This is an almost complete invention. Richthofen never flew the Fokker D.VII in combat, nor Hawker the S.E.5a. On the day in question, Richthofen was flying an Albatros DII and Hawker an AirCo DH-2, which was a pusher type. And I'd take a bet there were no formalities when combat was joined. Rather than calmly allowing Richthofen to line him up and shoot him, Hawker fought tenaciously for something like 10 minutes before he was killed by one of Richthofen's last bullets. Movie makers have something to answer for...
Schnaufer like millions of other Germans died in vein. The systematic distruction of Gertmany did not stop till all was ruins. The red army wiped out the east also. Territories lost and milllions dead. However. abandon the warmongering militaristic culture and your country thrives. Perhaps you should be gratefull to every allied flyer for burning Nazism out of your blighted country.
Yes, not thousands in the bombing, it was 800-900. The Netherlands needed to be crushed, of course. But, perhaps you can enlighten me as to the rationale. Was it because, as a neutral nation, it needed protection from England as Norway did? Were they just unfortunately "in the way" of the Wehrmacht, as Belgium was in 1914? Or, was it primarily for the liberation of the 100,000 or so Jews who were anticipating resettlement to Auschwitz shouting, "Wir danken euch!"? Or was it more sinister?
why do documentaries always say that the MK I,II Spit is faster than the BF 109 E? In all tests, the 109 E was faster at low, medium, and 'specially high altitudes. This is stressed in the book, 'Spitfire vs BF 109, Battle of Britain' by Tony Holmes. Osprey.
If Major Heinz Schnaufer had have been British or American every man,woman,and child in the westeren world would have heard of him and though of him as a real hero,but because he is German no one has,a statue of him should be put in place in Germany for all the German civilians he saved,it should taller than bomber Harris statue in London,or maybe some of us would just see it like that.
The Normans had technical advantages and a lot of luck (notably Harold had to see off another invasion up north 3 weeks earlier) and only just won, a tough island to crack.
That's a silly opening statement about Hitler not ordering the bombing of civilians. Thousands died in Rotterdam. Certainly not a military target of any significance, and of no strategic value to the May 1940 blitzkrieg.
I have a particular interest in this film because as a kid I saw it being made. Every day there would be formations of German and British biplanes overhead and on one particular occasion. Two came down and duelled very low to the ground near my house. It still remains one of the most exciting things I ever saw.
Great scenes! However, it took more shots to down a plane back then, and engine explosions weren't actually that common. It was rare for anyone to down more than one or two planes in one flight as he would have ran out of ammo before then. Richthofen was also, as has been said before, shot down by ground-fire, though Brown did manage a few shots at him. Also, Richthofen wouldn't have made HALF the mistakes this movie portrays, especially the one at around 6:25.
Don't diss gunslinger too much he is actually right....the red baron was killed by ground fire but what use would that have been to the english propaganda machine...dont get mad at me either, we all have propaganda machines.
Good film, very good book. FYI the speech at the end where the one commander lauds the lost pilot Brubaker **sorry spoiler** "where do we find such men..." President Ronald Reagan once referenced that scene and monolog as if it was a real life event.
This is a Great movie for me too. Wars realism comes through in all respects here. My Uncle actually flew this plane in the movie. He was a Navy pilot in Korea and a Captain in the Navy. My Cousin his oldest son has that helmet now. The movie is on DVD now too.
That horse-chasing sequence is one of the most awesome things I've ever seen on film! Modern cinema sucks, it's all CGI and blue screen; back then they actually took risks and people got hurt to bring great images to life in front of our very eyes!
The flying scenes in this film have an obvious advantage over many other aviation films- hardly any back projection or blue screen is used in the close ups of the pilots, you can clearly see that they are actually flying 1000s of feet in the sky. This was not the case in Blue Max, Battle of Britain or even more recently the dreadful Flyboys- in these latter examples you could clearly see that the closeups of the actors in the cockpit were filmed in a studio. But not in Von Richthofen and Brown.
Saw this movie years ago, it sucked in so many levels it's hard to describe. The book was pretty bad too. Can't wait to see the new Red Baron movie from Germany.
To add something else...its funny how all those people who keep telling us how 'bad' the Germans were don't seem to have any historical information to back up their argument. Whereas those who have studied history KNOW otherwise and can provide FACTUAL information to make convincing statements.
Unfortunately, they just don't teach real history in public schools anymore...or even private schools for that matter...I lived in the US through my schoolyears...always biting my tounge not to tell my history teachers that what was in our textbooks was rubbish...it seems like the whole world is out to 'prove' that the Germans were guilty, but obviously...the winners write history...Germany lost, what can I say.
I'm sorry...since when have the history books stated that the Germans started the First World War...? Do you even know anything about history? The assassination of ArchDuke Ferdinand by the SERBIAN G Prinzip was the act that began WWI. Ferdinand was AUSTRIAN...Germany's ally. Austria and Germany retaliated to this terrible offense righteously. I don't know about you...it's pretty clear to me who started WWI.
Man those times were brutal...early jets with slow throttle recovery, no angled flight decks oh and the 45 degree water if you ditched. Brave guys indeed - in Frederic March's soliloquy at the end "Where do we get such men?!"
soccerates...do you realize how many innocent civilians owe this great pilot, Schnaufer... their lives? For every British pilot he killed do you realize how many citizens were saved? If it weren't for Schnaufer it is possible that some of your German friends wouldn't exist today? I am no supporter of the Nationalsocialist ideals...but I do know a good man from an evil one.
By far, my favorite part of "Bridges at Toko Ri". Despite the sad ending, it immaculately demonstrates the devotion, heroism and comradery of the American fighting man!
