Memphis Belle (1990) Takeoff Scene

[@escarfangorn]

Coming after watching MotA, you can't beat the real stuff with CGI. This scene gives me shivers every time.

[@HowardHalifax]

When he throttles up those engines after "Here we go boys!" it literally has me grinning like a kid in a toy store. 😀

[@nelsonr32]

How can the practical effects in this film from over 30 years ago look better than Masters of The Air. It beggars belief.

[@nealarmstrong3050]

Because they were real planes dude

[@nelsonr32]

@@nealarmstrong3050most of the scenes were scale models.

[@sidefx996]

@@nelsonr32 Still looks infinitely better and more believable than cheap video game CGI

[@navnig]

@@nelsonr32 The Hunt for Red October was the same. Everything in that film was a scale model....Even the Typhoon sub at the very beginning of the film. It was a 3/4 size mock up of a Typhoon.

[@christiancruz4533]

Theres no a bunch of real B17s flying around these days thats why😊

[@sliceanddice69]

coming back to this after watching the most recent clip from Masters of the Air of them taking off. Man, seeing real planes is just SUCH a pleasure. I know MoTA will be special, and that it isn't realistic to use real B-17's anymore, but it just feels so immersive watching the real planes start up, taxi, and take off like this. This movie will hold up forever

[@wayfaerer320]

Dude - it's not even a contest - this takeoff scene in Memphis Belle is 10x better than the MoA takeoff scene. The real planes, the symphony of buzzing radial engines, the music, the intensity and anxiousness of the crew - that is filmaking done right - 1990's Memphis Belle is going to shredd Masters of the Air in so many ways. I'm almost surprised (even with CGI) it looks, sounds, and feels as bad as it does, considering Spielberg worked on it. I'm really bummed, but maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised when it airs...I'm doubtful though, given what I've seen so far.

[@chads9762]

​@@wayfaerer320 I did the same, watched both and its no comparison

[@drewsXR650L]

I agree, MOA story telling "realism" has been really good so far. As far as CGI I think Unkroken is more convincing as far as realism, The music in MOA is uneeded durring the air battles, its just makes things more raw without music, I think even in BOB they didnt have music playing durring their battles, which helps alot with the intensity. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e4TJaIB6qp6Gj5Y (after watching a BOB battle, dang... the intensity is so much better without the cheezy "battle music" in MOA)

[@sliceanddice69]

@@drewsXR650L I agree. So far, comparing the two, I think Unbroken did a better job with the in-flight CGI. Music is another big gripe so far. I want the tension to build with just the sounds of war

[@wayfaerer320]

@drewsXR650L I agree. It's the same in Memphis Belle - all you hear are the guns, the radio chatter calling out bandits, and of course the droning of the B17s and the higher pitched roars of the 109s. It's so intense to watch because of how they directed and mixed that.

[@georgesturdy7040]

That takeoff scene with the shadow of the B17 over the cornfield is just stunning

[@Vaderd2k926]

Kids, actual teens who were selling newspapers on neighborhood street corners and bagging groceries answered the call and crewed these bombers to go on what can be argued as practically suicide missions. Now those that survived are dying of old age at a prodigious rate. God bless them. Heroes one and all. We can never thank them enough.

[@butchyshoe]

Very well said !! Thank you !!

[@Thunderchild-gz4gc]

You had to be a adult let's not exaggerate.

[@Vaderd2k926]

@@Thunderchild-gz4gc hey thanks for your critique but you couldn’t be more wrong. My dad lied about his age to get in and so did his friends. Many young men did that and enlisters didn’t try too hard to check. You actually think everybody over there was over 21? Oh and thanks for missing the point completely.

[@spannaspinna]

Don’t forget the infantry lads

[@atoka2206]

@@Thunderchild-gz4gc Anyone over the age of 25 was considered an old man by his crew

[@jnb894]

This movie is the very first WWII I watched in my life when I was 8yo. If I haven't watched it litteraly a 100 time, I never watched it at all you know. The more I watch it, the more I see mistakes here and there (like that crew with David Clarks on) but man oh man, I still love it as much as I used to as a kid, the magic is and will always remain the same for me. This take off scene and its music still gives me goosebumps to this day.

[@paulfri1569]

Same mate 🤠

[@Dobermann89-dr2rc]

The second they start to take off and the music hits you its so beautiful

[@neiljones4013]

Who's here after realising masters of the air visual effects aren't a mark on this absolute gem from 1990??

[@oliverjolly8953]

Agreed. The practical effects were great. Even though you can tell they're models they still hold more weight and impact.

[@DANHjAM]

Yeah same here. 👍

[@cogboy302]

That's largely because 5 airworthy B17s were used & flown for filming, with other non-airworthy planes used for background shots.

[@Darkmouse20001]

The CGI in MOTA genuinely sucks - its like they've never seen an aeroplane flying before.....and dare I say it, Top Gun 2 CGI was also terrible.

[@PaddyPatrone]

100%

[@tacheovale]

This scene, like so many great memorable movie scenes, is really brought to life by the incredible music score.

