(tense music plays) ♪ ♪ (rousing orchestral music plays) <i>Zeigt keine Gnade.</i> (rapid gunfire) Germans. Let’s get ’em! Where are the damn
fighters going? (indistinct chatter over radio) PILOTS:
Go get ’em! Let’s go get ’em! Oh, they’ve gone
chasing scalps. Leaving us unprotected again. Damn those
glory-grabbing bastards! Bandits! Hundreds of ’em. Six o’clock. (indistinct chatter over radio) (rapid gunfire) (rapid gunfire) ♪ ♪ (rapid gunfire) Is there anything
left of our escort? Negative, boss. Damn it! Why don’t
they worry about us? I can’t believe this.
It never fails. (groaning) (both grunt) (rapid gunfire) (screaming) Oh, no. Stay with me. (screaming over radio) (clicking) (rapid gunfire) (screams) This is Bouncing Betty. Engine three is out. We’re falling back. Two, you take
lead position. Need the extinguisher. Hank! (rapid gunfire) Mayday. Mayday! Prepare to bail out. I repeat-- prepare to bail... (screams) ♪ ♪ (whimpers, yells) ♪ ♪ (wind whistling) (whooshing) (engines rumbling) Red One to Red Two.
Come in. Are we awake over there,
Lightning? (yawns) (grunts, sighs) Uh, yeah, yeah. Sorry. Boy, I need a nap. Well, look alive. Wouldn’t want you
to miss this war. War is hell. What we’re doing
is just boring as hell. (chuckling) Whoever she was, I hope she was
worth you losing sleep over. Oh, trust me, she was worth it. (over radio):
Junior. Junior, you okay? Fine as wine, Red One. The sky is blue,
and my guns are hot. Joker, you all right?
Nope. I feel like I’m flying
my grandfather’s Buick. Coolant indicator’s
all over the map. And to think I was happy
as a church lady when I got this plane. Hmm. All right, Red Four,
you’re done. Take it on home. Come on now, Captain. This gauge over here
is a piece of crap. Captain, let me give it a looky
before you send him back. He’s not trailing
any oil or water. Seems to me like he just got
a bad indicator. Come on, Easy. Let me fly, sir, please. You know it ain’t gonna
be no fun without me. (sighs) All right. Okay. You stay on, Red Four. You stay on,
but you keep an eye on it,
all right? Thank you, sweetheart. Just my luck-- I get stuck
with the flying wreck. Another P-40
from Uncle Sam’s junkyard. Looks like we got
a truck up there. It’s got German markings. Junior, it’s your turn. JUNIOR (over radio):
Yes, sir! Prepare to feel the wrath
of the Ray Gun. I’m on your wing, Junior. Come on. (rapid gunfire) ♪ ♪ You see that? Congratulations, kid. You killed yourself a truck. Whoo-hoo. We can go back victorious. Everybody form up. We’re going home. Uh... Easy, I... I see something. It’s a train-- 11 o’clock. Uh, I don’t think it’s German. I don’t see any guns. Yeah, looks like they’re
moving livestock to me. No. It’s military. It’s camouflaged. It could just be cows. You don’t want to shoot up
no cows if you don’t have to. Unless y’all planning
on a barbecue. Nobody sees any guns? I’m telling you, Easy,
that’s a munitions train. And I bet it’s armed
to the teeth. You grown-ups better think fast. It’s headed for that tunnel. All right. Only one way to find out. Let’s go get it. Look, wait... Easy, Easy,
we got to take it head-on. Low, so their guns can’t hit us. It’s my decision, Lightning. Stay in formation. (speaking German) (gunfire) Looks like these cows are armed. Come on. Stay in front of it! Die, you Nazi dogs! Dang! Those cows just shot up my wing! No sweat. No sweat. If that train makes it into the
tunnel, they’ll stop in there. Where’s Lightning? (over radio):
Where the hell are you,
Lightning? Taking the train from the front,
like you should have done. <i>Wo ist sie?</i>
<i>Ich weiss nicht.</i> Come on. Come on. Come on! (rapid gunfire) (booming) Gotcha! Oh, oh... Whoa! Shit! Oh! Whoo! (chuckles) Ain’t nothing like a good old
Georgia ass-whuppin’. Just trying to keep you boys
inspired. EASY (over radio):
Well, how’s this headline
for inspiration? "Negro pilot dies because he’s too stupid
to follow orders." (laughing) Your plane looks like
it’s been through a shredder. How you going to explain that
to Coffee? By explaining to him that I’m
the one who blew up the train. ♪ ♪ You boys go on ahead. I’ve spotted something. (chuckling) ♪ ♪ (engine chugging) (tires squealing) Lightning destroyed another one. (sighs) Look at that mess.
Look at that mess. I... I guess we’ll be working
all night again. WOMAN (over P.A.):
It’s been a long time since you’ve seen
your sweetheart. Too bad she’s dancing
with someone new. This is Axis Mary coming to you from Berlin
with your favorite music. (indistinct chatter) ♪ Never thought
that you would be ♪ ♪ Standing here so close to me ♪ ♪ There’s so much I feel
that I should say ♪ ♪ But words can wait ♪ ♪ Until some holiday... ♪ (grunting) How about one time you
bring my plane home without
wrecking it? Morning, Mr. Coffee. You keep tearing up my planes
like this, you’re going to be wearing
your balls for a necktie. See, I can’t let you do that,
’cause I just saw a goddess who’s going to bear
my beautiful children. You’re a clown,
Lightning. You need to
grow up, okay? We can’t afford to
have any more planes taken off the line
with your stupid... What is this? What did you do? Oh, man,
where’d that come from? What happened was...
Sticks! Come see what this
clown did to the plane. Look, I can see what
you’re thinking. I can... You... You see... (sighs) What the hell
is this? Did somebody throw
a train at you? Coffee, I can see
you’re upset. (sighs) Maybe we should talk
about this another time. (indistinct chatter
and laughter) Ah, we got a
new recruit here! Hey there. You lost, son? I was looking for Jimmy Wayans. Well...
Uh, Jimmy got shot down must have been, what,
two weeks ago? I believe so.
Mm-hmm. Well, is, uh,
Uly Douglas here? Uh-uh.
Furball’s dead, son. Crashed on takeoff.
(whistles) You’re just a bad-luck
Chuck, aren’t you? Everybody you
know ends up on the wrong side
of the dirt. (laughing)
Don’t pay him no mind, boy. Look, my name’s Smokey. This here’s Neon.
This is Joker. Flight Officer
Maurice Wilson, sir. (chuckles) You can leave all that saluting, son--
you’re home now. Seeing as how everybody you know
dead, you might as well bunk with us.
Wait, wait, wait. Just don’t bad-luck us before you get up
in this Jeep now. Yes, sir.
I’m trying to live. Come on, Maurice.
Come on! Come on, boy. Come on,
boy! Get in here! Wait, hold...
hold-hold... hold on. Quick, before I take off,
Maurice. Come on, Maurice. We gonna need
to back it up, ’cause he ain’t never
get up in there. (laughter) How’d it go
up there, Ray? (chuckles) I’m telling you, Deacon, Lightning almost got himself
killed again today. (sighs) He’s one crazy pilot. (laughs) (sighs) I’m gonna pray for him if we
ever get to see any real combat. Well, hey... I see you here
after every mission. I’m sure your prayers
are helping. Thanks, Deke. You can back up just
a little bit more. Mm-hmm, put... put the top
on the truck now. Hey, there he go! Black Jesus, we thank you for bringing Red Squadron
back home to us. (cheering and laughter) Lightning’s usual elegant work. Although I understand
your plane didn’t fare any better
than the train. (laughter)
Sir. That ol’ Lightning-- boy don’t
never have his brakes on. Questions, gentlemen. Does it really
matter, sir? (men murmuring) Lights up. Here we go. What was your question? What we do, how well we do it--
does it matter? (men gasping, chuckling) Strafing runs
and coastal patrols. They got us out here using
planes to mop floors, fellas. And I don’t normally go in
for loose talk, but we won’t even
be doing that for long. Ain’t that why Colonel Bullard
went stateside? The colonel’s business stateside
is above your grade. All due respect, sir,
but are they back there deciding if they should shut us down?
