, who is not afraid of putting two prison cellmates in their place, taking on a Russian kingpin banker and evading his security, shaking up Chicago's Black neighbourhood to 'rescue' a fellow Russian (despite being initially beaten), and ultimately bringing down a whole American crime organisation. All to avenge his friend and help his brother, with little material gain for himself. Despite this, he shows compassion to his adversaries, like sparing Belkin because of his son. The theme, that family members can be very different, is very much exploited in Viktor's character, who despite aiding them in Moscow, somewhat lets him down in Chicago. Dasha's character very much reflects the failure of many post-Soviet Russian Immigrants, whose 'American Dream' turned into a nightmare, again showing the Russian audience that emigration can, quite literally, force a talented person to literally walk the streets. Both Irina and Ilya illustrate that opportunities in Russia exist as well and success comes to those that strive for it. Belkin, unlike Krugly in the first film, is not wholly depicted as evil, but instead shows how money can corrupt a person into becoming evil. The subplot that Konstantin's murder was unintended, and moreover, he got his job in the bank because of Belkin's past friendship with Kostya's father drives that message. This again reflects the Russian reality how many people who rose in the 1990s had to turn on their friends and family. The poem that his son read in the school, Danila would recite throughout the film. Finally, Mennis is shown for what he is, being an influential businessman, up front, he is a nothing but a coward.

The film was criticised for being too Russo-centric and in extreme cases the elements of racism and nationalism. For example, the semi-criminal portrayal of the African American community, the deceiving Russian-American Jew (who sells a bad car) and the Ukrainian mafia. The latter in particular often refers to the toilet scene when Viktor finishes off in cold blood remarking: 'You bitches will answer to me for Sevastopol!' referring to the sensitive topic on the ownership of that city. Ukrainians are also called banderovets by Viktor (e.g. when he arrives at the airport), what does not appear in English subtitles. Albeit, the listed scenes have clear humorous overtones. In 2015 the film was officially banned in Ukraine for 'containing scenes that humiliate Ukrainians as a nation'.^[1]

In October 2009, the film received mention in a Salon article.

Literature[edit]

• Florian Weinhold (2013), Path of Blood: The Post-Soviet Gangster, His Mistress and Their Others in Aleksei Balabanov's Genre Films, Reaverlands Books: North Charleston, SC: pp. 66–90.
• Susan Larsen (2003), 'National Identity, Cultural Authority, and the Post-Soviet Blockbuster: Nikita Mikhalkov and Aleksei Balabanov.' Slavic Review, vol. 62, No. 3, pp. 491–511.

Cast[edit]

Soundtrack[edit]

The film's soundtrack consists of popular songs from contemporary Russian and Ukrainian rock artists, such as Splean, Bi-2, Zemfira, Smyslovye Gallyutsinatsii, Chicherina, Okean Elzy and Nautilus Pompilius. The pop-star Irina Saltykova being one of the important characters, there are some of her songs in the soundtrack. The latter is partly a reference to the soundtrack of the original 'Brother', which consists entirely of Nautilus Pompilius' songs. The soundtrack includes 'Lafayette' performed by American band Sleeping For Sunrise.