[@andyd1006]

My dad took to to see this movie when it first came out. To this day I still get chills and emotional. Knowing what those air crews went through. My favorite movie of all time.

[@ewanmacfarlane9195]

Mee too pal

[@mariokampo]

same here...first movie i saw with my dad at the cinema...still cherish the memory to this date.. must have watched it since about 500 times

[@stephensmith4480]

What must have been going through those lads minds during Take off. For many of them, it would be their last time. I have nothing but total respect for anyone who wore a uniform. A mate of mine used to live opposite and old Gentleman, he was 94 and would often stand and chat in his Garden with the neighbours. My mate who was in the British Army asked him what he did during The War, he just casually told him that he was a Lancaster Pilot in The RAF. My mate said that he had never felt so humble in his life.

[@SickFreakx]

i aagree that those guys had some brass balls but lets not forget that that some of those are responsible for one of greatest war crimes in history

[@johndavid5618]

" Legendary warbirds of their time. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧🇺🇲

[@andrewbarker2422]

Still get chills watching that first B17 ease up in the air with the tail slightly turned God bless those men who served in those planes, most of them under 30 years old and it was no easy task to do. Truly the greatest generation

[@largol33t1]

Today's generation can't even drive a car with three pedals...

[@samstanfield2634]

@@largol33t1 Today's generation flies aircraft magnitudes more complex than the B-17. Jesus every generation with the "new generation" crap.

[@LoneWolf051]

complex yes, but the computer does it all for them, all automatic pilot and AI assisted everything. Old school is infinitely more demanding because the human at the controls must literally do every single thing, and know exactly how to do it @@samstanfield2634

[@FS2K4Pilot]

@@samstanfield2634The current generation SUPERVISES more complicated aircraft. All too often the basic stick-and-rudder skills that one would think should be present are tragically lacking. Air Asiana 214 was only one such example. The dude didn’t know how to hand-fly a visual approach in broad daylight. And pilots nowadays can go their entire careers without flying a taildragger.

[@GSDPops]

Ah, The Memphis Belle. The greatest war scene ever appeared in this film. Truly an overlooked and under rated film.

[@kimcornwall4246]

Agreed, this must’ve been one hell of thing to see. All these B17s taking off.

[@GSDPops]

@@kimcornwall4246 I would agree, but not the war scene i was thinking of.

[@GSDPops]

@U X Based on a real plane, the actual true story of the Memphis Belle was nothing like the movie

[@GSDPops]

@U X you said based on a true story, which would typically imply that most of the events in the movie actually took place. I was politely informing you and other readers of this comment thread that that is simply not the case. You may very well be aware of the complete historical inaccuracies of the film, but others may not. I apologize if I have offended your sense of historical knowledge. I certainly had not intended to do so. I was merely attempting to clear the issue for any readers who thought as I previously did - that this was a true film even in some part.

[@justbreakingballs]

@@kimcornwall4246 Kim they didn’t take off it was faked for the film. They only had 2 planes for the film. The rest is just trickery. If you watch it you will see the shots usually have the two planes in close up. Like the shot showing the different named planes was the same plane rolling by with a different sticker on it. Plus other repeated scenes of the planes coming into view are used. Models were probably used too. Great film

[@achillies40]

This movie came out 30 years ago. WOW. Damn I feel OLD now. :(

[@paulfri1569]

The Memphis belle movie should be mandatory viewing for all Western kids in every school 🏫

[@Wardaddy09]

Absolutely

[@Wolfman053a]

The documentary about the Memphis Belle absolutely should be!

[@jeffrey24415]

This movie put the true reality of these missions right in your face.

[@bananaisland11]

One of my teachers in middle school had an uncle who was a ball turret gunner on a B-17 so he had his class watch Memphis Belle each year. Watching this movie for the first time is what made me fall in love with the B-17

[@baileybrunson42]

With respect, not this movie. It's not their story. It is good for purely entertainment but the only thing the producers got right was the name of the plane, the country they flew from and the war they fought. If you want the real story of the Memphis Belle, watch William Wyler's movie "The Memphis Belle: the Story of a Bomber".. it was made during the war and shows these heroes in their reality..

[@Ammo08]

I got to play in the Belle a few times when I was kid in Memphis. It was kept behind a fence on Airways Blvd in Memphis at the Armory. Every once in awhile I would catch the soldiers cleaning it and got to go inside. Years later the Belle was brought to our Air Guard Base at Memphis IAP and then moved to Mud Island. The Air Force took it back in the mid 2000s and took it to Wright Patterson where it was fully restored and is in the museum now. The plane used in the movie was also at our base a few times...really neat. My brother-in-law was a waist gunner on B-17s in the 8th Air Force

[@ryanellis5902]

I've had the amazing pleasure of crawling all over the "movie Memphis." It was stored for some time at a war plane museum in Geneseo NY. 5 min from where I grew up.

[@mp3_Martin]

Isn’t Sally B in England the B-17 they used in the film? All though it’s been converted to a G model..?

