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Released by: Olive Films
Released on: May 13th, 2014.
Director: David Miller
Cast: John Carroll, John Wayne
Year: 1942
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The Movie:
Directed by David Miller in 1942 and nominated for three Academy Awards that same year, Flying Tigers has the distinction of being the first of many war movies that John Wayne would headline.
The story follows Captain Jim Gordon (Wayne), the man in charge of a flying unit called the Flying Tigers, a series of brave American men who have 'volunteered' to help combat the Japanese occupying China. Though the United States has not officially entered World War II at this point, Gordon and his men are committed to their cause. They are, however, vastly outnumbered and vastly outgunned by the Japanese air force. Gordon will not waver though, and he dutifully asks his men to take to the skies in hopes of ending Japanese tyranny.
As if running a rag tag group of fighter pilots weren't enough responsibility for Gordon, there's the matter of one of the men under his command: Woody Jason (John Carroll). This hotshot pilot doesn't respond so well to orders and his recklessness could pose a danger to the men of the Flying Tigers. On top of that, Jason's been making eyes at Gordon's lady, the beautiful Brooke Elliott (Anna Lee). Gordon knows though that deep down inside, Jason is a good guy and on top of that, he's one of the best pilots in the group - the Flying Tigers need him…
Although this one is ripe with jingoistic propaganda and flag waving patriotism, this Republic picture, as low budget as it might be, is a lot of fun. The film opens with a really strong sequence in which the Japanese forces launch a deadly attack on the Chinese, painting them as heartless, evil and unfeeling and, interestingly enough, the Chinese as victims. And while historically speaking this isn't inaccurate for the time, it's interesting to think about just how times have changed in terms of the United States' relationships with those two respective countries. Rather than over think the politics behind this one, however, let it suffice to say that the movie delivers plenty of nicely crafted action scenes and it was these scenes that won Ted Lydecker his Oscar nomination. The movie is also a fair bit more graphic in its depictions of injuries than you'd expect from something made in the early forties and it also incorporates some period stock footage into the narrative surprisingly effectively.
Wayne plays his role the way Wayne plays most of his roles. He's larger than life and not necessarily showing a whole lot of range but he's got that ridiculous screen presence going on, that star quality. He uses it well here. Though Wayne is top billed, John Carroll actually gets considerably more screen time and he too delivers fine work. Anna Lee is more or less eye candy and isn't given much depth but she's easy to look at and is fine in the role. This is all very dated and occasionally unintentionally humorous for that reason, but it's pretty well done and very entertaining.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Flying Tigers debuts on Blu-ray from Olive Films in a 1.37.1 fullframe transfer presented in AVC encoded 1080p high definition and it looks very decent. Detail here is pretty solid and while some minor print damage is present in the form of some small specks here and there, the materials used for the transfer look like they were in pretty nice shape. Expect to see plenty of natural looking film grain throughout the presentation, as you should, as well as typically solid detail and texture. Black levels are really nice and strong and contrast looks spot on. All in all this is a sharp and crisp image offering surprisingly good texture and contrast along with strong shadow detail. Nothing to complain about here.
The English language DTS-HD Mono Audio track on the disc is pretty good. The score sounds quite strong here the sounds of the planes taking off and the fighting scenes have better presence than you'd probably expect. The macho dialogue is plenty clear and you won't have any trouble understanding any of the characters. Levels are well balanced and there's as much depth as you could reasonably expect from an older picture with a single channel mix. There are no alternate language options or subtitles of any kind offered on this disc.
Outside of a static menu and chapter selection, there are no extra features on this disc.
The Final Word:
John Wayne's first war movie, Flying Tigers, holds up well. Yes, it's definitely a product of its time and it is dated but the entertainment value is definitely there. Wayne is fun to watch in the lead and the film is exciting, sometimes quite tense, and typically quite enjoyable. The Blu-ray release from Olive Films is lacking any extra features but the audio and video presentation is very strong. Fans of vintage war movies or of John Wayne in general should definitely track this one down and this Blu-ray is the right way to see it.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
