Product Details

• Actors: John Garfield, John Ridgely, Gig Young, Arthur Kennedy, Charles Drake
• Directors: Howard Hawks
• Writers: Arthur T. Horman, Dudley Nichols, Leah Baird, William Faulkner
• Producers: Hal B. Wallis, Jack L. Warner
• Format: Black & White, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 1.0)
• Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: June 5, 2007
• Run Time: 124 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000NTPG5M
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,942 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #4 in	Movies & TV > Classics > Classic Directors > Hawks, Howard
  #10 in	Movies & TV > Educational > Social Studies > History
  #15 in	Movies & TV > Military & War > War Epics

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Director Howard Hawks casually referred to Air Force (1943) as his "contribution to the war effort." It's also a masterpiece, standing with John Ford's They Were Expendable as the best WWII films Hollywood made while the war was still on. On the evening of December 6, 1941, a B-17 flies out of San Francisco on a routine peacetime training mission to Hickam Field in Hawaii. While en route, the officers and crew overhear radio traffic of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor ("Whatcha got there," somebody asks the radio operator, "Orson Welles?"). They touch down in a smoking world like a vision out of Dante, then hop from one Pacific outpost to the next as the clouds of war roil. The plane itself, the Mary Ann, is the movie's main character; the biggest star, John Garfield, actually gets last billing as her newly assigned tail gunner. Air Force is one of Hawks's supreme guys-doing-their-job movies, and the definitive war-movie portrait of America as a melting-pot of diverse individuals and types making common cause. The ensemble (Garfield, Gig Young, John Ridgely, Arthur Kennedy, the great Harry Carey, et al.) is superbly directed, there's a strong Dudley Nichols screenplay (with an uncredited contribution by William Faulkner) and breathtaking editing of the battle scenes (which won George Amy an Oscar), and the camerawork is by James Wong Howe in peak form.

Product Description
John Garfield, John Ridgely, and Gig Young star in this hard-hitting, realistic story that celebrates America's airborne heroes during WWII. Year: 1943 Director: Howard Hawks Starring: John Garfield, John Ridgely, Gig Young

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Top War Film, November 5, 2002

By	James L. (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Air Force (1943) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The legendary Howard Hawks directed this WWII classic about the Mary Ann, a B-17 bomber lead by Captain John Ridgely and featuring crew members Gig Young, Harey Carey, Arthur Kennedy, Charles Drake, George Tobias, Ray Montgomery, and John Garfield. On a routine mission to Hawaii, the crew arrives just hours after the Pearl Harbor attack and find themselves thrust into war. Other stops include Wake Island and the Philippines. Of course, one of the purposes of this film was to rally the American spirit, and it features some of the anti-Japanese dialogue you'd have to expect. But the film succeeds beyond the propaganda value. The action sequences are well filmed and exciting, with terrific aerial action and some good ground sequences, too. The camraderie amongst the crew is credible. Each member has his own small "back story" as you would expect, but these fine character actors make it all very believable (Harry Carey is a particular standout). This film is a true WWII classic.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WW2 Classic!, March 2, 2007

By	Seen Them All "Ace Movie Critic !!" (SoCal Desert) - See all my reviews

On their way to Pearl Harbor, a flight of B-17 bombers arrive at the height of the Japanese attack at the start of WW2. After landing they are told to refuel and fly on to the Philippines where they are to fight the Japanese. Many problems ensue but the crew pulls together and takes the fight to the Japanese. This is truly one of the best WW2 movies with lots of action and a relatively unknown cast...stars Harry Carey, Sr, a young John Garfield, and the B-17 "Mary-Ann". The interplay between crew members and the Marines in the Philippines is worth the price of admission alone. A long lost classic finally being released....DO Not miss this one..!!!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best stories about action in World War Two, June 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Air Force (1943) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

While some paid reviewers would classify this film as archetypal and "hard to stomach" because of the political correctness of today, it is an excellent film about the early days of World War II and the crew of the B-17 bomber, "Mary Ann." This film is on par with what some consider the best air war film ever made, "Twelve O'clock High."