[@rttoonist4275]

George Fenton's musical score really goes great with the imagery and dials the emotional punch of the film up to eleven.

[@Pprokop87]

I just love that moment when the Main Theme turns almost into Ride of the Valkyries

[@largol33t1]

I do think Fenton did a great job with the music but I wonder if it would have been just as effective to have dead silence with nothing but the sound of engines running and flaps/tails struggling in crosswinds. That way we hear what they heard all those years ago.

[@OSTARAEB4]

What chokes me up well along in life now is these kids could be my grandchildren. They were indeed the greatest generation given many sacrificed their lives even before they ever really began.

[@escapetheratracenow9883]

Beautifully put. I've stood on the ground of the Somme where 19,000 British and commonwealth soldiers died in one day. This scene chokes me up too.

[@Thunderbolt_1000_Siren]

They sound like they're purring when idle. Beautiful birds

[@hyperionwhitestar1453]

Sadly never got it on record, but got to hear one from an airshow throttle hard mid-air for a moment......damn they're screaming death at near full power!

[@scrubsrc4084]

The b17 and Lancaster just have something about the way they sit. Like nesting birds yet like they are flying whilst still.

[@wesleynash2598]

Then b17s are saying "let's go I'm fired up who we knocking out today?!?!?"

[@brianrogers7360]

@@hyperionwhitestar1453 I got to listen to the one owned by EAA. What a sound

[@Dangbo3030]

@@brianrogers7360 , I always look up when I hear that awesome hum of a radial engine. Sometimes it might be a few of the Texan planes cruising along the east coast, going to an air show, but occasionally it's a B-17. They come in to Savannah ga. Because of the air museum. They have one inside of the museum, that was painstakingly built a few years ago.

[@cpmow831]

My Great Uncle was a ball turret gunner on of these aircraft. He survived all 50 of the Ploesti missions.

[@groundcontrol436385]

Wow! Kudos to him. My dad lost his B-17 when Japan bombed Clark Field in the Philippines on Dec 7, 1941. He was lucky to live and served in the Solomons with other B-17s. He left service in 1961. We discussed things before he died but I didn't really become interested until after he died. Magnificent generation.

[@thomasromano9321]

For once, a movie got the ages of the crew members right. They weren't, as was shown in the TV series Twelve O'Clock High to be forty or even fifty year olds, but actual ages of 18 to 24. Terrific movie, my Mom's friend Ray Kimmel flew many missions in a B-17, and he teared up watching this takeoff. Brought back too many memories.

[@FreeWorldAllDay]

We don't know them all, but we owe them all.

[@Vaderd2k926]

Well said. Here, here.

[@charlescurry2702]

My father was in the Air Corps

[@distinguishedflyer]

This movie was always a childhood favorite of mine (first saw it when I was about five), and I still return to it every now and then. Two little things about this part that I really like: firstly, the movement of the lead aircraft when it takes off (the head-on shot); I don't know if there was a crosswind here, but it sure looks like it. Secondly, the quick shots of the nose art on all the aircraft that follow them; the designs are kind of amusing by themselves, but they also remind us, I think, of just how young most of the bomber crews were.

[@willielarimer7170]

I dont think it was a crosswind, they had windy city on one side and another painting on right side to represent two planes, wanted to hide it from camera

[@timdench2583]

@@willielarimer7170 I don’t think so Willie. The rudder doesn’t appear to move. I think they were just weather-cocking a little

[@billgrant5515]

I believe that yaw is caused by the torque of the 4 engines during takeoff. Even in a small plane you have to apply considerable rudder to keep it fairly straight during takeoff.

[@josephastier7421]

@@billgrant5515 Aircraft with counter-rotating props don't have a problem with P-factor yaw. From here it looks like there is a bit of a crosswind and they weathervane slightly as the tailwheel leaves the ground. Perfectly normal.

[@billgrant5515]

@@josephastier7421 Thanks Joseph. Never flown a multi engine, only rated for single engine aircraft. Appreciate the insight!

[@HowardHalifax]

Brave guys indeed. But spare a thought for our own Lancaster bomber boys lol.

[@sonofwallacecoyb4744]

Carlton Evans I agree Carlton musta been terrifying and as history tells us so many air crews were lost.

[@Chicken_Wing91]

Howard Halifax That’s the thing about it is while the B-17s were bombing during the day the Lancaster’s were bombing at night

[@thedutchfisherman7078]

B-17's, Lancasters, fighter pilots etc, I don't care. I love em all, they're all heroes!

[@keithandrewbounds967]

RAF Bomber Command - HEAR!! HEAR!! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇳🇿🇨🇦🇦🇺

[@nathanwheeler2047]

They some brave and crazy sob’s salute to them sir

[@sherwinmarlin2782]

Average age of these aircrews were 19~20yrs old! Amazing. The scene at 1:13 as the Memphis Belle prepares to block out and the accompaning film score is sooo moving. I watched one of our MC-130J take off a few months ago, the oldest crew member was no more than 30yrs old! It reminded me of this film. The Greatest Generation hands down!