1. 'Бай-Бай' (Bye-Bye) — Irina Saltykova (O. Molchanov, A. Slavorosov)
2. 'Полковник' (Colonel) — Bi-2 (Shura Bi-2, Lyova Bi-2)
3. 'Счастье' (Happiness) — Bi-2 (Shura Bi-2, Lyova Bi-2)
4. 'Солнечный круг' (Sun Ring) — Irina Saltykova (O. Molchanov, A. Slavorosov)
5. 'Варвара' (Varvara) — Bi-2 (Shura Bi-2, Lyova Bi-2)
6. 'Огоньки' (Twinkles) — Irina Saltykova (P. Andreev)
7. 'Искала' (I Was Searching) — Zemfira (Zemfira Ramazanova)
8. 'Ту Лу Ла' (Tu La La) — Chicherina (Yulia Chicherina)
9. 'Гибралтар' (Gibraltar) — Vyacheslav Butusov (Vyacheslav Butusov, Dmitry Gunitsky)
10. 'Дорога' (The Road) — AuktsYon (Leonid Fyodorov, Dmitry Ozeretsky)
11. 'Кавачай' (Kavachay) — Okean Elzy (Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, Pavlo Hudimov)
12. 'Вечно молодой' (Forever Young) — Smyslovyie gallyutsinatsii (Sergey Bobunets, Oleg Genenfeld)
13. 'Коли тебе нема' (When You Are Out) — Okean Elzy (Svyatoslav Vakarchuk)
14. 'Розовые очки' (Pink Glasses) — Smyslovye gallyutsinatsii (Sergey Bobunets, Oleg Genenfeld)
15. 'Гни свою линию' (Be On Your Own Way) — Splin (Aleksandr Vasilyev)
16. 'Секрет' (The Secret) — Agata Kristi (Gleb Samoylov)
17. 'Никогда' (Never) — Vadim Samoylov (Vadim Samoylov)
18. 'Город' (The City) — Tantsy minus (Vyacheslav Petkun)
19. 'Катманду' (Kathmandu) — Krematoriy (Armen Grigoryan)
20. 'Иду' (I Am Going) — Tantsy minus (Vyacheslav Petkun)
21. 'Земля' (Earth) — Masha i medvedi (Denis Petukhov, Maria Makarova)
22. 'Lafayette' — Sleeping for Sunrise (Blake J. Zweig, James Konczyk, Jay Ranz)
23. 'Погляд' (The Sight) — La-Mansh (Dmytro Tsyperdiuk)
24. 'Прощальное письмо' (Farewell Letter) — Nautilus Pompilius and Children's Choir led by M. I. Slavkin (Vyacheslav Butusov, Dmitry Umetsky)
25. 'Стюардесса Жанна' (Jeanne The Stewardess) — The Metropol Restaurant Orchestra (Vladimir Presnyakov Jr., Ilya Reznik, Aleksandr Starobinets)

Critical response[edit]

'When sequels start appearing, that's a healthy sign .. Two major risks have left Brother. Natural environment has gone - the alleys of Saint Petersburg, the bazaar on the Sennaya Square - a spot-on depiction of the new times. Only the story was left - honest, straightforward and not new, just like our hero. «Immorality» that served as the main attraction in Brother, paradoxically combining the frankness of Komsomol with zombie-like killings, is also gone. What's left is spirituality: the Orthodox values, «The power is not in the money, but in the truth», violence - not because it's as easy as brushing teeth, but because there's injustice in the world - and thus one must fight .. A strong movie, not boring to watch. Aleksei Balabanov makes films the only way possible: like we are living in a healthy country that produces 150 movies yearly. And while it's not true, and there's a clean field around him, and he is taken almost for a savior who carries his cross alone, we should react to this film adequately: calmly, without hysterics, just like a normal cinema requires.'^[2]

'Our answer to James Bond and other 'anti-Soviet Cinema',’ “Brother 2” was ‘ideological..playing ‘to the fears of its national audience..the first manifestation of Russia’s new snobbery towards the US,’ the Itogi weekly’s reviewer wrote. Its central character was ‘a) cute and b) clever .. war creates a special kind of childish killers .. The search for national identity .. only leads to unwarranted xenophobia.'^[3]

Trivia[edit]

• Bodrov's lines 'in English' had to be subtitled for English-speaking audiences.
• The scene where Danila meets Dmitri Gromov at the hockey practice features several prominent Pittsburgh Penguins players. Jaromir Jagr is seen in one shot and Darius Kasparaitis has a small speaking role.

Censorship[edit]

The State Agency of Ukraine on Cinema in 2015 banned the film to be shown on the territory of the country, due to the fact that it, according to experts of the department, contains scenes “that are humiliating for Ukrainians on a national basis, and also because of the incorrectness of the demonstration of this film during the aggression in the east of the country.”^[4]

Possible sequel[edit]

After the release of the second part, Balabanov said that the story of Danila Bagrov was finished, that Sergei Bodrov didn't want to reprise the role anymore and that he wanted to move in a new direction.^[5] Yet later on he hinted at a possible third part while answering a comment on the official Brother website which suggested to 'send Danila to the Second Chechen War and kill him'.^[6] Apparently in 2002 he released War where Bodrov played a supporting role of Captain Medvedev.

