Masters Of The Air (Apple TV+)

[dimsum]

"Bomber" Harris put it this way,

Agreed, but certain Hollywood products cough cough U-571 make it seem like the Americans did everything in WWII all by themselves.

 

[mariomike]

Funny thing i read was a couple of American sergeant air-gunners in the RCAF, who were each making more $ than the station commander! Lol

 

[dimsum]

Funny thing i read was a couple of American sergeant air-gunners in the RCAF, who were each making more $ than the station commander! Lol

Overfed, Overpaid, Oversexed—Over there: Yanks in Britain in World War II

Between 1942 and 1945, nearly two million young Americans were sent to Britain to join the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe. There was an inevitable clash of cultures. Even so, the partnership worked. Historian Kevin Matthews explores what Winston Churchill called the “special relationship.”

smithsonianassociates.org

Britons complained that the only problem with the Americans was that they were “overfed, overpaid, oversexed, and over here.”

 

[mariomike]

And, the Americans said, Under fed, paid, sexed.

And UNDER EISENHOWER! haha

 

[Halifax Tar]

As per this link, it looks like they will acknowledge RAF and RCAF bomber crews.

It makes sense since it’s the same folks who made Greyhound, which prominently included

Agreed, but certain Hollywood products cough cough U-571 make it seem like the Americans did everything in WWII all by themselves.

Is that Hollywood's or the USA's fault ? Or is it ours for not showcasing our own accomplishment and deeds ? But no, we get Paul Gross making love stories out of Passchendaele, and Afghanistan.

Only Canadians would expect someone else to show them pride in their own actions.

 

[FSTO]

Agreed, but certain Hollywood products cough cough U-571 make it seem like the Americans did everything in WWII all by themselves.

You just had to bring that up.

 

[FSTO]

Is that Hollywood's or the USA's fault ? Or is it ours for not showcasing our own accomplishment and deeds ? But no, we get Paul Gross making love stories out of Passchendaele, and Afghanistan.

Only Canadians would expect someone else to show them pride in their own actions.

Lifeline to Victory is on YouTube!

 

[mariomike]

Or is it ours for not showcasing our own accomplishment and deeds ?

Not easy to show RCAF Bomber Command in action.

They bombed at night. It was a struggle of science and technology with the Luftwaffe night-fighters.

Only Canadians would expect someone else to show them pride in their own actions.

It's been attempted. But, not without controversy.

Death by Moonlight: Bomber Command

Death by Moonlight: Bomber Command - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[FSTO]

Death by Moonlight: Bomber Command

Death by Moonlight: Bomber Command - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

If Mamatha Gandhi was Canadian our culture class would find a way to make him look like a monster.

 

[dimsum]

Is that Hollywood's or the USA's fault ? Or is it ours for not showcasing our own accomplishment and deeds ? But no, we get Paul Gross making love stories out of Passchendaele, and Afghanistan.

What I meant was that unlike in U-571 spits on ground, the show seems to acknowledge the historical fact that the USAAF wasn’t the only one doing that job - RAF Bomber Command (and the RCAF and other allied pers in it) did the nighttime bombing.

The platforms who want to showcase Canadian content are folks like the CBC, which some people want to slash. Wanting to showcase Canadian stuff, yet trying to defund the main Canadian mainstream media platform to showcase said stuff, is a bit weird IMO. But that’s another thread.

Only Canadians would expect someone else to show them pride in their own actions.

I wouldn’t say that. Tall poppy syndrome is a thing in many other nations - I heard that term first by an allied servicemember, describing their country.

 

[lenaitch]

Agreed, but certain Hollywood products cough cough U-571 make it seem like the Americans did everything in WWII all by themselves.

I think they are better at it than they used to be, but US movies, docudramas, etc. are made for American audiences. They want to see a compelling US story with US actors or it won't make money. I think both the industry and the audience are somewhat more sophisticated now. Back in the day, all you needed was a few Hollywood names speaking with questionable accents while tossing in a few Brits or even Canadians (must have a French-Canadian or British accent) and you re-tell any story you wanted - like The Great Escape - and could be a blockbuster. Now, a movie like Dunkirk can make a decent buck, even in the US, but still down in the double digits in the rankings for the year with no A-list Hollywood types.

