Republic Pictures originally released THE FLYING TIGERS in 1942. The movie was based on the real life Flying Tigers, a WW2 elite group of flying volunteers who challenged the odds in overseas territories. The film looks at the pilots who flew these planes, and the movie includes lots of American propaganda. Years back, when Republic Pictures were having financial problems, Artisan stepped up to the plate and purchased the company. Now Artisan can dig deep into the Republic Pictures vaults and release classic chestnuts like this one. Artisan recently started releasing some classic John Wayne films (like THE DARK COMMAND and THE FIGHTING SEABEES) onto DVD, and now THE FLYING TIGERS.

THE FLYING TIGERS was directed by David (HAMMERHEAD) Miller. John Wayne stars as commanding flying ace, Captain Jim Gordon. John (PHANTOM RAIDERS) Carroll stars as hotshot pilot Woody Jason. Anna (PICTURE MOMMY DEAD) Lee is a nurse, and John Wayne’s love interest, Brooke. Paul (DEAD MAN’S EYES) Kelley portrays Hap Smith, a pilot who is loosing his sight. And Edmund (THE MYSTERIOUS MR. M) MacDonald is troubled pilot, Blackie Bales.

Jim Gordon (Wayne) commands a rag-tag group of pilots in Rangoon, who fly outdated war planes against new, advanced Japanese Zero Fighters. The pilots are in China on a volunteer basis, yet Uncle Sam pays them $500 for every Japanese plane they shoot down (back then, that was a lot of dough). Some of the pilots have their own emotional problems, such as Blackie Bales (MacDonald), who was kicked out of the US Air Force for alcoholism. Jim Gordon spends much of time in aerial combat, and when he is on the ground he spends his off hours with his girl Brooke, who nurses the local Chinese residents who have been injured from the continuing Japanese bombing attacks.

The arrival of a new addition to the team, crack-pilot Woody (Carroll), sends waves rippling through the Flying Tigers encampment. Woody is an old combat buddy of Jim Gordon, and Jim knows that Woody will make a big difference to the shrinking ranks of the volunteer Flying Tigers. Woody also takes a liking to Jim’s girlfriend, Brooke. Woody makes no bones about the fact he is in Rangoon to shoot down Japanese planes for the money. This revelation creates mistrust with the other pilots, and Woody does not make any friends among the Americans, so he decides to mingle with the injured and oppressed local residents, many of whom are children.

Since his arrival, the cocky Woody has been after Brooke to go to dinner. After feeling sorry for him because he is ostracized from the other pilots, she accepts the date as a friend. But they are late coming back for Woody’s patrol duty. So another pilot Hap, who Jim grounded for having poor depth perception, covers for Woody and takes Woody’s place in the plane. Sure enough, the Japanese fighters soon appear and there is a dogfight. Hap is shot down. Jim returns, mad at Woody (and Brooke) since their careless actions caused Hap to lose his life. Jim is prepared to kick Woody out of the Flying Tigers, even though he really needs him.

Jim’s commander informs him that the Japanese are expanding their territories and are becoming more of a threat in Rangoon. The commander assigns the Flying Tigers squadron the task of knocking out a bridge in enemy territory. If they can take out this bridge, it will cripple the Japanese ability to converge their forces. Rather than send up the entire Flying Tigers squadron to what will surely be a suicide mission, Jim suggests that a single bomber flying over the mountain range may stand a better chance of getting through the enemy lines. Jim volunteers to fly the impossible mission himself. He says goodbye to Brooke, and loads the single bomber with nitroglycerin. As Jim takes off for what he believes will be his final flight, he realizes he is not alone in the bomber. Woody has stowed away. Jim orders him to put on a parachute and jump out, but Woody convinces him to stay and help. So now the two best Flying Tigers must do the unimaginable—penetrate the enemy lines, avoid the anti-plane guns, and disable that bridge. They have no weapons and a cargo load of nitro, which threatens to blow at any time. Mission impossible indeed.

This low budget John Wayne war film is black and white in more ways than one. The story takes place in pre-Communist China in the days leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack. The film is bound to be controversial today, because of the depiction of the Japanese as the ultimate evil. Furthermore, even the Chinese people in the film that are on the side of "good" (that is, the American side), are shown in a totally stereotypical manner. If you can get around the ethnic stereotypes, then you will discover a violent war film centering around the performance of All-American icon, John Wayne.

The film has a few other things worth mentioning. First of all, THE FLYING TIGERS is primarily a propaganda film, used for preparing the American public for war, and getting young men to sign up in the armed services. Secondly, the film has it’s share of historical inaccuracies, especially if you compared this film to the exploits of the real life Flying Tigers. Thankfully, the script includes some tinges of black humor that work at the correct moments. The suspense is liberal, since the Flying tigers encampment is always under-staffed and hurting, and the Japanese forces just seem that more organized, and much more of a real menace.