Sergei Bodrov subsequently took up directing himself, but didn't plan a sequel. However, he did not completely rule out this possibility.^[7] In 2001 he directed a criminal drama entitled Sisters which was compared by critics to Balabanov's dilogy.^[8][9] Bodrov himself appeared in an episodic role of a nameless New Russian — according to Bodrov himself, a cameo of his Bagrov character.^[10]

In 2014 Viktor Sukhorukov declared his desire to make Brother 3 in memory of Balabanov and Bodrov.^[11] He said that he had long planned the sequel and was full of ideas for the new story which had been rejected by Balabanov during his lifetime, including the release of Viktor from the American prison and return to St. Petersburg in an oil trawler.

On February 28, 2019 it was reported that a Russian musician and showman Stanislav Baretsky was planning to shoot Brother 3 with a completely new crew and cast, including ex-prisoners.^[12][13] This caused a negative reaction from both fans, Bodrov's relatives, Viktor Sukhorukov, Irina Saltykova and CTB producer Sergei Selyanov who stated that his company would never give film rights to Baretsky and that they might sue the showman at one point.^{[14][15][16][17]}

References[edit]

1. ^Ukraine banned Brother 2 for the «scenes that humiliate Ukrainians» // ТСН, 18.02.2015
2. ^Brother 2 review // Afisha, 01.01.2001
3. ^One way ticket , Yuri Gladilschikov, Itogi, Moscow, 5 June 2000.Retrieved: 5 January 2013
4. ^В Украине запретили фильм «Брат 2» из-за «унизительных для украинцев сцен» // ТСН, 18.02.2015
5. ^Alexey Balabanov: “Brother-3” will not be! '
6. ^DIDN'T HURRY ALEKSEY BALABANOV TO ASSIST EVERYONE IN THAT 'BRATA-3 'WILL NOT BE, AS THE SAME ON THE SITE OF A FILM MAKES A SENSATION HINT - film.ru
7. ^'Sergey Bodrov: Danila Bagrov - my brother'. Archived from the original on 2018-08-01. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
8. ^Aleksandr Strelkov. Brother gave birth to Sisters review at Gazeta.ru, 11 May 2001 (in Russian)
9. ^Ekaterina Salnikova. Crime movie for girls review at Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 15 May 2001 (in Russian)
10. ^The last interview of Sergei Bodrov at newsru.com, 27 September 2002 (in Russian)
11. ^What is the power of 'Brother-2'?
12. ^Stas Baretsky will shoot Brother-3 with former inmates, and give one of the roles to Vyacheslav Datsik
13. ^Стас Барецкий и бывшие заключенные снимутся в фильме «Брат-3»
14. ^Natalia Romanova. 'It doesn't belong to him': CTB representatives said they will not give Baretsky rights to shoot Brother 3 at RT, 7 March 2019 (in Russian)
15. ^Сергей Бодров – старший отговаривал Балабанова от идеи создания «Брата 2» // ИА REGNUM, 18.03.2019.
16. ^Шоумен Барецкий раскрыл сюжет фильма «Брат-3» // Известия, 06.03.2019
17. ^Andry Kut. The Russians demanded to ban the shooting of “Brother-3” at Hand of Moscow project, 10 March 2019

External links[edit]

• Brother 2 at AllMovie
• Brother 2 on IMDb

Running time124 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget$2,646,000Box office$2.7 million (US rentals)$4,129,000 (total)Air Force is a 1943 American directed by and starring,. The film was distributed by and produced.

Made in the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack, it was one of the first of the patriotic films of the waroften characterized as a.The film's storyline revolves around an actual incident that occurred on December 7, 1941. An aircrew is ferrying an unarmed heavy bomber named the Mary-Ann across the to the base at. They flew right into the middle of the Japanese air and the beginning of America's direct involvement in World War II. An uncredited wrote the emotional deathbed scene for Ridgely, who played the pilot of the Mary-Ann.An Air Force plot detail is loosely referenced in the film (1994) during ’s monologue playing Captain Koons. Koons recounts the story of boxer ’s grandfather’s watch: Butch’s grandfather, facing certain death at the hands of the Japanese at the WWII battle of, gives his watch to a gunner on an Air Force bomber by the name of Winocki. Contents.Plot On December 6, 1941, at, near San Francisco, the crew of the Mary-Ann, a are ordered to fly across the Pacific to.Master Sergeant Robbie White, the crew chief, is a long-time veteran of the Army Air Corps, whose son Danny is an officer and pursuit (fighter) pilot. The navigator, Lieutenant Monk Hauser Jr., is the son of a hero of the.

