Silent Wings - The American Glider Pilots of WWII

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From the early race to build gliders to the D-Day invasion at Normandy and Nazi Germany's final surrender, Silent Wings - The American Glider Pilots of WWII narrated by Hal Holbrook, reveals the critical role gliders played in World War II offensives. Through rare archival footage and photographs, the film places the audience right at the center of the action in the dangerous world of the American glider pilot.

During WWII, 6000 young Americans volunteered to fly large unarmed cargo gliders into battle. For these glider pilots every mission was do-or-die. It was their task to repeatedly risk their lives landing the men and tools of war deep within enemy-held territory, often in complete darkness, using only a stopwatch to navigate.

Thousands of lives were saved and battles won because of their efforts. In fact, one pilot interviewed said - the 'G' in their emblem didn't stand for glider; it stood for 'guts'.

Customer Reviews:

Silent Wings DVD Review.......2007-08-06

A month ago a man in my late father's platoon set me the DVD "Silent Wings" the story of American glider pilots during World War II. Since this man, Bill Shorter and my Dad Charles Wilber were glider riders I found this nearly 2-hour documentary very informative and a pleasure to watch. Many Americans don't realize that the gliders were an important and dangerous part of the American airborne forces during that war. Using interviews with both German and American glider pilots along with great insite by reporters Walter Cronkite and Andy Rooney the DVD was excellant. It not only showed American glider action but also German glider assualts. I recommend this documentary for not only WWII buffs but anyone interested in history.

Answered a question........2007-07-14

When my graduating grandson (heading for college) asked me about "gliders" in wartime for an essay on WWII, my interest in anything that flies answered some of his questions, and to reinforce it, I got him the copy of Silent Wings and that gave him a better documented story; bravery, heroism, victory and tragedy.

A Long Past Due Tribute.......2007-05-15

They all volunteered - to serve in a branch of the service that no longer exists. They knew they were to be pilots on a one-way mission. Fly them in and then grab a rifle and join the infantry. That was the lot of a Glider Pilot. The G on their wings surely stood for "Guts"
Watch this exciting tape and you will certainly want to tip your hat to the few living veterans of this extrodinary branch of the Army Air Corp.

excellent.......2007-05-13

I did not know the full history of the glider pilots. Now I do, and I am impressed and awed by their unselfishness and heroics. Everyone interested in WWII should see this documentary.

Well worth watching.......2007-04-16

This documentary covers a subject that has not been told in it`s own light.
Well worth watching. I learned many things I was unaware of and I pride myself on being knowledgeable in WWII History. Yet I still find more every time I get a new DVD or Book.

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Excellent Pabst
A beautiful and stylish German silent film
Sophisticated and glorious love story
Pabst's Masterpiece

The Love of Jeanne Ney
Starring: Édith Jéhanne , Uno Henning , Fritz Rasp , Brigitte Helm , and Adolf E. Licho
Director: Georg Wilhelm Pabst
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005ASOT
Release Date: 2001-06-05

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A young Frenchwoman (Edith Jehanne) weathers the Russian Revolution, the shooting of her father in the Crimea by Bolsheviks (among them her lover Uno Henning), and a desperate escape to Paris, where she seeks work at her eccentric uncle's detective agency. Her heart soars when her lover (he didn't actually, personally kill her father) comes to France to organize the sailors of Toulon. But he and she are soon caught up in feverish subplots involving a slimy Russian expatriate (the amazingly ratlike Fritz Rasp); a blond, blind girl pure of heart but dim of brain (Metropolis's Birgitte Helm); a missing diamond (case solved in a manner that must be seen to be disbelieved); and the same diamond going missing again--after a memorably grotesque murder.