The script suffers from some clichés and cheesy dialog. Luckily the actors pick up the slack and make the best of it. Anna Lee injects enough physicality and caring into her role as a nurse to make it believable. What is difficult to believe is that if she’s in love with Jim, why is she flirting with Jim’s friend and fellow pilot, Woody? Don’t blame Lee, blame the script. John Carroll does a great job of bringing cockiness and arrogance to the role of the hotshot pilot, Woody. The chemistry he shares with Wayne is very good, and you get the impression you are watching a sequel (because their characters have fought together before). And John Wayne is John Wayne; the supreme level-headed tough guy, with a lot of guts and a plenty of class. Wayne will never be mistaken for Lawrence Olivier, but he is perfect for these great American western and war films.

What really separates this film from others of this kind, is the realistic and violent dog fights. The camera lingers on the Japanese pilots who happen to get hit by the American bullets. We see the pilots clutching at their throats with blood flowing out. Another Japanese pilot takes bullet hits to his eyes, and again the camera lingers as the blood flows. Though this is not a big deal today, back then it must have been quite gruesome to the movie-going public. The aerial special effects are pretty good and we get to witness war planes taking off, landing, crashing, exploding, etc. THE FYLYING TIGERS faithfully depicts the flying tactics used by the Flying Tigers to beat the advanced Japanese Zeroes.

SIGHT

Artisan releases THE FLYING TIGERS in a its original full frame ratio (1.33.1). The overall presentation is very good for a film of this vintage, but the print has its share of problems. First of all, there is the inclusion of some stock footage. Though limited to only a handful of scenes, the stock footage is super grainy and cannot match the clarity of the rest of the film. The scenes from inside the cockpits of the Japanese planes are significantly more dark than the rest of the picture. Perhaps these scenes are stock footage as well, or the director was trying to say something here. The black and white image is a little inconsistent in that nics and scars are noticeable, but not throughout the entire film. In some areas of the film, the picture turns from the balanced black & white image to more gray hue. There are a lot of realistic battle scenes in THE FLYING TIGERS and they are all well executed and nicely preserved on this transfer. The dogfighting is filmed against a smoky cloud-filled sky, which looks great in the cinematography. The planes and military vehicles are obviously miniatures but well designed and executed for the times (as THE FLYING TIGERS won an Oscar for best effects that year). The air battles are extremely violent and bloody, and the gore scenes are realistically depicted. What makes this transfer really good is the deep black level, which contrasts the rest of the black and white visuals. The detail level is very good, and you clearly see the bullet holes ripping through the surface of the planes, spraying oil and smoke skyward. Likewise for the varied textures of the landscape, mountain ranges, and the cloudy skies. Though the film takes place in China, it was clearly filmed in Southern California. Any anomalies in the picture are attributable to the film’s age and the technical limitations of the time. There were no DVD mastering flaws such as bleeding, chroma noise, edge enhancement, or compression artifacts.

SOUND

Artisan has included the original mono mix in a new Dolby Digital Mono 2.0 soundtrack. Surprisingly, the mix delivers a wide range of frequencies not usually heard in a mono mix. The sound is very crisp and natural. There is some hiss, and a couple of pops, but it is never constant. Distortion is minimal, even at increased volume levels. Victor Young composes an exciting, though dated score to accentuate the action and drama. The score works together with the sound effects to bring THE FLYING TIGERS to life. We hear the whine of the engines, the rat-a-tat-tat of the machine guns, and the low-end bomb explosions very clearly. The dialog, sound effects, and score are perfectly synchronized. There is nothing fancy about this mix, but it’s solid and gets the job done.

FEATURES

The only feature is the Talent Bios menu, which lists the credits of the cast and crew. No trailer.

CONCLUSION

Not one of the Duke’s best war-time efforts, but still has a lot to offer for fans of classic war films. If you can get around the propaganda slant to the film, and the depiction of Asian stereotypes, you’ll find that THE FLYING TIGERS is some great escapist entertainment. I personally have a great appreciation of Chinese and Japanese people and culture (and many other cultures), and I did not get offended by the stereotypes here, because that’s just how it was done back then. But I am Caucasian; THE FLYING TIGERS may upset Asian folks today, and I can understand why. Congratulations are in order to Artisan Entertainment. Not only can they serve up blockbusters like THE TERMINATOR or an entire TV miniseries on DVD, but they can plumb the depths of their back catalog and deliver up classic titles on DVD. This is something I wish all studios would do more of. The no-frills presentation of THE FLYING TIGERS is solid both visually and acoustically. My only recommendation would be to add some additional material such as trailers for this or other John Wayne films, or other applicable supplements. This one is a must for aviation enthusiasts.

FLYING TIGERS is available from DVDEmpire.com

FLYING TIGERS/SANDS OF IWO JIMA is available from DVDEmpire.com

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