The pilot is Michael 'Irish' Quincannon Sr., the co-pilot is Bill Williams, and the bombardier is Tom McMartin. Sergeant Joe Winocki is a disgruntled gunner who, as an aviation cadet in 1938, washed out of flight school after he caused a mid-air collision in which another cadet was killed. Quincannon was the flight instructor who requested a board of inquiry into the accident.With the United States still neutral, the Mary-Ann and eight other B-17s fly, fully equipped except for ammunition, to Hickam Field.

They arrive on December 7, 1941, during the Japanese. In its aftermath, the tired crew is ordered, with little rest, to fly first to, and then to in the Philippines, both also under heavy Japanese attack. En route, the crew listens to President ask Congress for a declaration of war. They take along two passengers: fighter pilot Lieutenant Thomas 'Tex' Rader and a small dog, 'Tripoli', the Marines' mascot on Wake Island.When they land at Clark Field, White learns that his son was killed while trying to lead his squadron into the air during the first attack.

Soon after, Quincannon volunteers his bomber (the only one available) to attack a Japanese invasion fleet, but the Mary-Ann is swarmed by enemy fighters and forced to abort after losing two engines. The fatally wounded Quincannon orders his men to bail out, then blacks out. Winocki remains aboard and pilots the Mary-Ann to a successful when he is unable to lower the landing gear.Having told a dying Quincannon that the Mary-Ann is ready to fly, the crew works feverishly through the night to repair their bomber, scavenging parts from other, damaged B-17s, as the Japanese Army closes in. Chester, the assistant radio operator, volunteers to fly as gunner in a two-seat observation plane. They are caught in an enemy air raid.

Chester bails out after the pilot is killed, but is shot while descending helplessly, then strafed to death on the ground. Winocki and White shoot down the fighter with machine guns. When the pilot stumbles from the burning wreckage, Winocki shoots him. The exhausted aircrew barely manages to finish the repairs just before the airfield is overrun. With help from Marines and Army soldiers, the Mary-Ann takes off under fire.As they head to Australia, with Rader as the reluctant pilot and the wounded Williams as co-pilot, they spot a large Japanese naval invasion directly below.

The crew radios the enemy's position and circles until reinforcements arrive; the Mary-Ann then leads the attack that devastates the Japanese fleet (the missions portrayed in these sequences mirror real-life events).Later in the war, a bombing attack on Tokyo is finally announced to a roomful of bomber crews, among them several familiar faces from the Mary-Ann, including Rader, now a B-17 pilot. As the bombers take off, President Roosevelt offers inspiring words in a, as the air armada heads towards the rising sun.Cast ActorOn-screen creditNotesPilotCaptain Michael Aloysius 'Irish' Quincannon Sr.Co-PilotLieutenant William WilliamsBombardierLieutenant Thomas C. Monk Hauser Jr.Crew ChiefMaster Sergeant Robert 'Robbie' White, also 2nd flight engineerAsst.

Crew ChiefCorporal WeinbergRadio OperatorCorporal 'Minnesota' PetersonAsst. Radio OperatorPrivate ChesterAerial GunnerSergeant Joe WinockiPursuit Pilot (Passenger)Lieutenant Thomas 'Tex' RaderMajor Mallory,Colonel atColonel Blake, Commanding Officer at Manila(as Edward S. Brody)Sergeant J. Callahan, USMCMajor W. RobertsBill CragoPilot P. Moran at ManilaSusan McMartin, Tommy's sisterMajor DanielsMajor A.

