Wings (1927)

Pushing play on my DVD remote, I had no idea what to expect. I had wanted to see this film for a few years based solely on the historical aspect of the film, being the first to win Best Picture in the Academy awards. Before playing, a menu came up asking if I wanted to play the movie with its original organ score. At that moment I realized that I was about to watch a silent film. This is how little I knew about the movie.

Approaching two and a half hours makes this a daunting undertaking for the majority of today's audience. Luckily, I'm not the majority of today's audience.

The history of this movie alone is amazing. The film crew had the full cooperation of the United States Army Air Corps. (The Air Force didn't exist yet) Richard Arlen, one of the main characters, was a trained pilot and so did his own flight shots in the film. Buddy Rogers, the other main pilot in "Wings" who was not a pilot, took flight training during the pre-production, so that he could also have close up shots while flying. That fun fact alone gives this film top marks in bad assery.

Here's the thing about this movie...

If there has ever been a film that deserved to be the best picture of any year, it is "Wings". The story is interesting. The dog fights are as real as it gets. There's action, romance, and an amazing organ score throughout. 

This film was thought to be lost for years until a copy was found in Paris. The recovery of this film is a blessing straight from the cinema Gods. It's a treasure that will be loved for years to come.

Some historical sticklers will be thrown off by the twenties fashion in a film that takes place during World War I. To that I say, get over it. This is a great film.