No, the plot of The Love of Jeanne Ney doesn't bear scrutiny, but that only frees you to scrutinize G.W. Pabst's images instead. The director planned every shot with great particularity, composing the film on the principle of constant motion--of the actors and the action, but also the camera, which nervously seeks out visible clues to the characters' inner states (a previous Pabst film had been titled Secrets of a Soul). Pabst was fundamentally a realist, unlike his rivals Fritz Lang and F.W. Murnau; consequently, his movies don't look nearly as "Germanic" as theirs--and except for his legendary collaborations with Louise Brooks, Pandora's Box (1929) and Diary of a Lost Girl (1929), they haven't been seen much. Jeanne Ney marks a good opportunity to start reversing this neglect. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Pabst.......2007-07-14

First, the important stuff..
sound and image are very good, although the restoration could have been better.
Still, a most satisfying visual and audio experience. I will enjoy watching this movie once a year along with other Pabst movies. I found the pace of the narrative most brisk and it nicely carries you along through the quality sets and visuals. I especially enjoyed the quick, succinct, and suspenseful, train compartment conclusion. I highly recommend this for the libary of all those who enjoy classic silent cinema that has very good visual and audio quality.

A beautiful and stylish German silent film.......2006-08-31

While not one of German director G.W. Pabst's most famous silent films today, "The Love of Jeanne Ney" might well be one of his finest in many respects such as cinematic styles and characters, and the excellent picture quality on this DVD, together with a fitting orchestral score, enhance this film even more. It is essentially a beautiful love story set in a tumultuous time; first in Russia after the Revolution where French girl, Jeanne Ney, is caught up in the Bolshevik take-over, and then in Paris where her uncle is murdered and her lover framed for the crime. The story is interesting and often unpredictable, but I was even more impressed by the characters and the way Pabst brought out the best in them, often with some evocative and poignant scenes. Although Jeanne is the key figure, it is in fact the villain who steals the show, in my opinion, and who better than Fritz Rasp to play the part, with his exquisite talent for depicting the most despicable characters, and with a face you just want to slap. (He effectively played a similar despised character in a later G.W. Pabst film, "Diary of a Lost Girl" starring Louise Brooks) Another impressive role is by Brigitte Helm, who played Maria in the famous silent classic, "Metropolis", and in this film quite brilliantly portrays Jeanne's blind cousin who falls prey to the villainous Fritz Rasp character. There are quite a few stark and memorable scenes in this film, thanks to Pabst's discerning eye and sense for subtle yet effective and sophisticated drama, making "The Love of Jeanne Ney" a particularly satisfying viewing experience.

Sophisticated and glorious love story.......2001-08-17

"The Love of Jeanne Ney" is a glorious complex love and suspense story that has murder, politics, one loved one responsible for the death of another, and a hateful scoundrel. Jeanne Ney is the daughter of a man stationed in Russia immediately prior to the Bolshevik revolution. Before he can effect their return to Paris, her young lover and a comrade confront him over a list of Bolshevik leaders and her Father is killed in a gunfight. There are many great characters, from the conman who sold the worthless set of names to her Father, to the kindly official who tries to ease her pain after her Father's death, and on to her mercenary uncle and blind cousin in Paris. The cinematography is gorgeous and inventive, the street scenes are magnificently detailed, and the screenplay by Ilya Ehrenberg is outstanding.

Pabst's Masterpiece.......2001-04-23

The laserdisc version released by Image as part of the "Golden Age of German Cinema" box set was excellent, given the age of the film. I assume that this will be the same release. The new score by Timothy Brock performed by the Olympia Chamber Orchestra is also excellent. His scores for Faust, Sunrise, Nanook of the North and The Last Laugh are also worth checking out. Most of them are available on CD here at Amazon.

Now if they would only release Pabst's other masterpieces

Description

This rarely-seen film directed by legendary Oscar-winning screenwriter Frances Marion (Stella Maris, The Wind, Camille) provided Mary Pickford with one of her most fully realized adult characters. Angela (Pickford) tends a lighthouse in an Italian fishing village while her brothers are fighting at the front. She discovers a foreign sailor washed ashore and nurses him back to health while falling in love. After they marry and have a child, Angela learns that he is a German spy and her innocent actions have helped cause the death of her brother. Marion showed Hollywood she could hold her own behind the camera in this beautifully atmospheric, gorgeously shot and deeply moving film.