Just a rumor, Winky. You know this how? Pass it up. Read it, Easy-- out loud. Yeah, come on,
man. Go ahead, son. (clears throat) "The use of Negroes
in the Army Air Corps "may yet be halted. "A report has been forwarded
calling the performance by Negro pilots unsatisfactory." Ah, man.
What they mean,
unsatisfactory? "A plan to assign
the Negroes "to routine convoy cover
may be all that remains "for those who seem to have
neither the intelligence "nor the proper reflexes
for such a complicated task "as fighter pursuit. The great Tuskegee ex..." WINKY:
"The great Tuskegee experiment to allow the Negro type
to fly airplanes has failed." Who failed? And you all thought what? You’d sign up, you’d get shiny boots,
a uniform, and that’d be the end of
a hundred years of bigotry? You’re colored men
in a white man’s army. It’s a miracle
you’re flying fighters
in Italy and not mopping latrines
in Milwaukee. You want it straight? Yes... the old man’s stateside
fighting the good fight. And when he comes through
for us, we’d better be damn sure we’re ready to do
the same for him. Any of you
feel otherwise,
any of you want to wash
yourselves out, well, Negro, please do so, and I’ll have you on
the next thing smokin’ back home to make room for the men
who want to stand and fight. Get your head up,
son. You’re fighter pilots. Watch the rest of the film. Learn something. (projector rattling) When we came under
your command, Colonel, you stated very clearly
that we would never find Negroes who could
pass a pilot’s exam, make it through flight school,
survive basic combat. A combat record which,
to this point... We’ve done all of that. To this point, I don’t believe your boys have scored a single
aerial kill. Because you have not assigned us
a single forward mission. (chuckles) It’s damn hard
to shoot down the enemy a hundred miles behind
the front lines. As a matter of fact,
when will we be assigned to bomber escorts,
Colonel? Now, there have
been any number of reports of
poor discipline. Which is in every newspaper
and magazine in the country. We have enough
race troubles as it is without these sons of bitches
in the press throwing fuel on the fire. How an unofficial assessment
of the Tuskegee program made its way
to newspapers and magazines may be worthy
of its own hearing, sir. Colonel Tomlinson,
you’ve been supporting this experiment
from the beginning, but I’m afraid you’re just going
to have to suffer its failure. We’re given hand-me-down planes. Ordered to attack targets
that have already been bypassed. Fly patrols where the enemy
hasn’t been seen for months. Now, we’ve done every lowdown,
dirty job you’ve handed us, hoping that we would just
limp along and go away. We will not go away. We have a right to fight
for our country the same as every
other American. So you shut us down,
or you let us fly. Hey, Roddy!
♪ Soldier boy ♪ Hey, move that barrel over here. I’m coming, man. I’m coming. ♪ Won’t you please think
about me, soldier boy? ♪ ♪ How could you ever... ♪ What? Don’t give me
that look. What the hell were you doing
up there today? Beating up on Hitler. Winning the war. I got the train, didn’t I? Love you like a brother, Joe, but if you disobey
my orders again, I’m going to have
to write you up. For what? For being right? I told you those guns
were there. You almost got yourself killed. No, I followed protocol. You went for the glory. There’s a difference. Now, you may not need me to get you
through this thing alive, but Joker, Junior,
the rest of the squad-- they just might. Okay, okay, you’re right;
I’m wrong. I’m sorry. What you in such a hurry for,
anyway? I saw a girl. The most beautiful
I have ever seen. Just can’t let them alone,
can you? No more than you can let
that bottle alone. You got your way of getting
through the war, and I got mine. I wonder what your pops
would say to that. We can just leave him
out of this. He’s got you
in a pressure cooker, man. I mean, graduating college
at 20, 4.0, and now a captain? Pushing yourself mighty hard
to please him. Didn’t I just say we could
leave him out of this? All right.
Besides... I drink ’cause I got to bunk
with your crazy self. You bunk with me
’cause I’m the best pilot in the whole damn Army
and you’re just hoping you’re going to learn something. If I’m not mistaken,
I’m the flight leader, which would make you
my wingman. Smarter doesn’t
make you better. Better at what, busting
up Coffee’s planes? Romancing the ladies,
for one. Now, if you’re done whining,
I have got a pass to do that
very thing right now. Lightning, can I
ask you something? What?
What’s going to happen when you go home and
the women speak English and they understand just how
full of bullshit you are? (chuckles) What’s this? Something to celebrate you being
old enough to know better. (laughs) <i>Italian for</i>
<i>Beginners?</i> How many cartons of
smokes this set you back? A simple "thank you"
wouldn’t hurt. And a "happy birthday"
would have been fine. Knowing you,
you’re just tired of me embarrassing myself in
front of the signorinas. Yeah, that
might be it. (laughing) (chuckles)
How you feel? Whole lot more than
one year older. (chuckles) Thank you. Happy birthday. (men chattering) Pilots got you
all hot and bothered. Come on. Coffee! Coffee! We got three planes, the
hydraulic pumps are shot. Ooh!
Oh, shit. Two more got
bad governors. Grab a piece of that tape
and put it over that hose. (grunting) What are you
doing, Lightning? What? What you say? Come on, Lightning. I need it back
by nightfall. And ask if
she’s got a sister! Yeah, blind one. (knock on door) I’m-I’m sorry
to bother you. I flew around your house
this-this morning... <i>Mi dispiace, non parlo Inglese.</i> Okay, uh... (imitates plane engine) You... And I was... <i>Voi?</i> <i>Avete volato sopra casa</i>
<i>mia questa mattina.</i> Right. You-you,
uh, you... <i>Si.</i> That was, that was me. That was-- I’m Joe. Joe.
Yeah. <i>D’accordo.</i> Sofia. Sofia. Right. Um, nice to meet you. WOMAN:
Sofia? <i>Chi e alla porta?</i> <i>Entrate. Entrate.</i> Thanks. <i>Mamma?</i> <i>Per favore,</i>
<i>non mettermi in imbarazzo.</i> Ah. <i>Non parla Italiano,</i> <i>il che dovrebbe essere</i>
<i>facile questa volta.</i> <i>Questo e Joe.</i> Little. Uh,
Joe Little. Little. <i>E un pilota Americano.</i>
(gasps) Oh. I-I hope I’m not
intruding, ma’am. Um... <i>Forse, sedete vi.</i> <i>Se-- Forse,</i>
<i>sedete vi, sedete vi.</i> Oh. Thank you. <i>Si, si.</i> (clears throat) Ah... <i>Little, si.</i> <i>Si. Scusi, si.</i> <i>Scusi.</i> (grunts) (laughs) <i>Anzi e l’uomo piu nero</i>
<i>che abbia mai visto.</i> Um, h-hold on. I-I want to ask
you something. Um... <i>Voi venire a</i>
<i>fare u-un giro?</i> (gasps) <i>Un giro. Dove?</i> Yeah? You want to... Um, how? Oh, how? I-I got a jeep.
I got a jeep. You want to come
for a drive? <i>Dove?</i> Uh, what’s--
what’s <i>"dove"?</i> <i>Dove?</i> Is that a yes? Hmm. <i>Um, anche mia madre?</i> (gasps) <i>Ah, si.</i> You want to bring
your mother? It’s gonna be tougher
than I thought. Um... <i>Americani molto ricchi.</i> <i>Molto ricchi!</i> (laughs) (laughs) What you going with?
(singing quietly) Now, I got two pair. And three of clubs. JOKER:
I don’t care what
you ever have. You’ll never be able
to beat me, son. You ain’t got enough
up there in the head. I can’t lose! I don’t even know
why y’all try. And you just got here, Maurice. I hope you’re
learning something. Hope at least you’re
learning by now not to play poker with
people that cheat. Hey, I ain’t cheating. You cheat.