[@Page-Hendryx]

Actually the average age was 22.

[@charles07km83]

@@Page-Hendryx by 1941 but by 1945 The US Armed Forces had all the Future Generation in Europe and the pacific

[@d53101]

My second cousin was a Navigator in the RCAF. He was 24 and part of a Handley Page Halifax bomber crew. The youngest on the crew was the Flight Engineer at 19. They were lost on their first combat operation in 1944.

[@tomservo5347]

It's a great shot of the Memphis Belle taking off over the fields of England showing the great partnership. England represented home and safety on returning from bombing missions as the RAF would be flying on point across the Channel inland as far as they could to escort any crippled bombers and defend them along with their coastal patrols to recover any crews that had to ditch.

[@killbot86]

I can see where Band of Brothers got their inspiration from for the C-47 takeoff scene at the end of episode 1......

[@Ottoman1337]

Thank you for uploading this clip in the condition it's in, easily my favorite scene from the movie. Never fails to bring me to tears.

[@markelliott9228]

We must never forget all those Airmen and what they did nor all WW11 vets.

[@ewanmacfarlane9195]

Mee neither mate

[@cuhurun]

I had the privilege of taking a flight in this old girl back during the late 1970's, flying out of Duxford when she was still in her original polished aluminum 'Sally B' livery. Beautiful machine ! RIP all those young airmen of the USAAF who didn't survive the war, and all those old vets who've sadly passed away in the years since. You shall be remembered.

[@WilliamKremin-pm5re]

My favorite part of the movie. I love the music. Gives you chills. For my 30th birthday, me and my add with a couple friends went to SLC and flew in a B-17 around the valley. One of the best times of my life. I couldn’t stop laughing, I was having so much fun.

[@blakeb106]

I’ve heard people call this movie innacurate, which is true. And I’m usually all for accuracy, one of my favorite movies ever is A Bridge Too Far. But if this had been based on their actual final mission it would have been incredibly boring. Their final mission was an easy one, that way they wouldn’t get shot down and die. I like this version better because it’s a more accurate portrayal of the dangers these aircrews faced.

[@wolfgagger]

look up old 666, should have done a movie about that mission, all this does is distort the memory of what the actual guys did on memphis belle

[@OGBootleg]

@@wolfgagger I disagree to be honest, yes it is not anything close to what their final mission was, but I do not believe that it distorts the memory on what they did on the belle, if anything it shows a more dangerous presence to the war and helps to explain what dangers aircrew faced up there in the sky, it shows loss, it shows pain and suffering, and i believe if what really happened was shown in this movie people would have miss-interpreted what it was really like up there, so by showing a false truth it is representing what happened more accurately then if not...

[@wolfgagger]

Comrade Bootleg The wouldn't have to show a false truth if they simply portrayed a different mission, the Belle's memory is preserved by the excellent wartime documentary

[@OGBootleg]

@@wolfgagger if they just simply showed a different mission yes people would have seen the dangers, but at the same time, it is of no consequence to them, as it would have been one of many, by making it the last mission, it not only gives them a reason to fight for the mission, but also a reason to fight for themselves, also you have to understand, if Hollywood made this movie 100% accurate, everyday people just wouldn't want to go watch it, as it would be then a documentary and sadly many people are not interested in documentaries, but by making it this way it opened itself up to show the struggles, of not just the aircrew of the belle, but everyone who fought to a wider audience.

[@OGBootleg]

@@wolfgagger Great would make a amazing movie, but I never said that this would be of little consequence, I said the scenario you were describing for Memphis belle would be of little consequence, since their last mission, was one of their easiest, and encountered almost no resistance, you also have to think about the audience as which adaptation, would they go to see, one which nothing happens, and they make it back without a scratch, or one where everything happens, and they almost don't make it back... but then again I guess we will just have to agree to disagree, thank you for the interesting discussion, and farewell.

[@victormagana3972]

I love this movie. the history these crew flew during WWII. the mission they flew. Knowing you need 25 mission to go home. of course not all did not make it back. the take off scene is one of the group. Gave me goose bumps. and a little proud to part of that tradition. being in the Air Force. watching tankers, fighters and bombers doing what we call elephant walk. it was amazing, during Gulf War, knowing that same felling as the crew chief and maintenance team waiting for them to come home. for us they did make it back, of course we did loose some. this movie is close to my heart.

[@atoka2206]

Everytime I watch this scene, I'm sitting on the edge of my seat shivering with goosebumps

[@ewanmacfarlane9195]

After he says here we go boys the mixture of the music and the 4 noisy engines always makes me cry.

[@olivealbers2478]

All those men flying off into the blue and the night, were brave beyond understands by people living now. Unbelievable courage.

[@olivealbers2478]

There was a famous airman in the RAAF called Barney Greatrex who flew 19 sorties. On his 20 th he had noticed before that when a plane was hit on the wing, there should be time to the area where he dropped the bombs that it was big enough for him to drop down. Well his plane was hit on the wing. Loaded with a shute, he dropped down into France, and made contact with the French underground. After the war he was flown back to the UK. But all his life he regretted always he could not get a message back to the UK about his discovery. He could have saved many men... A book was written about him but Michael Veitch the book was written after he died aged 97.. " Barney Greatrex" l brought it 4 years ago. Well worth read.

