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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786302682618
Format: Color, Closed-captioned, NTSC
ISBN: 6302682614
Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Release Date: December 07, 1994
Running Time: 130 minutes
Sales Rank: 12505
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Theatrical Release Date: August 30, 1941
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
It's not the most he-manly endorsement imaginable, but Dive Bomber must be the prettiest aviation movie ever made. Errol Flynn, Fred MacMurray, and Ralph Bellamy top the cast, but the real star is Technicolor--in particular, a special Monopack developed to take the color process airborne without the cumbrous three-strip cameras used in the studios. Bert Glennon and Winton C. Hoch (once and future cameramen to John Ford) were Oscar-nominated for best color cinematography of 1941, but the flying footage was shot by Howard Hawks's aerial go-to guy Elmer Dyer (The Dawn Patrol, Only Angels Have Wings, Air Force) and Charles Marshall. For his part, director Michael Curtiz set up as many dialogue scenes as possible to include low-level flyovers by U.S. Navy Air Force squadrons. The onscreen results are often breathtaking (and beautifully served by the DVD mastering).
The drama is something else again. Dive Bomber is a bridge between the carefree service comedy-dramas of the '30s and the combat-themed movies that would kick in following December 7, 1941. Warner Bros. knew war was coming (their 1940 Flynn swashbuckler The Sea Hawk had allegorically engaged Hitler!); the heroes here are the flight surgeons and test pilots racing to lick high-altitude sickness so that U.S. flyers would be able to get the drop on their Axis foes once 'the main event' started. The best scenes are the lab tests, including an oxygen-deprivation experiment that makes striking use of Technicolor. But the script by aviation-ace-turned-screenwriter Frank 'Spig' Wead alternates between two tiresome strategies: nonstop dissing of medicos Flynn and Bellamy by macho flyboys MacMurray and pal Regis Toomey, and low-comedy interludes deploring how exasperating women can be (Alexis Smith is a sacrificial victim in her stellar debut). In this last connection, John Ford's Wead biopic The Wings of Eagles would make an illuminating companion piece for Dive Bomber. --Richard T. Jameson
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Golden Wings are the Star
"Dive Bomber" has become somewhat of a cult film for aviation history buffs. The Hollywood quality color filming of Navy aircraft during the last days of golden wing schemes and some aircraft in pre-WWII gray make this DVD well worth it as a documentary. Now, if you are more inclined for film history and great past performances, I doubt thus will ever rate as a must see classic. Flynn's role as a dedicated Doctor with little other interest in wild adventure or women certainly makes an interesting ... Read More
Rating:  - Dive Bomber
A bit hokey in spots but, as a whole, not a bad film. Errol Flynn has to prove himself to a group of pilots as he assists Ralph Bellamy in experiments to help pilots overcome high altitude sickness. He earns his wings and becomes totally absorbed in the trials. One by one, members of the group who opposed him at first are lost. But Errol will help save the day! Great aerial and ground scenes, I believe filmed at at San Diego. The colors are great. As an aircraft afficionado, it is great for me to see ... Read More
Rating: - Dive Bomber DVD
Difficult classic movie on DVD to find! Great price,fast Shipment, good communucation and the product arrived in good condition! What more could you want? Recommend this seller! Thanks!
Kevin
Rating: - A refreshing look at US Naval Flight Surgeons.
I am a current US Naval Flight Surgery student. As is the case with most people, I imagine, I enjoy seeing movies that I feel I can personally relate to or that relay my career to the masses. Imagine my surprise when I found out that a movie had been created about a profession as obscure of US Naval Flight Surgery! And it was made in the early 1940's, none-the-less!! This movie is an entertaining fictional view of those servicemen and women who's duty it is to "Keep 'Em Flyin'". It follows Eroll Flynn, ... Read More
Rating: - A naval aviation historian's dream
In the 21st century, good film footage of U.S. naval aircraft from the 1930s and early 1940s is tough to find. "Dive Bomber" is a gold mine for anyone interested in those planes, whether as a historian, scale modeler, or just an aviation buff. The multiple flying scenes of TBD Devastators, for example, are especially poignant for those who are well versed in their near total immolation during the Battle of Midway, a short year or so after this movie was made. Indeed, it's likely that many of the TBDs seen ... Read More
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Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786302682618
Format: Color, Closed-captioned, NTSC
ISBN: 6302682614
Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Release Date: December 07, 1994
Running Time: 130 minutes
Sales Rank: 12505
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Theatrical Release Date: August 30, 1941