(laughter) I don’t want to learn
how to play cards. I want to learn
about combat flying. Dogfights and tricks
for switching it up on them Jerries, you know? What the hell you think it is
we know about dogfighting? Yeah, the white boys
the only ones get to tangle it up
with the Jerries around here. But they don’t talk
to us much, so, uh... Experience
is a cruel teacher. Gives the exam first,
then the lesson. SMOKEY:
Mm-hmm. Know what? I decided,
when I get home... JOKER:
Yeah? ...people ask me about the war, I’m ’a just make stuff up. (laughs) Hell, I already do. Ask me what I killed. Seven trucks, five jeeps and one of those,
uh, motorcycles with the sidecar on ’em. (laughs) My record look like
the inventory down at the motor pool. How the hell I’m gonna go
back home and tell my dad all I killed was traffic?
Mm! He gonna whup
my ass! Whew! What’s that? It’s my Buck Rogers
X-38 disintegrator pistol. Makes me feel like... you know, like I can’t lose. Here, try it. No. No, thanks,
Junior. I don’t really
like to fool with other people’s
good luck charms. What’s the matter? Nothing. Um... Look, I-I don’t like
being called Junior. I want the tag Ray Gun. I’m not a kid. I did two years at Howard before I even enrolled
in the Tuskegee program. (sighs) I’m gonna be an engineer. What about you? Well, my dad’s
a judge. (men speaking indistinctly) He wants me to
go to law school. So I guess I’m
gonna do that. You ought to just give it up!
Go back to where you came from. No, I’d rather be
up there killing Jerries than down here playing games
with you, Joker. (laughs) WINKY:
Hey, look,
don’t be in a hurry to get to
the killing part, Maurice. Tell me something.
You scared of dying? I don’t know. I am. Every time I close
the lid on that canopy, I feel like I’m shutting
the lid on my own coffin. I tell you something else, the pilot that tells you
otherwise is either a liar or too foolish
to know any better. Amen. It’s useless. All this talk for
another study, another inquiry. "Politics is
the art of..." Major Kessel’s political
science class-- the quote that
he used to say... He said, "Politics is the art
of postponing a decision until it is no..."
"No longer relevant." Colonel Mortamus
stumbled badly. If he hadn’t
embarrassed the brass by leaking that report
to the press, they probably would’ve
let you wither and die. His politicking
bought you time. For what? Operation Shingle. Air cover
for a beach landing. It’s your chance to go
up against German fighters. I’ll say this, Jack. You... Even when your hope is false,
it sure is grand. I’m serious, A.J. I can get that for you. If you stick your neck out
how far? I don’t want you to put your career on the line
for me, Jack. A little less tin on my uniform
is the least of it. If I get you the mission, your men have got to
put something on the board. They come through
or Mortamus and the brass will have all they need
to shut the whole thing down. You get us that mission,
we will light up the board. Has this flight order
been verified? OFFICER:
Yes, sir.
It came directly from Colonel Bullard
in Washington. Check it again. Get the flight leaders
together. Sir. (men chattering) The Colonel got us
an opportunity. Gather round, gentlemen. Attacking another
train, sir? Or did we graduate to minding
truck convoy this time? (men chuckle) Operation Shingle. It’s an
ambitious landing off the coast of the
Tyrrhenian Sea and Nettuno. We’ve been given the frag order to provide air cover
for the landing. Whoo!
Yeah! (cheering) I’m gonna have so many of those
little swastikas on my plane, they gonna think
it’s camouflage.
(laughter) We will repay the old man
with victory, hear me? MEN:
Yes, sir! Full briefing
at 0400. On the flight
line at 0530. Good luck, gentlemen.
(excited murmuring) JOKER (over radio):
Junior, where you at, boy? You gonna miss the flight. JUNIOR:
I know I’m late. I’m coming. DEKE:
We’re a long way from Memphis. But Black Jesus
is here with me, and he says it’s gonna be
a successful mission. Now, does that mean we gonna
shoot down a bunch of Jerries, or are we gonna
come back in one piece, or Lightning gonna pick up
some girls along the way? No more pickups for me, boys. I swear to you. I am in love. Love? Swearing? Both bad luck in my book. I can’t believe I made it. Don’t tell Easy I was late. They all set? All ready, sir! Send ’em off. (gunshot) Yeah! Hallelujah. The saints are marching in! (laughs) ♪ ♪ Watch me become
an ace today, boys. Lightning, did you just say you gonna become
an ass today or a ace? I-I couldn’t quite hear
what you... Was it, was it ass or ace?
(laughs) I couldn’t quite
hear what you... I think you heard him
right, Smokey. All right, men, cut the chatter. (engines revving) Jesus. Would you look at that. (distant artillery fire) Oh, my goodness. Just like in the newsreels. (men shouting) Keep your eyes peeled
for the Jerries. ♪ ♪ Bogies inbound, 12:00. And they’re closing in
mighty fast! All planes, hold formation. Hold on. Come on, come on, come on,
come on, come on. Anytime, Red One. Drop tanks! Whoa! Shit! DEKE:
I’m shaking ’em. There’s two more! Left! They’re cutting left! Red Two, good.
Put a little hitch
in his giddyup, didn’t it? Whoa!
Whoa, I’m feeling good now! EASY:
Remember,
keep the beachhead clear. JOKER:
It’s clear. Straighten up
over there, Junior. Let’s go, Lightning.
I’m on one. LIGHTNING:
I’m behind you. Break right! I got him, I got him. Get on the inside, Easy. Get on the inside! Come on, slip just a little. Come on, tighter, tighter. Ha-ha! Congratulations, Captain. You are the first Negro
to shoot down a Jerry! Whoo! (chuckles) JOKER:
Junior! Straight ahead now. There’s my swastika. I’m on your wing. Come on, baby.
Just move a little bit closer. All I want is
a little bitty kiss. Just give me a little peck
on the cheek. Yeah! Mwa! Good shot. (laughs) (gunfire clanking) Oh, hell. Joker, there’s one on my tail! Okay, listen to me. Buttonhook right
and I’m gonna go left. Come on. No touchdown for you
today, Fritz. (grunts) (pilot screaming) Junior, you’re all clear, buddy.
(sighs) Deke, on your right! I see him. Let’s give those newspapers
something to write about. (gunfire) Tennessee says hello! There’s the squad leader.
I’m gonna take him out. Careful. He’s good. You’re letting him
get away, Lightning! I’m just toying with him. This is for you, pretty boy,
with your bright yellow nose. Come on, boy, line it up.
One shot. Holy crap!
(screams) How’d he do that?
Where the hell are you, Easy?! I’m on him, I’m on him.
Get him off of me! Get out of the way, Lightning!
Open your throttle! Come on, man! Take him out! I can’t get
a clear shot. Hold on. Drop to your right. All right! Got him. Oh, thank you, Lord. (panting) And there I was thinking
you didn’t love me anymore. (chuckles) He’s headed home to mama. (engine sputtering) You thinking what I’m thinking? If you’re thinking I
should finish him off so we can get back to
the beachhead, then yes. Or we could follow him. And we could go after
their airdrome. (sighs) I don’t know, Lightning. We got orders, you know that. Come on, Easy, I’m talking
about a Jerry air base. Dozens of planes! You’re saying no? All right. I’ll trust your instincts
this time. But we’re running low on fuel. We’re gonna follow for
five minutes, you got that? Five minutes. (laughs) Joker, you back there? Hey, we’re still back here. Junior? I’m ready for a turkey shoot. <i>Achtung.</i> Mayday. Mayday! (alarm blaring)
<i>Richten sie, jetzt!</i> <i>Alle! Alle!</i> <i>Anflugen ankommen!</i> <i>Du am links, zur</i>
<i>Machinewaffe!</i> <i>Schnell! Schnell!</i>
<i>Kommen sie!</i> <i>Alle in Deckung!</i> <i>Alle!</i> There it is, boys. Get your scorecards ready. (engine sputtering) (men shouting in German) ♪ ♪ (frantic yelling in German) ♪ ♪ Got to knock out those fighters
before they take off. Got to take
those guns out first. (cannon fire) (men shouting in German) <i>Achtung, hinter dir!</i> (gunfire) Everybody form up. Here we go! Brand-new 109s. (men shouting) Not so brand-new 109s. (laughs) Whoo-hoo! Like ducks in a row. Yeah! (men screaming) All right, two at once! That’s nothing.