[@nathanwheeler2047]

This scene and when they going out to the bombers always gives me goosebumps even when I was 12 and watching it for the first time

[@offiziellertaiwanesischers1939]

I am a german. I highly respect those brave man.

[@Thimon-Armin-Strauch]

Offizieller Taiwanesischer Sprengmeister naja das hat weniger mit Mut als mit selbstmord zu tuen

[@offiziellertaiwanesischers1939]

@@Thimon-Armin-Strauch in den selbstmord zu fliegen erfordert viel mut.

[@williampaz2092]

I cannot imagine what it must have felt like to be in a FW-190 and trying to shoot down a B-17/B-24 while KNOWING that a P-47/P-38/P-51 will be on your tail in 15 seconds. That takes courage...

[@CGRCOOL]

I am a jew. I highly respect those brave man.

[@offiziellertaiwanesischers1939]

@@CGRCOOL and i respect the jews I've met, that they are without prejudices.

[@keithandrewbounds967]

I remember watching this scene as well as the scene where the Memphis Belle crew was singing “Amazing Grace” as well as the Judy Collins rendition of “Amazing Grace” right after my Mom passed away last 25 August 2019. Watching those videos brought me MUCH comfort.

[@OrbitFallenAngel]

I love the sound of the engines of the B-17! To me it's the most beautiful medium to heavy bomber of all!! I've actually been able to see an WW2 B-17 at the airbase out in Nebraska...I was in such awe and admiration of this magnificent WW2 era bomber! Those young men were so brave and courageous!!

[@bcgrittner]

Just recently I learned that highly detailed models were intertwined with the real aircraft during the takeoff scene. They have my vote.

[@seanpat27]

see the pitch and yaw upon takeoff ? God bless these men !

[@scrubsrc4084]

The models they use for parts of this scene are flawless

[@cardude5323]

Literally amazing. They built a forced perspective runway and had several different scale planes and a real plane taking off all in one shot. With propane heaters to create the shimmering. Literally looks real 100%

[@scrubsrc4084]

@@cardude5323 I've seen it, raised up offbthe runway.

[@kjdkauri]

One of my favorite parts of the movie, with the stirring awesome sound track by the legendary George Fenton 😮!

[@agnostic47]

It's always a heart stopping moment. A bomber, sometimes so full of bombs and fuel that it's past its specified maximum take off weight, going down the runway, slowly at first then gathering speed and literally clawing at the air to get off the ground.

[@michaelyates5976]

With a crew member smoking a cigarette inside. Smh.

[@M1tjakaramazov]

Actually the bomb bay was ridiculously small compared to the over all size of the plane. Most of the inside area was for keeping the crew alive by means of multiple gun stations, and to maximise flight distance with fuel capacity.

[@michaelyates5976]

@@M1tjakaramazov Would smoking be permitted in a fully fuelled bomber?

[@M1tjakaramazov]

@@michaelyates5976 not sure. Might depend on where in the plane. Certain parts of the fuselage were open to the elements, so there was a lot of draft going. Also towards the end of the war tempers were so frayed people didn't care about every bit of protocol. They would smoke inside submarines as well while plotting the charts...

[@agnostic47]

@@M1tjakaramazov Doesn't change the fact that the plane is so loaded it can barely get airborne.

[@1961-v9k]

I loved this movie when it first came out when I was 28. My husbands uncle was a Spitfire pilot and took part in two missions over the Netherlands in WW2. He won a scholarship from his school in the North of England to enable his training at Falcon Field airbase in Arizona.

[@justinquaylepate1358]

I have always loved this movie. I remember when I saw it the theaters in October of 1990

[@baileybrunson42]

I remember reading a review about this movie when it came out. It told about how much excitement was generated by the old soldiers who flew the "Belle" because THEIR story was going to be put on the big screen. It also told of the massive and crushing disappointment they experienced when they saw this monstrosity. It didn't even come close to their story. Not a single original crew member's name is mentioned in context with the movie or the Belle. It's like they never existed. The only things the producers got right was the name of the plane, the country they flew from and the war they fought. I love watching the scenes of the bombers doing their thing the cinematography is truly amazing but, I despise this movie for what it did to the gentlemen that faced so much to preserve the freedom of the world those many years ago.

[@Wolfsky9]

The courage of these men. ------------Truly, " The Greatest Generation" . ------------------------WolfSky9, 72 y/o

[@DubVinC]

Bought this on BluRay recently. I forgot how good it is.

[@Digitalpiracy]

If you've ever seen a B17 start up and prep to fly, you'll remember that they let the engines run for a good while before going to take-off power in real life, to maximise engine life

[@aviationnation5997]

Oh yeah

[@josephastier7421]

And after the engines are at operating temperature they are briefly run up to full power just to see what happens.