Customer Reviews:

An emotional powerhouse.......2006-10-03

Although this film starts out lighthearted and charming, depicting the lives of simple country folk in Italy, complete with the type of light comedy so often found in Mary Pickford films (she really had a natural talent for it), it soon turns much more serious and dramatic in scope with the outbreak of WWI. Mary's character, Angela, finds out that one of her two brothers has been killed in action on the very day her other brother is shipping off to the military, and soon afterward her boyfriend Giovanni goes off to fight as well. To keep her mind occupied, Angela puts all of her effort into running the lighthouse near her house (they live right on the coast). It is while running the lighthouse that she finds a young soldier bobbing about in the water near the shore. When she rescues him from drowning, he tells her he is an American and that she shouldn't call for help but should instead hide him because he's a deserter and is afraid of getting caught. His reason for why he deserted sounds plausible enough, so she hides him in her house. Eventually Angela and Joseph fall in love and are secretly married. Joseph is played by Fred Thomson, in his debut screen appearance. Though largely forgotten today, he was the husband of Frances Marion, the screenwriter and director, and soon after this became a huge star in Westerns. Sadly, he died of tetanus in late 1928, only 38 years old, on the eve of transitioning to sound and becoming an even bigger star with his place in cinematic history assured. This is also the only one of his films that's publicly available.

All is not as it seems in paradise, however, and shortly after their marriage Angela learns of Joseph's real identity, and of the fact that what she assumed was an innocent love signal from the lighthouse was actually a message to German ships to attack an Italian boat bringing wounded soldiers to safety. Things don't go very well when it is discovered that she has been harboring a spy, and to make matters worse, Angela was left pregnant, even from this rather short marriage. After this there are even more twists and turns, with the viewer thinking things are turning out well for her one minute, then feeling that this movie isn't going to end very happily at all after all. It's a real emotional powerhouse, right up there with the likes of 'Sparrows,' 'Stella Maris,' and 'Tess of the Storm Country.' Some modern people might complain that there's too much drama, or melodrama, or unbelievable plot twists, but one must consider that this takes place during a war, giving credence to some of these characters' motivations or less than ordinary happenings. And as usual, Mary really makes the viewer feel for her character, really bringing the character to life and living her role.

The print isn't top-notch quality; it's entirely possible that it could have had more digital remastering instead of looking that way because it was too deteriorated in spots to do much of anything with it, but it's not as though it's unwatchable. Someone who loves old films should be used to less than perfect prints instead of complaining that they're not all crystal-clear. Isn't it better for these films to still be around than for them to be lost or in such bad shape that they really are practically unwatchable? I also found I didn't really mind the Maria Newman soundtrack that much. Overall, I found it kind of schizophrenic, with some sections that seemed to be appropriate or at least okay for the scenes they accompanied, but with other sections that sounded almost like they were meant for a horror or sci-fi movie. However, I didn't hate it, and I didn't find it as hideous as others have. It seems like she's just one of those composers who's not going to be everyone's cup of tea. And if one doesn't like the soundtrack, there's always the option of just turning it off, since the movie is so incredible that it might even have the same powerful emotional impact devoid of accompanying music.

An amazing experience.......2004-04-08

I have never been a fan of films from the silent era -- typically overacted, and usually humorous when they intend to be dramatic. But I found myself totally captivated with this film from the very beginning. The acting, direction and camera work are magnificent, and the story very touching. I found the musical score very moving and affective as well. Congratulations and thanks to Maria Newman for such a great score.