Watch me get four this time. (men shouting) ♪ ♪ (men screaming) Touchdown! EASY:
We’re running low on fuel. No time for celebration. (men shouting in German) Whew! The Ray Gun strikes again.
(chuckles) Hey, Junior,
watch out for that flak! (cannon fire) (grunts) (groaning) Good job, Lightning. The Washington brass
won’t be able to ignore this. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Hey, what happened to Junior? There he is. Three o’clock high. He’s trailing oil. Red One to Red Three. Junior, come in. (panting):
I took something in the leg. Something in my head. Level off, Junior,
or you’re gonna stall out. (panting) All right. (birds chirping) (airplanes approaching) ♪ ♪ Ooh, yeah! (laughs) (cheering) Yeah.
Yes. Yeah! Yes! (groans) (panting) Whoa! They done shot down the whole
Luftwaffe, didn’t they? Yes, they did, huh? Those hotshots sure did. (whistles) Never doubted it. (cheering in distance) MEDIC:
All right, move, move,
we got to get him stable. Did I make it? (chuckles)
Here we go, here we go. Yeah, you made it,
damn knucklehead. Should have let you crash. You’ll be okay. MEDIC:
Get him in, get him in. That’s a lot of blood.
All the way. No surprises, Ray Gun.
You get healthy, all right? Luck is with you, Ray! (siren wailing) I think we can cautiously
declare the landing a victory. It’s a slog, but the
ground troops are holding. Colonel Bullard? Sir. Your boys chalked
eight kills in the air. 63 aircraft destroyed
on the ground. No losses in
their first wave. Outstanding. Pass along my
congratulations. BULLARD:
Thank you, sir. Action reports and assessments
by 1500. MORTAMUS:
Colonel. Eight German fighters
or 80 German fighters, it still doesn’t change what
I think of you and your boys. We don’t care. Respect the uniform. Believe me, sir, that is
all I have respect for. (grunts) It’s not as bad
as all this. Leg’s good, eyes fine. Week’s time, I’ll be able to see fine
out of one eye and... mostly out of the other. Mostly? (chuckles) That what you want
me to tell Stance? "Sir, Ray Gun has one and
a half eyes’ worth of ability." Look, come on,
I landed a plane blind. Lightning. (chuckling):
Hey, don’t get me in this. If the flight surgeon
won’t clean-bill you, what do you expect me
to do, huh? Just, just talk to him. He listens to you. I mean... you got the same
respect on this base as the old man, so... I’d rather be dead
than on the ground. Easy, you’re
the best friend I’ve got. Please don’t do this to me. General Luntz,
Colonel Bullard. LUNTZ:
Thank you, Lieutenant. Colonel, please. Thank you. (Luntz clears throat) No, thank you, sir. Ah. Well, Colonel, I’m
in a hell of a fix with our target
in Europe. Our boys are getting
cut to shreds. I read the action report
from Operation Shingle. Yeah, eight kills
in your first wave, 13 in all. That’s a right trick. Colonel, I’ll give it
to you straight. I can’t afford
the kind of losses my bombers
have been suffering. Do you have film
of the air cover your bombers are
getting now, sir? We need to change
the way we fight. I need pilots
who will fly close and tight
to the heavies all the way... not put my men in harm’s way
by chasing rabbits. So you’re asking me
to tell my men not to shoot down
Jerry fighters. I’m asking ’em to put
the bombers ahead of themselves. (turns off projector) I don’t care if they never
splash another Jerry fighter. I need to get my heavies
to the target and back. The losses from
enemy air-- I believe my men can
get that down, sir. If you can bring back
one or two more of my planes
every mission... Sir, I believe
we can cut your losses by 70 or 80%. Colonel, the word is,
you’re arrogant. If "arrogant" is the only word
people use to describe me now... I would say I think
I’m making progress. (chuckles) Can you help us?
I am asking you man to man. Can you help
save lives? We need new planes. No more hand-me-downs. If you get us new planes...
we can help your boys. I got a bullet right
through my canopy. Aw, man, shit.
I ought to be
dead, y’all. Nah, I’m gonna hold at two. But nothing happened
to me, though. That’s Black Jesus,
I’m telling you. Oh, go on with that.
Come on, let’s play. Come on, I’m in now.
You better watch your cards. Don’t sass Black Jesus now.
You might need him one day, huh? What happened to you is luck. Oh, really?
Just luck.
Come here, give me the spoon. (laughter)
Lords of poker, Black Jesus,
White Jesus, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny,
all of ’em.
JUNIOR: Yep. I done lost all my damn money.
WINKY: Shut up. Something is wrong.
JOKER:
He knows everything, baby. NEON:
Ain’t that right. How about you
just get wise? There is no special
mojo running the world. Things just are
how they are-- us getting shot up and the
people we’re protecting not caring
a thing for it. I hear that.
Amen to that.
Tell it like it is. You playing again? Let’s play.
EASY: You talk real tough, Joe Little,
real cold. Well, reality’s a little chilly. Is that right?
Come on, let’s play. Let me tell you
about this cold, hard brother. JOKER: Uh-huh, tell us.
While y’all trying to get by with your whiskey
and cigarettes, guess what he’s doing
with his rations. What’s that?
What, what he doing? Trading ’em off for lingerie
to spoil his old lady. Oh, really? EASY: Perfume, silks.
DEKE: Aw... JOKER:
That tease-- don’t
be ashamed now. Yeah, well, lucky in love
and lucky at cards. JOKER:
Let’s see how they do it.
Right like that. Boom!
(players groaning) SMOKEY:
See y’all tonight. ♪ ♪ Man, you are... so beautiful. (chuckles) Of course, you have
no idea what I’m saying. Um... <i>Sei molto bello.</i> <i>Non hai idea di quello</i>
<i>sto dicendo, vero?</i> (laughs) (sighs) Um, um...
(Sofia laughs) Oh. ♪ ♪ I love you. Oh, uh... Wow, that’s, uh... Uh... Uh...
Shh! (indistinct chatter) (piano playing) (indistinct chatter
and laughter) (chatter dies down abruptly) What are you doing here? This is an officers’ club. I am an officer. This is a whites-only
officers’ club. You’re off
the reservation, pal. Try the Italian dance hall
near the main plaza. POOL PLAYER:
Hey. Go home, nigger. (chuckling
and indistinct chatter) I got what I came for. Good night. (laughter
and indistinct chatter) ♪ ♪ OFFICER:
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! (clamoring shouts) Am I gonna be
court-martialed? I don’t know. I’m sure your trying
to start a race riot won’t help your
cause too much. I was finishing
what they started. Wrong or right,
we got regs to live by, and you throwing punches,
busting ’em up gets you what? A good feeling,
Easy, right here. A throb that says I didn’t choke
on what they were feeding me. How your heart feel? You say "they" like
it’s all of ’em. Same as always-- shuffle
along, cause no strife, don’t scare the ofays
by speaking out. (sighs) You know, some other time I would have stood
with you side by side. Some other time?! But you put a minute’s worth
of righteousness ahead of a whole war. (groans) Same old
Joe Little-- still getting into the wrong
fights for the wrong reasons. Your reasons any better? You spent your whole life being one big lousy
Atlanta Compromise. Well, go sell that
somewhere else. I’m not buying it. (breathing heavily) (snorts) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ I’ve come bearing gifts. I’m all ears, sir. Bomber escort. New P-51s. You did it.
You really did it, sir. Come on, let’s get some food.
I’m hungry. Welcome home, Colonel. (indistinct chatter) Grab him low!
Whoo! (indistinct chatter) I’m all right, I’m all
right, I’m all right. Come on, let’s go. JAMMER: Y’all should
never do that again. Yeah!
Go, go!