Much of history as understood by those who didn't live through it is learned from media.

I actually didn't mind Gross' movies. They might be imperfect stories but they are at least our stories. We can't hope to match Hollywood, either in personnel or dollars. If we want to tell our stories like that, it would take deep and generous pockets knowing that it likely won't sell in the US simply because it isn't 'their story'. That kind of backing is government-level money and we all know how that would turn out. Even the Brits don't do it like they used to.

One thing I do like about the Hanks/Spielberg productions is none of the actors with leading roles were big Hollywood names. In BoB, David Schwimmer only had a supporting role and Donny Wahlberg wasn't really a big name yet. It can be argued that the series started the career of Damian Lewis. Same with Pacific - no big names. I scanned the cast for Master of the Air and no name jumped out at me. So long as it is a good story well told, they don't need big names to detract from it.

 

[dimsum]

I scanned the cast for Master of the Air and no name jumped out at me. So long as it is a good story well told, they don't need big names to detract from it.

The only one that somewhat jumped out at me is Austin Butler, who played Elvis in his biopic a couple of years ago, and will be Feyd-Rautha in Dune Part 2. But, this will come out before Dune 2 so I don’t think he is super-well-known yet.

But yes, that production company’s miniseries historically used actors who looked like the actual people (really apparent in BoB, less so in The Pacific). Not sure if the actors in MotA fall in that same category.

The costuming looks on point though, although for the RAF side it would be easy to do since they haven’t changed their dress uniforms since then

 

[lenaitch]

You're right - I forgot that the daughter mentioned him (she's much more in tune than I). For some reason, I got it in my head he was Australian. It seems not.

 

[mariomike]

Bomber Commands losses were appalling enough. Even without a TV show.

Of a total of 125,000 aircrew, 57,205 were killed (a 46 percent death rate), a further 8,403 were wounded in action and 9,838 became prisoners of war. Therefore, a total of 75,446 airmen (60 percent of operational airmen) were killed, wounded or taken prisoner.

Chorley, William R. (2007). RAF Bomber Command Losses. Vol. 7.

"Your chance of survival through one spell of operational duty was neglible; through two periods mathematically nil."

Bomber Harris.

 

[dapaterson]

The costuming looks on point though, although for the RAF side it would be easy to do since they haven’t changed their dress uniforms since then

Nor the grease in their fryers.

 

[dimsum]

Nor the grease in their fryers.

That’s where the flavour comes from!

 

[Rifleman62]

A really good film. Lots of nuances including not everyone can be a pilot and other positions are just as important as the "driver".

A young Richard Attenborough is in the film. He joined the Royal Air Force during World War II and served in the film unit, going on several bombing raids over Europe and filming the action from the rear gunner's position.

Lancaster Squadron | "Journey Together" (1944)​

 

[Colin Parkinson]

A couple of things held the Luftwaffe back, I believe.

Allied bombers were most vulnerable during their marshalling and dispatch for a raid. It was an exercise of the utmost complexity, calling for precision timing at every airfield in eastern England. LW fighter Intruders could have cause a great amount of destruction and chaos over and around British airfields.

But, Hitler considered that only Allied bombers shot down over Germany were of value in convincing the German people that they were being defended.

Also, as far as I know, unlike the RCAF, RAF and USAAF, the LW had no four-engine bombers during the Battle of Britain. They couldn't handle heavy bomb loads.

They had the Condor which did long range coastal patrols, VIP transport and special tasks. They had another prototype of a 4 engine bomber, but they never got it to production. Regardless they never had the production capability to make a meaningful amount, nor the fuel reserves.

 

[Halifax Tar]

They had the Condor which did long range coastal patrols, VIP transport and special tasks. They had another prototype of a 4 engine bomber, but they never got it to production. Regardless they never had the production capability to make a meaningful amount, nor the fuel reserves.

The Amerikabomber.

Amerikabomber - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[brihard]

Here’s the opening title sequence, for convenient injection directly into your veins.

Very Band of Brothers feel.