[@jonathanbaird8109]

Yes, you shouldn't run up a cold engine. As a general rule, you want to wait until oil temps are at or above 40 C. I'll also note that the engine start scenes they showed are very incorrect. The primer pulls fuel from the fuel system for engine 3 and distributes it according to the position of the primer handle and requires that the engine 3 boost pump be on which isn't what they did in this scene. Of course, I'll also note that if the engines aren't on, neither are their respective engine-driven fuel pumps and you'll need the boost pumps for starting.

[@mikesmith7026]

I love the sound of radial engines!

[@leivhuns]

Have seen this scene so many times. Perfect music. !!!! So beautiful.

[@toddavies1326]

The shadow of the B17 on that field below - gives me goosebumps Airman - I salute you all.

[@BlaneNostalgia]

its amazing

[@mikeross4]

Masters of the Air was largely made in film studios about a mile up the road from where I live. A great series.

[@firefalcon9368]

RIP Nine 0 Nine.

[@pauldottore7079]

Yep.

[@jamieh4523]

It’s wild to think I saw this at the cinema 45 years after the War, and that was almost 35 years ago. I used to think that was a long time!

[@notsureyou]

The music is phenomenal, and really draws the viewer into the dread experienced by the crew.

[@oxymoronsuk583]

I sound like a sad lonely old sod, but although Im young and for anyone who gets that feeling when they watch this and feels a shiver down their spine; thank god its not just me :)

[@HowardHalifax]

When the Captain pushes forward on the throttle and the engines rev up, that's when I get the shiver ;)

[@roberthiggins6745]

always wanted the ball turret under belly gunner , , its one damn awsum airplane for its day

[@wolfbrigade8154]

True honarble men fighting for what's right .

[@joshwigham7085]

The music makes it even better

[@OrbitFallenAngel]

This is my all time favorite movie! The music makes it even more exceptional! This always gives me goosebumps! 🥰

[@xjrjan13]

You can't help but watch this with a lump in the throat. 😢

[@alexlarkin7557]

I know what you mean when you get a lump there, it gets me at the end when they are all singing Danny boy and praying they will land safely

[@geoffreyashcroft3774]

Still a great film after 33 years

[@tinto278]

🦅🦅

[@paulfri1569]

Nothing comes close 😊

[@matthewkent8796]

3:54 I always get a tingle down my spine when I see it take off.

[@Page-Hendryx]

B-b-b-but why don't you get a tingle / spine with a Lancaster, mate??

[@brettmeyer6763]

First time i seen this movie i loved it. Young man who didn't know anything about what it took to defend a county. Watched it on rabbit ears on channel 50 at noon. The good ole days

[@DavidBunn-xz8qm]

I have this movie 🎬 on DVD and it touches my heart every time I watch it

[@farginbastage805]

You can't beat the sound of the beautiful engines passing by with CGI

[@wesesper6300]

One of my favorite planes. Flew on the Nine O Nine several times. Have great pictures of my ride. Sadly she crashed.

[@stephenhagen234]

I saw up close and personal the aircraft used as the Memphis Belle in this movie. This was at an air show at Scott AFB in Illinois. It was dirty, oil stains on the wings around the engines, paint chipped off and missing on many places. It looked like the ones used in combat, not like the rest at the air show, polished, shining, and clean. I was glad to see it, as they really could be encountered in military service and not a dog-and-pony show!

[@alainarchambault2331]

About the safest and most pleasurable position to have in wartime, is to be ground crew.

[@billhuber2964]

Had a friend who was a armorer on one those 17s. They tried to get him on one. He told them "hell no!!!!".

[@hyperionwhitestar1453]

@@billhuber2964 XD Some just aren't made to go up off the ground, I hate heights, but damn....that ride on a 747 was cool.

[@Koldeman]

Not so fun when they had to hose out the blood and shovel out the remains, both mechanical and human. I'm sure they were grateful not to be above enemy lines in tons of steel and explosives, but that doesn't mean it was an easy job. Imagine the guilt one would feel if a bomber went down and you were responsible for its upkeep and maintenance, knowing the air crew intimately. They were all heroes.

[@stahlbergpatreon6062]

Except maybe on the losing side. Luftwaffe used to move ground crew with the planes they serviced especially when speed was important. There's a crawl space behind the pilot seat on the Messerschmitt 109. On D-day lots of ground crew died as their planes were shot down while being transported back from the Russian front

[@nffctv184]

Alain Archambault well not for raf ground crew during the blitz

[@wolfbrigade8154]

So many men so much courage we will never forget what they sacraficed for us .

[@MJLovesNature]

I flew in Madras Maiden last fall. It’s difficult just moving around in a shirt and jeans in a 17, I can’t imagine doing what they did. The scariest part for me was hitting turbulence while I was in the bomb bay, which is nothing compared to what they faced.

[@JamesHoffman-o4b]

I actually worked and flew on this airplane that was the Memphis Belle in the movie. It was a great emotional time to even be in that plane, where the hero’s walked and flew. God bless all of them.

[@Snaproll47518]

The entire scene was filmed with three aircraft. Well done!