Come on, man. (indistinct chatter) Lieutenant Little, what
am I going to do with you? (sighs) Everything’s a fight,
isn’t it? It must be so goddamn
exhausting being you. You know something,
Joe Little? You’re a punk. You remind me... of one of those kids
from a comic strip... walking around... pushing your sleeve up
one arm... hand balled
in a tight fist... walking and looking at the
world through a squint... always looking
to knock something down just because
it’s standing. (breathing heavily) It’s right there. It’s right there. You really want
to knock something down? Try using that. Because I will tell you
straight, I don’t have anything
against you. I have the highest
expectations for you. Lieutenant Little, I need everyone
on this next mission, and you’re lucky you’re
the best damn pilot we’ve got. Report to your unit. (over speaker):
♪ Bless you ♪ ♪ For being an angel... ♪ Hey, Lightning. ♪ Just when it seemed ♪ ♪ That heaven
was not for me... ♪ Bring it around
the back. SOLDIER:
Come on, go ahead, move it. Now, y’all’s got a lot of work
to do, so get hopping. ’Cause you
on latrine duty. (sighs) They let you out, huh...
or did you bust out? Yeah, very funny. (sighs) Look, um... I
said some things. Yeah, you did. I didn’t mean ’em. Yeah, you did. You know me-- act
first, think later. (sighs) Well, nobody’s perfect. We good? Yeah, we’re good. (chuckles) (both sigh) I figured it out. What, that throwing punches
doesn’t solve your problems? No. (both chuckle) That maneuver Pretty
Boy pulled on me-- got on my tail-- I
figured out how to do it. Fancy trick flying
will only get you killed. Or make me an ace. (chuckles) The American pilots
flying escort now go for every kill they can score. That’s how they were trained. That’s how they fight. Here’s how we change up
the strategy. Lights up. At all costs,
under every circumstance, you protect the heavies. Colonel. (chuckles) We signed up to shoot Germans,
not babysit planes. BULLARD:
You signed up to follow orders. One bomber--
that’s ten men. You getting one Jerry so you can
put a cross on your plane-- that doesn’t
balance that. We count
our victories by the bombers we get
to their targets, by the husbands
we return to their wives, by the fathers we get back
to their children. What has not changed,
what will never change-- from the last plane,
to the last bullet, to the last minute,
to the last man, we fight. We fight! PILOTS:
Yes, sir! We’ve secured
new air crafts-- P-51s. (soldiers murmuring excitedly)
The best the AAF’s got. As soon as we
get the A-OK, we’ll begin ferrying them in
from Bari.
Yes, sir! That’s what I’m talking about. BULLARD: Dismissed.
I’ve been waiting for this. (excited chatter continues) ♪ ♪ Say cheese,
man, say cheese. Whoo-whoo,
my, my, my. Hey, Maurice,
how they flying? Like angels. STICKS:
I don’t know any angels with .650-
caliber machine guns. All right, men, get
your manuals, get familiar. Coffee.
Yes, sir. Gonna need ’em all
marked up and ready to fly. It’s taken
care of. The major says paint the tails
bright red so they stand out. Like the Red Baron. Loud and proud. Appreciate it. JOKER:
Whoo-hoo! Coffee got us flying high
in style, baby. Beautiful. Damn!
Hey, sis. I got me a woman now. I think I need
to get me a tuxedo. (over speaker):
♪ Blue skies smiling at me ♪ ♪ Nothing but blue skies... ♪ MECHANIC:
Hey, pass me that wrench
over here. ♪ Do I see... ♪ This will definitely make
the group distinctive. Bright red tails
and black pilots? You can’t call us
nothing else but distinctive. ♪ Nothing but bluebirds... ♪ (chuckles) ♪ From now on... ♪ MECHANIC:
Is that those new
P-51s they got? Hey, did you polish
it up? Polish it up
good now. What do
you think? It’s like it’s speeding
even when it’s sitting. (chuckling) ♪ My, how they fly... ♪ I never even met a girl
as beautiful as this plane. Yeah, well, take
good care of her. MECHANIC:
Hey, Johnson. What do you mean? I twisted the flight
surgeon’s arm, got you back
on the roster. You’re going up with
us next mission. (laughs) (chuckles) (mechanic whistling)
Uh, oh, um, sorry. Thank you, sir. Uh, I’m gonna tell
the guys. (chuckles excitedly) MECHANIC:
Hey, somebody move that,
move that truck. Hey, yeah, where do you want me to put this equipment?
Right there, man. (inhales deeply) (exhales) (sniffles) DEKE:
Heavenly Father, we thank you
for this glorious day. We ask that you send
your angels down to surround us
as we fly through the sky. We know that it’s part of your
master plan that we’ve made it all the way from Tuskegee
here to Ramitelli. And we are very confident
in our abilities, but we ask that you give us
the vision, the sight and the speed
and power to make it
through this mission. All the airmen say,
in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
OTHERS: Amen. NEON:
Nothing’s difficult. OTHERS:
Everything’s a challenge. NEON:
Through adversity! OTHERS:
To the stars! From the last plane,
to the last bullet, to the last minute,
to the last man, we fight! We fight! We fight!
We fight! We fight! We fight! (excited chattering) ♪ ♪ (chuckles) (sighs) (engines starting) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (gunshot) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Anybody got eyes
on the bombers? Uh, we are
all by our lonesome, Red One. Think we screwed up. Right on target, and, uh,
according to my reckoning, 32 seconds early. Well, we’re here, they’re not. Maybe the bombers turned back. Damn. Maybe they went on
without us. Red One, there they are. 9:00 low. Junior, head on over
to the bomber leader. Let them know we’re friendlies. Roger that. Bogies! 3:00 high! (over radio):
Everybody on your guns! Counting close to 70 chicks! Got one coming down! Hold your fire. They’re ours. Red tails? I don’t recognize the markings. He’s colored. Yeah, right. Hell if I’m joking. Look. Jesus Christ.
They can’t all be colored. One fighter group,
all Negro pilots? I don’t believe it. What the hell do we do? Tacoma One to all planes. Everybody’s eyes open. I don’t think
our fighter escort’s gonna be much help this trip. ♪ ♪ Fighters, 4:00. They’re not attacking.
Let ’em go. Let ’em go?! Our orders are to stay
with the bombers. Uh, w-what? W-What? Y-You’re breaking up. You heard Colonel Bullard. Forget the prize,
save the lives. God, I hate this war. Well, look at that. Those Red Tails
are staying put. Giving up glory
to save our asses. (gunfire) Here we go, Lightning. Right behind you. Where did this jackass
come from? Get out of there, Lightning! Come on, get out of there! Don’t you worry about me. I’m just playing with him. Stop fooling around! Damn it, I’m coming! No, you’re not! Stay put! I’m gonna show him
a little trick I learned. (screams) Whoo! (laughs) Lightning, when are you gonna
learn this is not a game? Coming up on
anti-aircraft guns. Those Jerries are
hightailing it out of here. Flak’s getting thick. Break off. Circle clear of the
flak until the bombers return. Good luck, bombardiers! (bombs whistling) All bombs away. Let’s get the hell out of here. Here they come. Form up. Hey, Junior,
you got a bandit on your left! Get out of there;
I’ll take him! (gunfire) Junior, get out of there! Where is he?
I can’t see him! (screams) Junior, where are you?
Are you all right? I’m all right!
I’m all right! Junior, you’re on fire! Junior, get out of the plane! Junior! (groans) Come on, Junior, bail! Geronimo! ♪ ♪ (men shouting in German) <i>Halt! Halt!</i> (men shouting in German) We didn’t lose
a single plane. Well, that’s a first. Red One, Deke is trailing fuel. Uh, don’t look good. Deke, talk to me. What’s your status? I’m all right. I got gas spraying everywhere,
but I think I’m gonna be okay. I’m a little dizzy, but
other than that, I’m-I’m fine. All right, listen up. I’m gonna give escort to Deke. Everybody else
head back to base. No, no, I’ll stay.
