Does that demographic even know there was a war?

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
Does that demographic even know there was a war?

They are glazers. Anything that didn’t happen in their lifetimes, is glazed over like it didn’t happen.

Don’t try to make any sense out of their thinking, your brain will explode. Climate this and that all the while they are on a phone, that requires electricity, 24/7. And they buy every gadget made.

Then there is this current state of affairs. Notice how few films are being made? Another brain explode thing is they have the attention spat of a gnat. Sitting through a 90 to 160 minute film, is too much for their ADHD. But they love to binge watch series. So everything is a series now, on 20 different platforms. It’s mind blowing. Just make a solid film and get the story done in 2 hours. No, we can’t have that, we need a whole series!

Questions about the history. Did the Americans ever go to nighttime bombing? And, when did we start to add fighter escort?

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
I have not watched it yet. Just wanted to mention that none of us are the target demographic. That would be gen z and the millennials.

I think targeting that group for a WW2 flick could be a big mistake.
There was a strong desire after the Pacific and BOB for this series story to be told, but that was over ten years ago, twenty plus for BOB and a different audience.

There were so many false starts making this since HBO was involved and now the children of the veterans who were passionate to hear this part of the story are aging too.
Many in that gen Z & millennial group probably don't know when or why Pearl Harbor happened and who fought on each side of the war and are not likely to be dedicated fans of this series.

But back to the story of this show. I remember the first time watching The Pacific, the early shows seemed a bit hard to follow and then it picked up speed. The next time I watched I'd also read Sledges book and the story of the Band of Brothers soldiers was always better known to most.
I'm sure I'll watch the rest and hopefully get more familiar and connected with the show.

quote:

Originally posted by goose5:
Questions about the history. Did the Americans ever go to nighttime bombing? And, when did we start to add fighter escort?

The British generally bombed at night and the Americans generally bombed during the day.

As for fighter escort, until early 1944, American fighter escorts did not have the range to escort bombers all the way to targets deep into Germany. With the advent of larger drop tanks and aircraft like the Mustang, escort range limitations were much less of an issue.

quote:

Originally posted by goose5:
Questions about the history. Did the Americans ever go to nighttime bombing?

Not really in Europe, but they did swap to night bombing in Japan.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:

I think targeting that group for a WW2 flick could be a big mistake.

I agree. My point was those demographics are the $ these companies are chasing. Everything is being made for them, not us.

quote:

Originally posted by M1Garandy:

quote:

Originally posted by goose5:
Questions about the history. Did the Americans ever go to nighttime bombing? And, when did we start to add fighter escort?

The British generally bombed at night and the Americans generally bombed during the day.

As for fighter escort, until early 1944, American fighter escorts did not have the range to escort bombers all the way to targets deep into Germany. With the advent of larger drop tanks and aircraft like the Mustang, escort range limitations were much less of an issue.

We MIGHT have done a night mission or two, but the religious dogma of US Army Air Forces was "Daylight Precision Bombing" and "The Bomber Will Always Get Through."

We lost a LOT of good men and planes because of the last (HIGHLY flawed) belief. The USAAF didn't WANT fighter escorts. They made no efforts to develop them until late in the war. When the P-51 Mustang came out, there was a fight against it, due to the fact that it took a (gasp!) British engine to make it work (the Rolls Royce Merlin). Even then, some forceful personalities had to push the plane through acquisitions to get it into front line use.

In the inter-war years, bombers were faster than fighters. An early B-17 manual stated, 'if attacked by a fighter, simply increase speed and climb away from it.' Of course, by WWII, this was no longer true. We escorted bombers typically to the border of Germany and then the escort had to turn back. Of course, then the German fighters tore into them. We would then rendezvous with the returning bombers at the border for the remaining trip home.

We lost THOUSANDS of good men because we were too stupid to realize we needed escort all the way to the target and back. It wasn't until early 1944 that we finally had enough long range fighters to do the job. People talk about the P-51, of course, but by late war, even the P-38 and P-47 could go to Berlin and back (one of the furthest targets from our bases in England).

To understand the tactics and politics that were happening in the Army Air Corps at the time, I would suggest “If I Could Only be So Lucky Again”, the autobiography of Jimmy Doolittle. While I was familiar with the Doolittle raid, I had no idea how influential he was to US aviation. He held a PHD in Aeronautical Engineering from MIT. He along with William Ocker were the pioneers of instrument flying. He commanded the 12th Air Corps operations out of N Africa, then the 15th Ari Corps, and then late in the war the 8th Air Corps. Following the war he was very active in the IS space program.

