Red Tails | Tuskegee Airmen Full-Length Movie | Lucasfilm

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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.

👍︎︎ 55 👤︎︎ u/gobble_snob 📅︎︎ Nov 01 2020 đź—«︎ replies

Just watch the Tuskeegee Airmen from 1995 with Laurence fishburne. Much better movie.

👍︎︎ 47 👤︎︎ u/jabbadarth 📅︎︎ Nov 01 2020 đź—«︎ replies

This movie was much worse than I expected

👍︎︎ 59 👤︎︎ u/Throwawayunknown55 📅︎︎ Nov 01 2020 đź—«︎ replies

What did November do to deserve this?

👍︎︎ 11 👤︎︎ u/Larry_Lavender 📅︎︎ Nov 01 2020 đź—«︎ replies

This is the movie version of putting your stained sofa at the end of the driveway for someone to take for free.

👍︎︎ 7 👤︎︎ u/RegisBarbaroi 📅︎︎ Nov 01 2020 đź—«︎ replies

The catch is, it's a terrible, terrible movie.

👍︎︎ 10 👤︎︎ u/thx1138a 📅︎︎ Nov 01 2020 đź—«︎ replies

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.

👍︎︎ 4 👤︎︎ u/LizardOrgMember5 📅︎︎ Nov 01 2020 đź—«︎ replies
👍︎︎ 19 👤︎︎ u/StevieTV 📅︎︎ Nov 01 2020 đź—«︎ replies

ME-262 Prince of Turbojet

Junker Jumo 004

👍︎︎ 2 👤︎︎ u/iheartsimracing 📅︎︎ Nov 01 2020 đź—«︎ replies
Captions
(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) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
Info
Channel: Lucasfilm
Views: 1,232,893
Rating: 4.7907619 out of 5
Keywords: Tuskegee Airmen, Lucasfilm, George Lucas, Anthony Hemingway, Black History, World War II, American Heroes, Michael B. Jordan, Leslie Odom, David Oyelowo, Red Tails, Fighter Pilots, P-51, Dogfights, World War 2, American History, World War 2 History, Tuskegee, Ne-Yo, Elijah Kelley, Bryan Cranston, African-American History, African-American World War 2, Veterans Day, #FlyLikeThem, World War 2 Italy, P-40
Id: wOVOWn5F2c8
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 125min 23sec (7523 seconds)
Published: Sun Nov 01 2020
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