I’m his wingman; I’ll stay. Let me take him, Easy. God, I hate this mask! (panting) It’s my call, Lightning. Your calls have been
a little off lately. What? What are you talking about? Junior shouldn’t have
been up here. You got a problem with the way
I’m running this squad, you talk to Bullard about it,
all right? Until then, I’m in control! And my order for you right now
is to head back to base. Damn. All right, Deke,
you’ll be all right. I’ll see you back at the ranch. You got Black Jesus
with you, boy. Thanks, Smokey. (panting) Well, get me home, Easy. No, sir.
You’re gonna get yourself home. What the hell put the captain
into such a bad mood? He gets like that sometimes. Yeah, he know good and well he
shouldn’t have let Junior fly. That boy was half blind. We’re almost home. I hope we meet up with
those Red Tails next time. All right, listen, boys. The bombers have
passed their safe point. Our mission is over. Let’s head back to base. You guys are taking
the long way. I’m gonna take
a shortcut down the coast. Come on now, Lightning!
Ain’t no need to get all crazy. You know you got to stay
with the squadron. You stay with
the slow-ass squadron. I’m running low on fuel. And what if you turn up missing? Then I’ll have to break it
to Major Stance. Well, break it to him gently. Great, great, great, great! One’s a drunk and the other one does whatever the hell
he want to do. Smokey, stay with him. And keep him out of trouble. Don’t worry. I’ll stick with him. My head-- it hurts. We’re almost there, Deke. Stay with me. Easy, I got blood all over me,
but I’m not bleeding. You’re gonna be okay. I’m right above you. Captain, I’m getting
real dizzy. I need to rest a minute. No, no. Stay alert, Deke. I’m here with you. I can’t really see anything! Everything’s all blurred! I got double vision. You’re slipping, Deke. Deke, you’re slipping! Steady up! All right.
All right. You’re diving, Deke. I need you to pull back
on your stick. Pull up, Deke,
pull up! Deke, listen to me!
Pull back on your stick now! Pull up, Deke, pull up! What? Pull up? Oh, I’m pulling up! I-I’m pulling up,
I’m pulling up! Come on! (panting) I must have passed out. I need you to stay with me. Okay? Stay with me. Just keep talking. All right. Lightning! Lightning, look! German destroyer! Moving to the north. I still got ammo. How ’bout you? Nah. You need about a 500-pound bomb
put a dent in that thing. Uh-uh. Plus that baby got
very, very big guns. Just watch me. Lightning, no, all right? Don’t be crazy. If-If the big guns
don’t kill you, your plane gonna get messed up, and Coffee gonna kill you. Relax, Smokey! Worrying too much
will kill you. <i>Flugzeug!</i> (men shouting in German) (alarm blaring) (men screaming) (whooping) All right! All right, that was fun! Okay, come on now,
time to go home. Just one more pass. (laughs) How you like that, Mr. Hitler?! Lightning, you a damn fool! But I love you.
Come on! Ramitelli to Subsoil Red One. Do you read? EASY (over radio):
I got Red Four with me. He’s busted up pretty bad. Stay alert, Deke. Stay alert. Ramitelli, have a fire truck
standing by. He’s leaking fuel. I repeat, he’s leaking fuel. This is Major Stance. Circle a half mile out
and have Red Four bail. Flight surgeons
will be there waiting. Copy that. You’re gonna put it
into a left bank, and you’re up and out.
All right? I can’t get the canopy open! Easy! Listen, Deke, the only thing between you living and dying
is that canopy. Now get it open! I can’t open it! I can’t open it! Red Four cannot open his canopy. I repeat, he cannot
open his canopy. I’m gonna have to bring him in. Roger that. Sweet Jesus,
don’t let this happen to me. Okay, okay. All right, Deke, flaps down. Flaps down. There you go. (panting) Level off, level off! I’m leveling. Help me, sir;
I’m covered in fuel! I’m coming around
behind you, Deke. All right,
now get your gear down. Easy! I think
I’m coming in too hot! I-I don’t want to die! I’m not ready! Just relax, just relax. Level off, Deke. Too fast. I’m too fast! (grunts) Nose up! Nose up! (straining) Come on! Now drop the throttle!
Drop your throttle! Nose down! Nose down! (grunting) No! No! (panting) Shit! MAN:
Go, go, go! (alarm blaring) (men shouting) (siren wailing) Deke! (men shouting frantically) MAN:
Somebody get that medic! (men screaming) Smoke cloud on the left. You don’t think that’s Deke,
do you? (tires squealing) (men chattering) SOLDIER:
I didn’t see what happened.
What happened? SOLDIER 2:
He gonna be okay. SOLDIER:
Get the extinguisher,
some water over here... (men shouting in distance) Who was it? Deke. It was Deke. (sighs):
Oh, shit. An engine fire. Gas leak must have caught
on the... on the landing. But I talked to the medics; they
said he’s gonna be all right. Must have been a
spark or... What? You’ve been drinking. You gonna blame this on me? Tell me you haven’t been
drinking.
You gonna blame... Tell me you haven’t
been drinking.
I got him down! Say it!
I got him down alive!
I got him down alive! You don’t blame this on me! I did everything
I could do! Joe! Joe! ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ All back, Colonel. The good news is
Lieutenant Watkins survived the fireball landing. He’s in critical. Do they think
he’s gonna make it? Yes, sir. With 60% third-degree burns. We’re sending him back home. I brought the background
on the captured flyer. Lieutenant Ray Gannon. His mother’s
name is Dorothy. Father is Thomas. His wife’s
name’s Thelma. They got a little
girl, Adele. In particular,
Ray loved to fly. More than any pilot we have,
he loved to be in the air. (train whistle blowing) ♪ ♪ (brakes screech) (indistinct chatter) (door closes) Here’s the new prisoner
your captain requested. Lieutenant
Ray Gannon. A pilot with
the 332nd. Where the hell
did you come from? Lieutenant. Sit down. So I bet you’re wondering why
I picked you to bunk with us. It’s not something
I care to think about. Well, don’t worry. It’s not so we can hang you
or anything. I chose you because I know
you can’t be a German spy, being colored and all. We’re in the middle
of a rather delicate operation, and we don’t need
any new white faces. You’ll be treated no differently
to any other man here. Any problems,
you tell me. Come on! Let’s go! Move! Move! Move! Line it up!
Watch out. Watch out. Let’s go!
Don’t slip, man. I welcome you
to the 332nd Fighter Group. You’re a long way from home. (cheering) Jerries going down! I’m telling you,
Lightning sunk it now. That is a destroyer. Now, you just watch.
Shit, Lightning’s crazy! (indistinct chatter) (chatter grows more excited) Here it comes.
Here it comes. (cheering) I came around for a second pass.
Watch this. (cheering) (excited chatter) We fight! We fight! We fight! We fight!
We fight! We fight! (footsteps approaching) (sighs) (men conversing indistinctly) ♪ ♪ (barking) (barking continues in distance) Mmm. (chuckles) <i>Cosa cio non va?</i> My best friend. He, uh... he almost caused the death
of one of our pilots. I don’t know what to do. (sighs) (sighs) I am so glad
I found you. ♪ ♪ (indistinct chatter) MAN:
Man, what you doing? MAN 2:
Why you sitting there? You’re supposed to be
working, ain’t you? MAN 1: Come on.
Let’s get out of here. (laughter, indistinct chatter) (swing music plays in distance) I want you to
stop, Easy. Stop what? You can’t
drink on duty. I told you what happened to Deke
wasn’t my fault, all right? No one cares what you
do when you’re in town. How you relax is
your business. This coming
from a guy who flies like he’s got some kind
of death wish. (chuckles) You’re
a piece of work, Joe. You ignore me up there,
and all of a sudden, you expect me to listen
to you down here. All right, all
right, all right. All right, all right. (sighs) Tell you what. I’ll make you a deal. You promise to ditch the bottle, I’ll promise to fly right. And follow my orders. (chuckles softly) And follow your orders. Happy? Very happy. (mechanics conversing
indistinctly) ♪ ♪ Oh, I can’t wait to
hear her sweet singing. You guys can go
chase skirt. I’m going to Sofia’s. SMOKEY: What’d you say,
about three miles? Odds us
getting pinched? I won’t even
take that action. MAN:
Hey, flyboys! That-that trouble.