Chester (uncredited)Nurse #2 (uncredited)Mrs. Mary Quincannon (uncredited)Nurse (uncredited)Production. Boeing B-17D Mary-Ann as seen in the film.Director Howard Hawks credited the concept of the film to Lieutenant General, Commanding General of the, based on the experiences of a flight of B-17s that left, California, on the night of December 6, 1941, and literally flew into the war the next morning at Pearl Harbor. Executive producer Jack Warner was adamant that the film be ready for release by December 7, 1942, the first anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

To that end, miniatures for battle sequences were filmed in May and June 1942, before completion of the script and storyline.Although pre-production work had already been done, the official start of the production on May 18, 1942, was tied to the War Department approving the script. Development of the film was concurrent with scriptwriting by Dudley Nichols, with some characters based on Air Corps personnel Hawks met while traveling to Washington, D.C., to confer with Arnold and the War Department Motion Picture Board of Review. Nichols's script, submitted June 15, was 207 pages long (twice that of a normal feature-length film), had its initial 55 pages devoted to 'character development,' and was not finished.Principal photography, consisting of aerial shots and exteriors, took place at,. For water scenes and shooting miniatures shots, Florida, Texas, and, California, were used. Shooting began June 18, 1942, using a rented of a B-17 interior, in which the 10 principal characters performed for a month. The company then moved by train to, Florida, at the end of July to spend the next month shooting aerial sequences coordinated by, chief pilot and aerial technical coordinator for the production. Drew was selected because of fears that use of aircraft marked as Japanese might cause panic on the.At the end of August, Hawks returned to Hollywood and engaged to rewrite two scenes, including the death of the Mary-Ann 's pilot.

By then, the film, scheduled to be completed by September 17, was three weeks behind schedule and only half completed. Production featured a celebrated clash between producer Hall Wallis and Hawks over the latter's constant changing of dialogue as scenes were shot. Hawks was briefly replaced on October 4 by, but returned from 'illness' on October 10 to take back primary direction. Sherman remained as second-unit director to assist with completion of the picture, which wrapped on October 26, 1942, failing to shoot 43 pages of script and 33 days over schedule, too late to meet its December 7 release date.Wallis wrote that AAF Captains Sam P. Triffy and Hewett T. Wheless were technical advisors to the film, and that Triffy in particular made significant contributions to the storyline, dialogue, and sets. 'Shorty' Wheless had previously been a B-17 aircraft commander in the Philippines with the and had been one of the survivors evacuated to Australia in December 1941.

He was at, Texas, in the process of appearing as himself in the Academy Award-winning short film when he assisted on Air Force. Aircraft The U. Army Air Forces provided the various aircraft that appear in the film:. Ten Boeing B-17B/C/D Flying Fortresses were from at.

The majority were B-17Bs upgraded to B-17C/D standards, as was the B-17 that portrayed Mary-Ann. The bomber's on-screen, 'wartime security' serial number 5564 (actually '40-5564') is listed in the film credits, but the bomber's actual serial number was 8584 ('38-8584'), being so marked on the left side of the vertical tail. The 05564 serial number actually belonged to a trainer. In the film's beginning flight ĺine scene, an early model YB-17 can be seen in the background of the bomber lineup on the flight line.

North American AT-6 Texans and were painted as Japanese fighters. and from Drew Army Airfield portrayed the AAF fighters. Six from MacDill Field were painted as Japanese bombers.The 'real' Mary-Ann was reported lost in the Pacific shortly after production wrapped, according to information attributed to the production's technical advisor; actually, no early Flying Fortresses served for long in Pacific combat after Pearl Harbor. Two early B-17B aircraft, upgraded to the later model 'D' standards, played the Mary-Ann; AAF serial numbers 38-584 and 39-10 (briefly seen in background projection as John Garfield boards the aircraft) were reclassified in late 1943 as instructional airframes; following the war, both were scrapped in January 1946. Another claim, attributed to a newspaper article, was that 'the real Mary-Ann 'went on tour to promote the film, then was assigned to, New Mexico, then later to, where it was assigned to a ground school.Historical inaccuracies The basic premise of Air Force, that a flight of B-17s flying to reinforce the defense of the Philippines flies into the attack on Pearl Harbor, reflects actual events.

From that point on, however, all of the incidents are fictitious. No B-17 reinforcements reached the Philippines; the survivors of those already based there retreated to Australia less than two weeks after the war began. The major bombing mission depicted at the film's climax most closely resembles the five months later. Miniature shooting for its battle scenes was filmed in May and June 1942, concurrent but probably coincidental with Coral Sea and the.Anti-Japanese propaganda in the film included scenes in which the crew is forced to land on Island and is shot at by 'local Japanese,' and the assertion by the Hickam Field commander that vegetable trucks knocked off the tails of parked as the attack began.