Here’s a thoughtful review by Rich Lowry:

Link

quote:

Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks have once again done a public service.

Like "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific" before it, the new series "Masters of the Air" is a profound act of devotion to the memory of the men who won World War II, this time focused on the air war in Europe.

Telling the story of a nation's history will always depend on popularizers more than academic historians (especially when the latter don't like their country's history very much), and Spielberg and Hanks are better popularizers than anyone has cause to expect.

"Masters" tells the story of the 100th Bombardment Group of the Eighth Air Force, known as the Bloody 100th, not for the destruction it wrought but the punishment it took in some of the most hazardous duty of the war.

No one has ever reproduced the story, the machines, the conditions and the missions of this aspect of the war as accurately and carefully before, and we can assume no one ever will again.

Ten years in the making with a $250 million budget, this is a production at the very highest level of technical proficiency.

The B-17s, the long-range bombers known as Flying Fortresses or Forts for short, steal the show.

For 10 years of production it sure doesn't come off that way

Sure hope it gets better. The first two episodes about put me to sleep and the characters are lame so far.

I finally watched this. I signed up for 30 days only to watch Marty’s latest movie as he is one of the best directors alive and his film didn’t disappoint. I didn’t expect much out of this series but it’s better than most bullshit “series” out there. At least the topic of coverage is more interesting. Certainly more interesting compared to a bunch of clown show fuckers in colored body suits flying in the air and such. Or woke this and that. And it’s not fucking Disney. None of the actors are noteworthy sans one. Barry Keoghan. He has been fantastic in the first 2 episodes. He’s Irish with a thick accent so he’s pulling off a great Brooklyn accent in this and he’s a really good actor. The rest of the cast, meh. Hollywood is just in love with Austin Butler right now. He might as well be playing Elvis flying a plane complete with the 1 piece white zoot suit.

3rd episode was a lot better, no vomit.

quote:

Originally posted by SIG228:
3rd episode was a lot better, no vomit.

OK, now I've seen the first three too.

What's missing for me isn't just the brutal combat parts and technical wizardry.
It's the human element and subtle parts built around the characters that makes you identify and connect with their experiences. This just feels like a regular TV show.

For example, the scene in BoB when Malarkey goes to pick up his laundry that could have fit this series perfectly.
Or the Bastogne medic, or the Concentration Camp.

For example, the Malarkey scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmHClYcWrNc

quote:

Originally posted by SIG228:
3rd episode was a lot better, no vomit.

LOL, he was breathing into the bag.

Started rewatching BoB for the 4th or 5th time. This series just doesn't at all hold a candle to it. Masters of the Air feels very generic.

quote:

Originally posted by Andyb:
Started rewatching BoB for the 4th or 5th time. This series just doesn't at all hold a candle to it. Masters of the Air feels very generic.

Definitely a weird series. The only character that sticks in my mind is Mr. Pukefest.

quote:

Originally posted by Andyb:
Started rewatching BoB for the 4th or 5th time. This series just doesn't at all hold a candle to it. Masters of the Air feels very generic.

I think part of what stands out to me is that, the most authentic-feeling shows insist on using camera perspectives that always themselves feel authentic. Sweeping shots that rely on CGI for atmosphere or filler objects feel very inauthentic and the human brain has a hard time staying "in the moment".

Band of Brothers didn't necessarily need to create fantasy-feeling shots because it was focused on the ground war.

Masters of the Air feels fantastical because the film makers were so intent on making it "feel epic" that they forgot to keep it grounded enough that the audience wouldn't lose their connection to the story because of sensory overload and make-believe floaty camera work.

My opinion anyway. I'm planning on watching the whole series, but just based on the first two episodes, my gut tells me it's a bubble-gum glossy slick production that doesn't really feel gritty, because it's a slick and expensive production filmed in HD+++ 10000P to make it *EPIC*!!!!!

(Even though the subject matter is an instant-watch for me.)

quote:

Originally posted by SIG228:

quote:

Originally posted by Andyb:
Started rewatching BoB for the 4th or 5th time. This series just doesn't at all hold a candle to it. Masters of the Air feels very generic.

Definitely a weird series. The only character that sticks in my mind is Mr. Pukefest.

Same. I mean, I don't dislike it (yet), but I can barely differentiate the characters as there's no connection to them yet. Not enough backstory maybe. And in the air, it's even harder.