[@neiljones4013]

And one of them "pink lady" crash landed, all safe on board though!

[@jimfrie3333]

I was lucky enough to get a ride on one of these in Arizona a couple years ago. I had no idea how cramped and uncomfortable these planes were and I was only up for a half hour. Much respect to the brave men who flew these day in and day out for hours at a time, if they made it back at all.

[@Strandjutter]

Still a great movie after all these years and the B17 is a beautiful plane!

[@ospreyaviation1109]

Love this movie. Probably the movie that got me into aviation. Every time I watch this or hear the soundtrack it gives me goosebumps. It may not be the most highly rated film out there but I think it’s fucking amazing.

[@keithandrewbounds967]

Makes my cry knowing that some of those EXCEEDINGLY BRAVE airmen, along with their RAF Bomber Command AND Luftwaffe counterparts would end up “going to live with Jesus in Heaven” as my late Mom explained to me when my late Uncle Grady Van Wilson died when I was three years old.

[@paulfri1569]

The Memphis Belle movie should be mandatory viewing in all history classes in the West..

[@thitsugaya1224]

I actually got to see a B-17 and a B-24 at an airshow when I was a kid, when they arrived they buzzed the field before landing, the sound was incredible, it was pure raw power, the rumble of 8 Pratt and Whitney engines seemed to just go right through you, unforgettable.

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

I saw an A-10 and B-17 low level formation at a show, the difference in size is not all that big! The A-10 has *about* four times the power/thrust.

[@paulfri1569]

Play this scene to every Boeing worker before each shift.. Guarantee you'll see a boost in production plus moral also 💪💪

[@mroblongo]

After watching this i can say,,, CGI sucks...

[@RenMagnum4057]

@Bongo Cat he never said this movie had cgi He meant cgi can't be compared to this

[@mikejordan8259]

100% agree! CGI takes the glory out of film making, and has made thing so unbelievable they are hard to enjoy. Plus, as I've always said, "What is more realistic than something in front of the Camera Lens."

[@TheJabbate1]

The 90's was the last decade where practical effects for historical films were a viable option. But if you look at all the work they did for this film and problems that occurred, you can see why cgi became the go-to choice later on. For instance: five real airworthy B-17s were uses during filming, at the time there were only eight left. All the B-17s used where Model Gs, so they needed to be modified to look more like Models Fs which where used at the time. And during filming, one of the B-17s suffered an engine failure during takeoff and crashed. While I applaud Christopher Nolan for his commitment for practical effects in Dunkirk, a little cgi could have helped the film a lot. Don't get me wrong, the movie is great. But the untouched landscape of MODERN Dunkirk feels out of place.

[@asian_seasoning8257]

It’s a 1990 movie what do you expect

[@stewpadasso297]

Yes watch Midway and then this gem. There is no comparison. Real B-17s. So cool.

[@GT-gt4bf]

Ah, a scene with great music never gets old.

[@orchardwatchandclockrepair8346]

Love this movie. One of my favourites of all time.. Respect to all the young men and woman. G. R. S

[@ForeverBennett]

Love this movie. I got to go on board the actual B-17 they used for the film at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, England. It had Memphis Belle written on one side, and another aircraft name on the other, so that it could look like two different planes when they were filming.

[@stevenklinkhamer9069]

The quintessential scene of that movie- without a doubt. Loved it.

[@jackdundon2261]

Man, what I would pay to watch that takeoff scene on a drive-in movie theater with a full-size screen

[@arrrgee]

"Based on actual events" , yeah the 25th mission in name only, except that it wasn't the mission the actual Memphis Belle flew on, the crew names are not the same and the events of their final mission are not the same as the film, other than that pretty accurate! Having said that, I love this film, I used to watch it over and over again when I was younger, as a depiction of daylight bombing in the early part of the 8th Air Force bombing campaign, I'd say they got it spot on, along with 12 o'clock high it's one of the best out there.

[@Tank50us]

The film, and plane, originally had a different name, but someone suggested changing it to "Memphis Belle" since the plane is much more well known, and would get more at the box office. I don't know how well it did at the box office, but it certainly had one effect: It got more people caring about these old Girls in ways not many did before the film was made.

[@arrrgee]

@@bravo4683 and yet you took the time to read and comment but add nothing constructive or helpful.

[@bravo4683]

@@arrrgee I did not read your full comment. I am really sorry. But her last mission was a bombing over Germany.

[@arrrgee]

@@bravo4683 and proving you are just a troll, thanks.

[@bravo4683]

@@arrrgee No I am not a troll. I am talking serious

[@regularguyprepper]

Knowing you essentially had a 1 in 5 chance of not coming back but still keeping it together as you went off to face your fate again. Kids, take note. Sadly we're not far off again from having to have the next generation reach down deep and show super human stoicism in the face of adversity.

[@bobbymidnight316]

I flew in the exact plane they used for this movie last year. Was an amazing experience living out a dream I had since I saw the movie as a boy back in 90.

[@chrisgoff1417]

Split your screen and line up the intro to Top Gun and the tribute being paid becomes beautifully clear.

