Fighting On Film - The War Movie Podcast!

In this week's bumper episode we are joined by aviation historian Matt Bone from the Damcasters podcast to tackle 2012's Red Tails. The film follows the Tuskegee Airman in Italy during the Second World War. Funded by Star Wars legend George Lucas the film aims to tell the story of how the African American pilots found themselves fighting not only the enemy but also their own military for a chance to prove their worth in the air.With great cast and aerial CGI which stands up a decade later, Red Tails has the makings of a great film but it just can't work out quite what It wants to be. Join us to find out why we think the film is lacking!Follow us on Twitter @FightingOnFilm and on Facebook. For more check out our website www.fightingonfilm.comThanks for listening! Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/fighting-on-film. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Repeat, please!? We cover perhaps one of the most beloved 60s war movies this week with 1969s 'The Battle of Britain'! From its all-star cast to thrilling air combat sequences, it's one of the most requested films we've been asked to review. To join us in this gargantuan task is Aviation Historian James Jeffries! Join us to find out why this movie endures to this day and why its portrayal of historical events is perhaps more nuanced than it first appears.Follow us on Twitter @FightingOnFilm and on Facebook. For more check out our website www.fightingonfilm.comThanks for listening! Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/fighting-on-film. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We take to the air in this week's episode as we look back at 2006's 'Flyboys' James Franco stars as a cowboy turned pilot in this Great War aviation movie. Directed by Tony Bill and loosely based on the Lafayette Escadrille - a squadron of American pilots flying for the French air force. Does Flyboys hit the heights or does it fail to take off? Join us to find out.Follow us on Twitter @FightingOnFilm and on Facebook. For more check out our website www.fightingonfilm.comThanks for listening! Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/fighting-on-film. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We recently had the chance to talk to writer/director Martin Hemingway-Mosely and producer Zoe Lewin about their upcoming film 'A Memory Owed'. This ambitious film project is currently raising funds ahead of the next phase of shooting. The project brings together a talented cast and some impressive practical effects work to tell a story steeped in the history of the RAF's bomber command. We talk about the film's production and what drives the team to complete the project and.Follow us on Twitter @FightingOnFilm and on Facebook. For more check out our website www.fightingonfilm.comThanks for listening! Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/fighting-on-film. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We round off Mercenary Month 2 with a bang as we go over 1998s 'Ronin'. John Frankenheimer directs an ensemble cast made up of 90s powerhouses from De Niro to Reno, the car chases leap from the screen and the gun fights pack a punch, as the gang of Mercs hunt for a briefcase thats contents remains a mystery. Join us as we talk everything from stuntmen to the colour of the boathouse at Hereford!Follow us on Twitter @FightingOnFilm and on Facebook. For more check out our website www.fightingonfilm.comThanks for listening! Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/fighting-on-film. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Gene Hackman assembles a team of Vietnam veterans to rescue his son from a POW camp in Laos. In the penultimate instalment of Merc Month 2. This beloved film is a hybrid of the Vietnam and mercenary genres, written by Wings Hauser and produced by John Milius it has a great ensemble cast including Patrick Swayze, Fred Ward, Robert Stack, and Reb Brown. Join us for a real classic. Follow us on Twitter @FightingOnFilm and on Facebook. For more check out our website www.fightingonfilm.comThanks for listening! Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/fighting-on-film. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We continue Merc Month 2 with another Cannon Films classic - 1988's 'Mercenary Fighters'. Starring Peter Fonda, as a no-nonsense mercenary leader, Ron O'Neal as an experienced helicopter pilot and Reb Brown as a hard fighting merc that has a change of heart. Directed by Riki Shelach Nissimoff the film follows an ensemble mercenary team tasked with forcing local people from their homes to make way for a new hydroelectric dam.Follow us on Twitter @FightingOnFilm and on Facebook. For more check out our website www.fightingonfilm.comThanks for listening! Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/fighting-on-film. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 This week Merc Month 2 continues with 1971's 'Universal Soldier'. Starring George Lazenby as Ryker, a mercenary turned weapons consultant, as he prepares to embark on a new mission after a few years out of the game but as the mission approaches he has a miraculous change of heart which sees Ryker submerge himself in London's counterculture scene. Directed by Cy Endfield, of 'Zulu' fame, this independent film is truly one of the most bizarre pieces of cinema we have covered on the show. Strap in for a wild ride that features machine guns, Wipmy burger bars arms dealers & frisbees! Follow us on Twitter @FightingOnFilm and on Facebook. For more check out our website www.fightingonfilm.comThanks for listening! Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/fighting-on-film. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We begin our second edition of Mercenary Month with Richard Brooks's classic 'The Professionals'! Burt Lancaster and Lee Marvin head up an all-star cast who are sent to rescue a railroad magnate's wife from the clutches of a Mexican bandit in the dying days of the Old West. But all is not as it seems!A classic western with great shootouts and set pieces the film, 'The Professionals' is one of the giants of the genre and is perfect to kick off our month of Mercenary films. Merc month is back!Follow us on Twitter @FightingOnFilm and on Facebook. For more check out our website www.fightingonfilm.comThanks for listening! Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/fighting-on-film. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To mark the one year anniversary of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine, we look at the 2017 Ukrainian film 'Cyborgs'. The film shows the hard-fought battle for Donetsk International Airport in 2014.The cast of Ukrainian troops hold the terminal from Separatist forces in a film that tries to come to terms with the war in Donbas through not only firefights but also its dialogue and attempts to explain the reasoning for the conflict itself. Follow us on Twitter @FightingOnFilm and on Facebook. For more check out our website www.fightingonfilm.comThanks for listening! Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/fighting-on-film. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.