Also, Lieutenant Rader claims a Japanese blocked the road in front of him, as he hurried to the airfield, and then shot at him with a shotgun. As detailed in 's book Day of Infamy, later investigations proved no was involved in any sabotage during the Pearl Harbor attack.There are several scenes in Air Force showing a tail gun being installed on the Mary-Ann. The bomber in the film played the part of a Boeing B-17D; no early B-17s, series A to D, were fitted with machine guns in the tail. Tail machine guns were not added by Boeing until the company rolled out their redesigned B-17E model. However, in the film, the crew of the Mary-Ann are shown making a field modification to their bomber's rear fuselage: They remove the tail cone and leave the tail wheel extended in flight to allow for the installation of a single, improvised machine gun position, 'a stinger in our tail' as one crewman calls it. Some air crews did install a broomstick painted black in that clear plastic tail cone to help ward off enemy fighter attacks from the rear. As detailed in the book Swoose, a few B-17 crews installed a remotely-controlled (via a cord).30 caliber machine gun.Reception Critical acclaim followed the film's premiere as Air Force echoed some of the emotional issues that underlay the American public psyche at the time, including distrust of Japanese Americans.

In naming it one of the 'Ten Best Films of 1943', of characterized the film as '. Continuously fascinating, frequently thrilling and occasionally exalting.' When seen in a modern perspective, the emotional aspects of the film seem out of proportion, and although it has been wrongly dismissed as a piece of wartime propaganda, it still represents a classic war film that can be considered a historical document. When initially released, Air Force was one of the top three films in commercial revenue in 1943.Later reviews of Air Force noted that this was a prime example of Howard Hawks's abilities; ' Air Force is a model of fresh, energetic, studio-era filmmaking'.Air Force placed third (behind and ) as the best film of 1943 selected by the.Box office According to Warner Bros. Records, the film earned $2,616,000 domestically and $1,513,000 internationally.

Awards and nominations Air Force editor won the 1944, defeating his counterparts on, and.was nominated for;, and for; and, and for. Radio adaptation Air Force was presented on July 12, 1943.

The adaptation starred Harry Carey. References Notes.

The film's finale features a patriotic statement on screen indicating victory is still to be won followed by the standard World War II motion pictures ending: a request for the theater audience to buy War Bonds. This is based on a true incident.

The aerial technical coordinator was typically considered the 'air boss.' Besides flying, Mantz operated as a third director or assistant director on the staged aerial sequences. Wheless rose to the rank of lieutenant general and was Assistant Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force at the time of his retirement in 1968. Stills from the film have indicated that B-17B 38-269 may have actually played Mary-Ann.Citations.

^ Warner Bros financial information in The William Shaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 23 DOI: 10.10. Retrieved 2020-03-24. ^ Orriss 1984, p. 67. McCarthy 2000, pp.

336–337. Orriss 1984, p. 68. Orriss 1984, p. 64.

McCarthy 2000, pp. 337–339. McCarthy 2000, pp. 341–342. Wallis, Hal B.

And Charles Higham. Starmaker: The Autobiography of Hal Wallis. London: Macmillan Publishers, 1980. Orriss 1984, p. 69. ^ tampapix.com.

Retrieved: July 25, 2011. Crowther, Bosley. ' 'Air Force' (1943).' The New York Times, February 4, 1943.

Macdonald, Daniel. DVD Verdict, August 31, 2007. Anderson, Jeffrey M. Combustible Celluloid, June 8, 2007. oscars.org. Retrieved: June 22, 2013. 'Radio's Golden Age'.

Nostalgia Digest. 40 (1): 40–41. Winter 2014.Bibliography. Dolan, Edward F.

Hollywood Goes to War. London: Bison Books, 1985. Evans, Alun. Brassey's Guide to War Films.

Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000. Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. 'A Buff's Guide to Aviation Movies'.

Air Progress Aviation, Vol. 1, Spring 1983.

McCarthy, Todd. Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox of Hollywood. New York: Grove Press, 2000. Orriss, Bruce. When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War II.

Hawthorne, California: Aero Associates Inc., 1984.External links. on. at. at the. at the. at.

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