Cinema surveillance images are loading at the bottom of the page

Memphis Belle

Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

The story of the American bomber crew of the Memphis Belle, the first US airmen to complete a full tour of 25 missions during the air battle of Europe during the Second World War. The film begins the night before the Belle's last mission, and follows the crew through the hectic flight that they must endure, and survive, in order to go home.

Persons of interest

Matthew Modine .... Captain Dennis Dearborn
Eric Stoltz .... Sergeant Danny Daly
Tate Donovan .... First Lieutenant Luke Sinclair
DB Sweeney .... Lieutenant Phil Lowenthal
Billy Zane .... Lieutenant Val Kozlowski
Sean Astin .... Sergeant Richard Moore
Harry Connick Jr .... Sergeant Clay Busby
Reed Diamond .... Sergeant Virgil Hoogesteger
Courtney Gains .... Sergeant Eugene McVey
Neil Giuntoli .... Sergeant Jack Bocci
David Strathairn .... Colonel Craig Harriman
John Lithgow .... Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Derringer
Jane Horrocks .... Faith
Mac McDonald .... Les
Jodie Wilson .... Singer
Steven Mackintosh .... Stan the Rookie
Monte Merrick .... Screenwriter
Michael Caton-Jones .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Memphis Belle site
Studios and distributors:

Warner Bros * Roadshow Films

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Boys, plane, war. Talk about an opportunity for heroism.

The fact that the Belle is a real plane just makes the knowledge that so few crews completed their missions even more horrific. War sux, even when it's presented in the heroic mode like Memphis Belle.

Like its more recent descendant, U-571, this film falls foul of the Hollywood style. Even though the men themselves are human, their presentation is not. There haven't been this many good-looking guys on planes since Top Gun, and you know how realistic that film was. Nevertheless, the reality of these men's lives is that some people did make it through World War II (everyone in my family did), no matter how different their lives became. Memphis Belle gives you a good look at a broad range of men's reactions to the situation, from Dennis' love for his crew to Craig's loss to Virgil's maturation. Intense boredom interspersed with moments of pure terror. There's nothing like it.

The sturdiness with which planes were built at that time is amazing to someone who now can't even get a light switch that doesn't break every time he turns it on (that's capitalism for you). The Belle lands with more holes in it than a colander, having truly flown home on a wing and a prayer. Another thing that hasn't lasted the distance is the knowledge of what life is like during a war. These days the biggest fuss is raised over the price of petrol, in those days they barely had petrol. Despite the abundantly clear message that war is evil and winners write the histories, there's no way for younger generations to truly understand the depth of emotions that come with facing random death for year after year.

Gee, I'm in a bit of a black mood. Maybe I should get some extra sleep or something. Or maybe some chocolate. Oops, sorry, rationed. A nice cup of... sorry, rationed. Maybe I could turn on the... sorry, blackout. How about a game of... sorry, everyone's away at the war.

Anyhoo, Memphis Belle is an exciting, stirring, terrifying, emotional journey through a simple enough job that happens to be a life and death situation, a situation that is often completely out of your hands. If you want to see heroes, Memphis Belle is a good place to start.

Media intelligence (DVD)

Picture: Widescreen
Trailer: Theatricals
Subtitles: English, French, Italian, Dutch, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, German, English and Italian captions
Languages: Dolby Surround 5.1: English - Dolby stereo 2: French, Italian