Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

ma-cortes A Howard Hughes War breathtaking film that probably accounts for the brilliance of the cinematography of the aerial dogfights . Classic war film with a magnificent John Wayne as tough Major fighting Japanese and a nice secondary cast who provide stalwart support . This is a flag-waging and patriotic tribute to US fliers . Very decent war scenes along with documentary footage that convey us the assault troops supported by aviation to establish on the Pacific islands, but like the navy, the US army and Air Force fought its way from island to island in the Pacific . The squadron's designation in the movie was VMF-247 "Wildcats" but in the movie was based on VMF-223 "The Bulldogs". The Leathernecks of the film's title is military slang . Leatherneck is a common nickname for marines of the United States Marine Corps (USMC). The film's dedication states : "Dedicated to the United States Marine Corps, and especially to Marine aviation . Appreciation is gratefully acknowledged for their participation and assistance which made this picture possible" . Regarding Marine Major Dan Kirby (John Wayne) is tough on his group of World War II aviators , he is even tougher than his subordinate Captain Carl Griffin (Robert Ryan) . As squadron leader fights with his fellow officer in Guadalcanal island . Both of them are two-fisted officers whose inevitable feud ranges from the wartime Pacific to peacetime America . As Kirby proves that his method is more suited to the demands of war and he leads his soldiers to into victorious battle , winning the devotion and admiration of his fliers . As when the real fighting begins all is forgotten . They subsequently bomb a convoy that is nicknamed by Kirby as ¨Tokyo Express¨. The film is based correctly on Guadalcanal battle in a hard-fought US operation , one of the most difficult campaigns of the Pacific theater , detailing this fight as well as other battles in Orient . This is a Howard Hughes production as the opening credits declare . It is well known that Hughes himself was an aviation aficionado who also produced Hell's angel (1930), Sky Devils (1932) and Jet Pilot (1957), the latter of which also starred John Wayne . It's a good film dealing with war in human terms . This colorful movie contains action , breathtaking battles , thrills , stock-shots , historical events and the dogfighting scenes are impressively made . Stalwart main cast , Wayne and Ryan , both of whom give splendid interpretations . Being stunning supported by Don Taylor , Barry Kelley , James Bell , James Dobson , and special mention for J.C. Flippen as grizzled veteran . Big production design , lavishly produced , brilliant photography and rousing soundtrack by ordinary Roy Webb as you'd expect from RKO Pictures at the time . Superp photography in glimmer color by William E Snyder , superbly captured in bright , sharp Technicolor which nowadays' processors never seem able to reproduce .The picture was compellingly directed by Nicholas Ray , author of various master pieces and hits as Rebel without cause , The savage innocents , Johnny Guitar , King of Kings , 55 days at Pekin and many others . Nicholas has a sensitive handling of actors and provides an exact compositional sense . Ray is a classic director , his films deal with a deep description of civilized societies , he believes that corruption is an essential part of it , that society punishes sincerity , innocence and love, vengeance and greed determine the behavior of people. ¨Flying leathernecks¨ is often considered merely another assignment of Nicholas Ray's at RKO for Howard Hughes to prove his political and professional alliance during the Red Scare and being Nicholas Ray's first film in color.

wes-connors Don't get too excited about the prospect of seeing John Wayne and Robert Ryan in a Nicholas Ray-directed World War II drama. Considering those three names, "Flying Leathernecks" does not meet expectations. It's a mediocre Howard Hughes-RKO-commissioned war movie. Mr. Ray shows off his most "production line" direction. Mr. Wayne (as Dan Kirby) and Mr. Ryan (as Carl "Griff" Griffin) have an vacuous attitude conflict; it's interesting to watch their acting techniques, without being distracted by a sensible story. A script highlight is the cute reference to the nursery rhyme "Jack and Jill went up the hill…" Jay C. Flippen (as Clancy) provides additional "comic relief", but check out the "narration track", for real laughs. Also notable is the inclusion of several scenes from the actual war, in color ; however, this footage would be more appropriately seen in a documentary.**** Flying Leathernecks (8/28/51) Nicholas Ray ~ John Wayne, Robert Ryan, Jay C. Flippen

Spikeopath Major Dan Kirby {John Wayne} is a tough no nonsense leader, he takes control of his new unit, the Wildcats Squadron, and from the outset they find him overly harsh. They were hoping that the more amiable Captain Carl Griffin {Robert Ryan} was to lead them, and as the war rages both Kirby & Griffin find themselves at odds with each other, but as the battle of Guadalcanal looms, this unit must come together or face the consequences.The Flying Leathernecks has its problems for sure, the production is poor and the inter cutting of real footage is overkilled to the maximum. However the acting is very good and its tale of men under pressure trying to do the right thing is highly engrossing. The aerial sequences have the desired effect, and the horrors of war are fully realised, but ultimately what makes The Flying Leathernecks a worthy picture is the portrayal of the two lead characters by Wayne & Ryan, how the two men do what it takes to give their squadron the best chance of surviving, both Wayne & Ryan shine and put much gravitas to the picture. As a character study it isn't as good as something like Twelve O'Clock High, but it's a very involving picture that deserves to be considered a worthwhile entry to the sub-genre of psychological war films. 7/10

Don Rogers Made only two years later, this plays like a pale (albeit colorized) remake of Sands of Iwo Jima (1949). Not only does it have the same star (Wayne) playing essentially the same tough-as-nails Marine sergeant character, it also has the same screenwriter (James Edward Grant).Though this film was directed by Nicholas Ray, it has none of his characteristic directorial excesses. It feels much more like a (lesser) Howard Hawks film. The use of color in the battle sequences must have seemed to 1951 audiences like a step forward in gory realism, but they are not that impressive by today's standard.The film benefits from a very good second-lead performance by Robert Ryan, who plays the more humane foil to Wayne's hard-bitten taskmaster. On the other hand, Jay C. Flippen more than exhausts his welcome as the stock comedy relief.An OK Duke/WW2 picture -- worth seeing once. But by all means, see Sands of Iwo Jima and They Were Expendable first.