Just come on. Just keep walking.
Come on. Come on. MAN:
Don’t just walk away from me. He picked the wrong day.
Let’s go. Hey! Hey! Come over here. What? You guys... you’re the
Red Tails, right? You know, Red Tails? Colored boy flyers? Well, I wouldn’t...
I wouldn’t necessarily say it like that, but,
uh, who’s asking? Chester Barnes,
98th Bomb Group. You guys, you flew
a little top cover for us
about a month ago. Little run
over Ploesti? It was the best goddamn flying
I’ve ever seen, gentlemen. And we guys...
well, we feel that we owe
all you boys a drink. Why don’t you come
and join us? Come on. Come and join them? What’s he saying?
CHESTER: What? Come on.
Drinks are on us. Well, I’ll be damned. Well, I guess the dance hall
gonna have to wait. How you doing? All right, guys.
Much obliged. CHESTER:
How you doing? ♪ He was a famous trumpet man
from out Chicago way ♪ ♪ He had a boogie style
that no one else could play ♪ ♪ He was the top man
at his craft ♪ ♪ But then his number came up ♪
Hey, fellas. ♪ And he was gone
with the draft ♪ ♪ He’s in the Army now,
a-blowin’ reveille ♪ ♪ He’s the boogie-woogie
bugle boy of Company B ♪ ♪ They made him blow a bugle
for his Uncle Sam ♪ ♪ It really brought him down
because he couldn’t jam ♪ ♪ The captain seemed
to understand... ♪ All right, boys,
listen up! These fellas are the Red Tails. They’re the guys
who’ve been giving us an escort. First drink is on me, fellas. Whatever you’d like. ♪ He blows it eight to the bar ♪ ♪ In boogie rhythm... ♪ Hanson, Travis J. Samuel George. Me and the boys
over here are with the 463rd
Bomb Group. Glad to
meet you, man. You flew with us over Brux. Appreciate you
getting us home, man. Hey, have, uh,
you guys run into any of those new
jet pursuit fighters? We haven’t been
that lucky. Well, we’ve been
that unlucky. Those babies go so fast
you can’t even see them. Okay. Okay, well, that’s... You sure I can’t
buy you a round? I got one spare one,
sir. I got one. JOKER:
Nah, not like this! Nothing? You know, uh...
you know, we say "colored," but, uh, you, uh...
that’s not what you prefer? SMOKEY: No, no, no.
The word is... ALL:
"Negro." There we go.
Yep. When you get upset...
Mm-hmm. ...when you get mad,
you turn red, right? When you get envious or sick,
you turn green. When you become cowardly,
you turn yellow. And y’all got the nerve
to call us colored. (laughter) (speaking Italian) (laughter) (dog barking) ♪ ♪ I want to... I want to ask you
an important question. <i>Um... d-domanda</i>
<i>importante.</i> Okay. <i>Forse,</i>
<i>ti ascolto.</i> (sighs) <i>Vuoi sposarmi?</i> Um... <i>vuoi sposarmi?</i> Will you marry me? <i>Posso avere tempo per pensarci?</i> (sighs) Uh... Time... to think. Oh. Okay. (wind whistling) When you get to the
other side, don’t wait. Just run for the woods.
Okay? Go. Remember, run
for the woods! It’s Ray Gun.
He’s back with the batteries. Any problems? They won’t even know
they’re missing. Divide the batteries among
those who have flashlights. You’ve been a great help,
Ray Gun. I guess there’s a lot more to you coloreds
than I thought. We, uh... we want you
to travel with us. Oh, uh... I-I can’t. I’ll stick out like a pig
in a poultry shop. I’ll draw attention
to you guys. (sighs) Thank you. I’ll go alone. But, um... here. Take my dog tags. Get them back
to my unit. You’re a wily sucker, Ray. At least they won’t see you
in the dark. Good luck, Lieutenant. Safe journey, Captain. -Good luck, Ray.
-Good luck. Remember, run
for the woods. Okay, let’s go. (dog barking) (barking continues) ♪ ♪ (grunts) Hey! <i>Was ist das?</i>
Oh, shit! Run, Miller, run!
<i>Halt!</i> <i>Der Amerikaner ist</i>
<i>auf der Flucht!</i> <i>Halt!</i> <i>Halt! Halt!</i> (percussion playing) ♪ Hot tamales
and they’re red hot ♪ ♪ Yes, she got ’em for sale ♪ ♪ Hot tamales
and they’re red hot ♪ ♪ Yes, she got ’em for sale ♪ ♪ I got a girl,
say she long and tall ♪ ♪ Sleeps in the kitchen
with her feets in the hall... ♪ Sticks on metal
ain’t music. It ain’t. I like music. Aw. Coffee,
was you always mean as hell, or you just get like that
with old age? Well, I once was
a happy man. Never did not have
a smile on my face. Huh.
That was before you guys started tearing up
my beautiful planes. I could tolerate the P-40s, but these new babies
getting beat up-- it breaks my heart. Come on, Coffee. I only came back with
two holes this time. Uh, six. Six holes. Well, that ain’t nothing compared to what’s
going to happen to you when you run into those jets
those bomber jockeys was talking about. I ain’t afraid
of no jets. All right. Don’t go trying
your old tricks, Lightning. If you end up too close
behind one of those jets, the turbulence alone will blow your black ass
right out the sky. Trust me, I’m gonna be
the first one to shoot one
of those things down. And I’ll be the second... My advice is,
you see one, you run like hell. Only thing in life that makes
me want to run like hell is you, Coffee. (laughter and shouting) That’s going to get
you killed out there. Come dance with me, baby. I’m not dancing
with you, never. Come on!
Go on and have a dance
with him! The target is a tank factory
on the outskirts of Berlin. Shut that down,
you shut down Jerries’ ability to shore up a Berlin defense. General Campbell’s wing
will be leading the bombardment. You have recon
on the area? In the air,
we’re expecting everything
the Luftwaffe’s got. 100s, 109s, 190s. Possibility of 262s--
German jet fighters. Jet fighters? Boys are going to
love this one. The target area
isn’t your concern. The 52nd will escort the
general’s planes into Berlin. Is there a reason, sir? 1,600 miles to Berlin and back. The, uh, fighters
need to take it in stages. With external fuel tanks,
the 51s can make it. I guarantee our
pilots can. I’d prefer the Red Tails take the leg
where we’d need protecting. Our first major air offensive
over Berlin. From a propaganda point of view,
there’s a lot of attention going to be paid to this
and a lot of ink spilled. And Negro pilots
aren’t part of that story. Colonel, A.J., this is coming
from way above me. If you didn’t have
my respect, I wouldn’t be talking
to you face-to-face. But we don’t win this war,
all my regard, everything that you
and your men have done, none of it means
a thing. Colonel. Please see to it that
the general gets to his plane. Sir. (lamb bleating in distance) You like it? I... w-want... you... stay
in Italia. You... You want me to stay? Does that mean... does that mean you’ll marry me? Yes. Marriage. (both chuckling) I love you. I-I can’t... can’t believe it. (chuckles) I’m getting married. Okay, we’re going to throw it. All right? There you go. There you go. All right. Throw. (Lightning chuckling) (Sofia chuckles) (indistinct chatter) (indistinct chatter) I’m looking for Captain Julian. Right here. You the one they call Easy? I guess some people do. What can I...
what can I help you with? I’m Captain Miller. I was in prison with
Lieutenant Gannon. He asked me to give
his tags to you. Four of us got out. Deal was, if we made
it and he didn’t, well, I’d get his dog
tags back to his unit. Ray was a good man. To whoever it matters, you...
you tell them from me. Ray was the best
soldier I ever met. Thank you. (inhales deeply) (exhales) A moment, Colonel. What is it, Captain? Ray Gannon’s dog tags, sir. A soldier brought it by today. He and Ray
were prisoners together. They got out from under
the Germans, but... Ray didn’t make it. Sir, Ray Gun wasn’t fit
when I put him back in rotation. Flight surgeon wouldn’t
clean-bill him, so I talked my way
right past him. (gulps) I just don’t feel like I’m fit
to lead the squad anymore. I mean, I’ve made
so many mistakes, I... No, you’ve made one big mistake. That self-pity of yours,
that’s your weakness. But it ends right here,
right now. You man up,
you lead your squad. Every decision
that you make isn’t going to always
be the right one. (engine rumbling) (indistinct chatter) All right,
this is it. For the first time, the bombers are going
all the way to Berlin. They’ll be up against 109s and
262s-- the new jet fighters. (laughter, whooping,
excited chatter) Hear that?