A Fine Pickford Performance.......2001-09-03

The Love Light is a good Mary Pickford film with an interesting story. It is set in Italy during the First World War. Pickford plays Angela and shows, with this role, that her acting was not at all limited in scope. The standard image of `Little Mary' is of someone who always played cute girls, as if she was some sort of silent Shirley Temple. Granted there were a fair number of little girl roles in Pickford's career, but there were also many films, like The Love Light, where she played fully realised adult characters. But whether playing children or adults, she always made the audience care about her. This ability to evoke sympathy is the secret to Pickford's acting and the reason why her films can still be such a wonderful emotional experience. As Angela she has moments of great comedy, including a very funny dance sequence, but what makes this role so special is the dramatic acting. Pickford shows the despair of wartime life. A scene where she almost descends into madness is truly harrowing. The film's story may at times be a little creaky and implausible, but Pickford carries the audience with her so that holes in the plot are quickly forgotten.

The print used for this Milestone Collection DVD is fine. There are some visible scratches and at times the image is a bit dark. This may be the fault of the colour tinting which has been added to the print, for in the night scenes, the blue tinting seems overdone. I'm all in favour of tinting, but it has to be done in a subtle way. There are also some scenes where the image has faded and the picture appears washed out and lacking detail. Nevertheless, and for the most part, the print looks good and sometimes stunningly beautiful. This is especially the case with some scenes looking out over the Mediterranean with the sun glistening on the sea. Maria Newman has provided a chamber music score to accompany the film. I quite enjoyed it, although I recognise that some people will not. Her music style does not always obviously fit the mood of the film and the score has some strange moments. The Love Light may not be one of Pickford's very best films, but it is entertaining and a must for her fans.

classic.......2000-10-13

i saw this on turner classic movies a few months ago and i was blown away. such a sad, beautiful story. i was so wrapped up in the story itself, that i didnt really pay attention to the music. if someone who loves silents and/or mary pickford didnt enjoy this one i would be greatly surprised.

Historical Film.......2000-08-07

This release gives us a film, not just with America's Sweetheart, but written and DIRECTED by Frances Marion who wrote more screenplays than any other woman in screen history. It's a wonderful love story about a woman who falls in love with a stray (AWOL) soldier who she thinks is American. But he turns out to be German. Not a comedy. Nice print, nicely restored. The musical accompaniment starts out quite nice and eventually nearly drove me crazy. But you can always turn it off. The film is worth it.....

Average customer rating:

Must See Film...

The Silent Enemy
Starring: Chief Yellow Robe , Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance , Chief Akawanush , Spotted Elk , and Cheeka
Director: H.P. Carver
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005KH2E
Release Date: 2001-07-10

Description

Sixty years before "Dances With Wolves" there was "The Silent Enemy," an exciting and magical reconstruction of Ojibway Indian life in the time before the white man settled the Hudson Bay region. The "enemy" is hunger, which threatens the tribe as it desperately tracks and hunts the caribou herds. The thunderous caribou stampede provides an absolutely thrilling finale. Magnificently filmed on location, "The Silent Enemy" was acclaimed by the critics as a masterpiece on its original release and it remains so today.

Customer Reviews:

Must See Film..........2006-12-17

... if you are interested in the history of American Indians, or simply in the story of a people with ancestral traditions struggling to survive the harshness of Nature. This film involves actual Indian actors who were then still living a traditional lifestyle. The introduction by the Indian chief at the beginning is powerful, as he thanks the magic of the camera for preserving forever the story the viewers are about to see, the story of a world that is about to disappear, as he says. I never purchased the DVD because I expected it to have a decent packaging and extras, and maybe a remastering, and I already have The Silent Enemy on Laserdisc. But if you have never seen it, you should purchase the DVD. I will be waiting for a new edition myself. I give it 5 stars, though, because this film cannot be done in the same conditions ever again. It is too late...

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Enemy
Starring: Tia Carrere , Mako , Ted Markland , Jim Mitchum , and Peter Fonda
Director: George Rowe
Manufacturer: Legacy Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0001W1BX2
Release Date: 2005-03-01

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