[@artjs9]

My father was a tail gunner in a B-17. Shot down over Germany and a POW for two years. He and I saw this movie together. He liked it, but he said that what happened...happened, but not to that plane on that mission. The Army Air corp didn't want to risk losing the first plane to complete 25 missions. While in gunnery school he met the crew of the Memphis Belle while they were on tour.

[@madcitymcflyer]

For 1990, a commendable effort to convey the look and feel of the early-war 8th Air Force bombing campaign mission. A lot of inaccuracies in crew costuming and the utilizing of workhorse B-17Gs to look like early-production B-17Fs was only faulted by the telltale postwar nose cones and protruding contemporary antennas and navigation aids. The upcoming Apple TV+ series "Masters of the Air' will be using replica (and non-flying) B-17Fs for ground scenes and loads of CGI air-to-air scenes, but great attention appears to be made in period-correct aircrew costuming and equipment.

[@wesleynash9385]

Rest in peace to the people involved in the b17 p36 accident yesterday in Dallas...

[@ItsMotoMatt]

I cry every time the Belle lifts off. The moment is unreal. The bravery of these air crews was unbelievable. Let's never forget how many of them were shot out of the sky for our freedom.

[@hollyleanne811]

I was absolutely obsessed with this film at age 12, then without knowing it I moved to the airbase where it was filmed last year! I only found out after I'd moved 😮 (It's now a business park but a lot of the old buildings and the green hangers still remain)

[@christopherhogg8364]

Binbrook. Visited it when it still had runways etc with the air cadets. It hadn't long been finally closed (think there might still have been technical work going on on the site but flying had stopped), one of our instructors had spent his career there working on lightning's and wanted to look around when we were heading back from a summer camp at coningsby.

[@justwilliam6871]

I read somewhere about ww2 aircrew, both U.S. and British some of the gunners, navigators, and even pilots all expert at their particular roles couldn’t drive a car, yet here they were defending our country against the nazis in Boeings and Lancasters etc.

[@scottavery9108]

The most underrated ww2 movie ever made

[@paulfri1569]

Ye

[@excarman]

Over 120,000 brave men lost their lives in the air war over Europe, we owe them our respect and admiration, I was still in High School when this movie was released.

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

One thing ... the first plane to take off - _Windy City_ - is the one that blows up in front of the _Memphis Belle_ and splatters someone's guts all over the perspex. Later on - it wasn't so bad - by 1945 the 8th Air Force had largely destroyed the Luftwaffe but in 1942 - which is when the _Memphis Belle_ started on it's 25 missions - it was bad. It flew it's missions between Nov. '42 and May '43. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_Belle_(aircraft) .

[@craigd426]

My uncle was a navigator on a B-17. He fought against the Japanese. Last week I got to see his documents from the officers he flew with, My family tried to keep his secret but I finally fount out the truth. An amazing story

[@HowardHalifax]

I salute your uncle.

[@craigd426]

Maurice....thank you. I am so proud of him and what he did. I only wish that I could have met him. Every time I see a B-17 I will think of him.

[@Jack-ek6bs]

Why would they keep it a secret

[@rogerlynch5279]

With me it had been my father.

[@craigd426]

Jack. Its probably because I was a young boy and they didn't want to tell me about the war in the fear that I would be scared. They tried to protect me and I don't mind them for that

[@stevenwatson2677]

The movie was shot at RAF binbrook in the UK after it was closed as a RAF station. It looked very much as it did in WW2 with the WW2 hangers and control tower.The last use by the RAF was as a fighter base with the BAC lighting

[@MerchantIvoryfilms]

Amazing Fact: What you see on screen is ALL real! No CGI or edited footage. Miniature Aircraft are mixed in with real aircraft in two of the shots, and you CAN NOT see which ones are which, amazing and brilliant filmmakers.

[@bmused55]

Amazing fact: When used properly, CGI can be quite indistinguishable from the real thing! Also, you're wrong about the miniatures. In the start up sequence, those are all REAL B17s. They had 4 of them on set. One crashed however, leaving them with just 3. So the shots are framed to make it look like there are more. At the 2:03 minute mark, there are B17 wooden cutouts in the background while the four real planes taxi in front of the camera (scenes shot before No.4 crashed)

[@MerchantIvoryfilms]

@@bmused55 Sorry but you wrong. CGI sucks, name one movie it looks good with WWII aircraft, you can't. Also your wrong about the miniatures. Go watch a documentary on the making of this film and educate yourself. And 3rd, you need to read my comment again. I said Real aircraft were mixed with miniatures. Guess i have to do your reading for you since you have no education, low IQ and refuse to learn but instead want to be an arrogant ass.

[@schizoidboy]

Watching this again the nose art on those planes start to feel like characters in the movie.

[@stephensmith4480]

God Bless our American Brothers who came to help us put an end to this madness 👍👍

[@Un1tMedia]

Incredibly well made film that only becomes better with the passing of time, from what I’ve seen so far MOTA doesn’t hold a candle to this classic.