Yeah! Whoo! Unfortunately, we’re only
going to escort them on the first leg
of their mission, so I don’t expect
you’ll see much action. You will rendezvous with
the relief escorts at 0830. I know this is
disappointing to you. It’s not the job you wanted. But those are
your orders. Understood? PILOTS:
Yes, sir! Full briefing at 0400.
(men murmuring) On the flight
line at 0530. Spread the word,
gentlemen. Julian. A moment. Captain, if your
relief doesn’t arrive, as squadron leader,
it’s your call. If you think
you can make it. Sir. That is all, son. ♪ ♪ (panting) ♪ ♪ We’ve passed
the rendezvous point. Tail gunner, has the
52nd Squadron arrived? No, sir. No sign of ’em. Anybody got eyes
on our relief fighters? SMOKEY:
Not a dang thing, Red One. Are we going all the way, sir? EASY:
Well, fuel-wise
we’re looking good. But I’m guessing eight hours
there and back-- definitely be one
for the record books. Come on, Easy. It’s Berlin. Let’s go. We can make it. All right, gentlemen. Brace yourselves. We’re going the distance. Yeah! We fight! (chuckles) Watch out, Hitler,
here we come! Just remember, we’re here
to protect the bombers. Under all circumstances,
we stay on mission. What’s that about? I think we’ve got the
Red Tails for the duration. By my reckoning,
we’re deep into Germany. It’s a little creepy we haven’t
seen any fighters yet. Yeah, well, well,
maybe they found out we were flying escort. Decided not to show up. (chuckles) That would be nice. Wouldn’t mind that,
would you, baby? (kisses) Colonel! It’s from Mission Control. 52nd didn’t make
the rendezvous. They didn’t join
up with the Fifth. Did our boys turn back? No, sir.
They’re headed on to Berlin. I gave Captain
Julian the option. Headquarters wants to know if
we’re going to call them back. Yes, sir. ♪ ♪ Oh, shit, jets! We got jets! What the hell?! Hey, what-- Oh, no! (grunting) Maurice! Mama!
(screams) Break, break, break! Here we go. 9:00 low! 9:00 low! I see ’em. We’re losing ’em! I got the throttle wide open! They’re too damn fast! (straining) Son of a bitch! Those babies are gone. (groans) I’m losing power! Stay left!
I’ll get him, I’ll get him! This is for Maurice! (yells) Yeah! Brilliant! Smokey, brilliant! Easy, we got one
crossing in front of us. Start firing.
He’ll fly right into it. I know. I got him. These jets ain’t nothing. EASY (over radio):
We need more speed. Let’s get some altitude. (grunts) Easy, right there!
10:00, 10:00! I got him, I got him! Now, that’s
how it’s done! What the... (grunting) Smokey! Smokey! I’m all right. I’m all right, I’m all right! (laughs) I’ll be damned! They missed me! No holes in me, baby! Whoo! Come on! (grunts) Now we’re losing power
on engine four. That’s it
for us, guys. We’re turning around. We got a straggler-- 2:00. SMOKEY:
Oh, I see him. I see him. I’m on it, Red One. We’ll get down there
and cover him. Lightning, form up.
We’re going back. We got a crippled bomber
to protect. Easy, you got Pretty Boy
on your tail. I’m coming around. Where? I-I don’t see him! (screams)
Damn it! I’m headed right for you! I’ve got him!
I’ve got him! Get out of my way! What the hell are you doing?! Dive, right now, dive! (screams) Whoo! Ha! That’s the end of Pretty Boy! (gasping) (groaning) (panting) Sure got him good! (chuckles) You did it! You got that son of a bitch! Did you say Lightning
shot down Pretty Boy? Whoo-hoo! Give ’em hell, Lightning! You just might be
the best pilot that ever lived! Now get your ass back here
and help us with this bomber. EASY:
We’re on our way back
to you, Joker. (coughs) (gurgles) It was a crazy move. You almost got yourself killed. I think I did
get myself killed. What are you talking about? I... I don’t, I don’t think
I’m gonna make it, Easy. (shallow gasping) What do you mean
you’re not gonna make it? Don’t talk like that. There’s a lot,
there’s a lot of blood in... (shallow gasping) Listen to me.
Just hang in there. I’m gonna get you back,
all right? Just stay focused.
I’m gonna help you. I... I can’t, I can’t breathe. I-I can’t breathe. (shallow gasping) Come on, now. We’ve gotten out of
worse scrapes than this. No. I-I screwed, I screwed up. I screwed up.
I don’t care about that. I’m right here with you. We can do this together. Come on! Eas-Easy. Gr-Gruesome Twosome. Lightning! Lightning, talk to me! Lightning, don’t you
do this to me! Lightning! Lightning, look at me! I-I love you. I’m... I’m sorry, Sofia. (shallow gasping) (exhales heavily) Lightning, pull up!
Lightning, pull up! Pull back on your stick! Lightning, pop the canopy! Pop the goddamn canopy! Get out of the plane,
Lightning, that’s an order! Get out of the plane! Damn you, Lightning! (panting) Easy. Easy! (panting) Easy, do you read me?! Easy! Stay on mission! Do you copy? We need you back here. (voice breaks):
We need you. For God sakes,
tell me you still out there. I’m okay. I’m on my way down. Red One,
L-Lightning’s with you, right? Lieutenant Little is dead. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Lightning? ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Marty? (sighs softly) ♪ ♪ The expectations placed
upon you men are high. Lieutenant Little... exceeded those expectations. We should not be discouraged
by his death, but be all the more encouraged
by his life. The acts of bravery by him
will make us stronger. It will inspire us
to fight harder to make this world free. Because we are on the side
of God Almighty! Let us pray. Hey! Hey, guys! Hey! Guys! (men murmuring)
It can’t be. I know you didn’t
forget about me already! I’ve been to hell and back. So you will no longer
call me Junior. From now on, you will address me
as the fabulous Ray Gun. How’d you do it, man? Well, I’ll be damned! (whooping)
Boy! Well, I’ll be damned!
Ray! Ray!
Ray Gun! Boy, you look good! (excited chatter, laughter) Ray Gun! (laughter, whooping) You all right then.
Ray! (excited chatter continues) ("America the Beautiful"
playing) MAN:
In the name of the President
of the United States, a Distinguished Unit Citation
has been conferred upon the all-Negro
332nd Fighter Group for outstanding performance of
duty in conflict with the enemy. By the conspicuous gallantry,
professional skill and determination of the pilots, together with the outstanding
technical skill and devotion to duty of
the ground personnel, the 332nd has reflected
great credit on itself and on the Armed Forces
of the United States. We salute you. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (song ends) ("America the Beautiful"
playing) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
It's a real shame that this was the last George Lucas film he produced and self funded because other people wouldnt make it, it was a well intentioned tip of the hat to these brilliant black pilots but he had a terrible script and an inexperienced director to boot. This film needs a reboot with real talent, and it could be financially viable now as all black casts have come a long way since the success of Black Panther.
Just watch the Tuskeegee Airmen from 1995 with Laurence fishburne. Much better movie.
This movie was much worse than I expected
What did November do to deserve this?
This is the movie version of putting your stained sofa at the end of the driveway for someone to take for free.
The catch is, it's a terrible, terrible movie.
Fun fact: Aaron McGruder, the creator of The Boondocks series, co-wrote the screenplay. One of The Boondocks episodes featured the young Robert Freeman as one of the Tuskegee Airmen.
RedLetterMedia's Half in the Bag did an episode on Red Tails when it was released.
ME-262 Prince of Turbojet
Junker Jumo 004