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Red Tails

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This article is about the 2012 film. For the African American fighter pilots, see Tuskegee Airmen. For other uses, see red tail.
Red Tails
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAnthony Hemingway
Screenplay byJohn Ridley
Aaron McGruder
Story byJohn Ridley
Produced byRick McCallum
Charles Floyd Johnson
Executive Producer:
George Lucas
StarringCuba Gooding, Jr.
Terrence Howard
CinematographyJohn Aronson
Edited byMichael O'Halloran
Ben Burtt
Music byTerence Blanchard
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • January 20, 2012 (2012-01-20)
Running time
121 minutes
CountryTemplate:Film US
LanguageEnglish
Budget$58 million[1][2][3][4]
Box office$41,059,053[5]

Red Tails is a 2012 war film directed by Anthony Hemingway from a screenplay by John Ridley and Aaron McGruder, with George Lucas serving as the executive producer.[N 1] The film is inspired by the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American United States Army Air Force (USAAF) servicemen during World War II.[N 2] Red Tails is the first Lucasfilm production since Radioland Murders (1994) not associated with the Indiana Jones or Star Wars franchises. The film stars Cuba Gooding, Jr. (who previously starred in The Tuskegee Airmen, an HBO made-for-television film about the same group of pilots) in his first theatrical film in five years,[8] and Terrence Howard (who portrayed a Tuskegee pilot in Hart's War[9]).

Plot

In 1944, after enduring racism throughout their recruitment and training in the Tuskegee training program, the 332nd Fighter Group of young African American USAAF fighter pilots are finally sent into combat in Italy, although flying worn-out Curtiss P-40 Warhawk aircraft. Chafing at their ground attack missions against trains and enemy ground transport, the Tuskegee Airmen recognize that they may never take on fighter-to-fighter action against the Luftwaffe. The tight-knit group of Joe "Lightning" Little (David Oyelowo), Martin "Easy" Julian (Nate Parker), Ray "Ray Gun" or "Junior" Gannon (Tristan Wilds), and Samuel "Joker" George (Elijah Kelley) under the guidance of Major Emanuel Stance (Cuba Gooding, Jr. ) and Col. A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard), face a military bureaucracy still resistant to accepting black flyers as equals.[N 3]

A constant strife erupts between roommates and best friends, Easy and Lightning, who are battling their inner demons; Lightning is a hotheaded and reckless pilot who takes too many risks, while Easy is an alcoholic prone to self doubt. After returning to base from a mission, Lightning spies a pretty Italian girl named Sofia (Daniela Ruah), becomes instantly infatuated with her, and starts a relationship.

Meanwhile, Stance is able to secure a chance to "light up the board" when the Tuskegee Airmen are chosen to support the Allied landings in Operation Shingle. They battle German fighters led by German ace pilot "Pretty Boy" (Lars van Riesen), scoring their first aerial victories over the enemy, as well as destroying a German airfield. However, Ray Gun is injured during the battle and suffers impaired vision in one of his eyes. Ray Gun begs Easy to keep him on the flight roster, and he ultimately relents.

Bullard is then approached by the USAAF Bomber Command, who are impressed with the Tuskegee Airmen's performance and ask him to use his fighters as bomber escorts due to unacceptably high casualties among bomber crews. Bullard accepts on the condition that his unit be supplied with the new North American P-51 Mustang[N 4]. The Tuskegee Airmen then paint the tails of their fighters red in order to stand out. Bullard identifies the flaw in the tactics of previous escort fighters is that they would recklessly pursue German fighters at the cost of protecting the bombers, so he orders his pilots to stay with the bombers at all costs. Their first escort mission is a success, with the 332nd downing multiple Luftwaffe aircraft without the loss of a single bomber. However, Ray Gun is shot down and forced to bail out while Deke is forced to crash land and nearly dies.

Easy is shocked at the unit's losses and blames himself, spiraling deeper into his alcoholism. Lightning, worried about his friend, makes a deal with Easy; he will follow orders and fly less recklessly as long as Easy remains sober. Meanwhile, attitudes against the Tuskegee Airmen begin to change as they earn the bomber crews' respect, even being allowed into the "whites only" officer's club. Ray Gun is captured by the Germans and sent to a POW camp, where he is recruited by a group of POWs who are planning to escape. The escape attempt is successful but the POWs are spotted by a guard. Ray Gun then draws the Germans' attention while the other POWs escape. One of the POWs manages to reach the 332nd's base and informs them about Ray Gun's sacrifice, assuming him to be dead. Later, Lightning finally proposes to Sofia and she accepts.

The Tuskegee Airmen are then tasked with escorting the first flight of bombers to directly attack Berlin. However, despite their P-51s having more than enough fuel for the trip, the 332nd is only tasked to escort the bombers on the first leg of their journey due to propaganda reasons. However, the fighter squadron meant to relieve the 332nd never arrives, and Easy makes the decision to stay with bombers. They are then attacked by Pretty Boy, now leading a flight of revolutionary Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters. Despite being outclassed by the jet fighters' superior speed, the Tuskegee Airmen are able to shoot down many of the Me 262s. Pretty Boy then gets on Easy's tail and is about to shoot him down. At the last moment, Lightning attacks and kills Pretty Boy in a head on attack, but is mortally wounded and eventually crashes. Easy is then forced to inform Sofia about Lightning's death and consequently overcomes his alcoholism for good. At Lightning's funeral, Ray Gun miraculously returns, having survived his escape from German captivity.

Ultimately, the Tuskegee Airmen are awarded the Presidential Unit Citation in honor of their achievements.

Cast

Tuskegee Airmen: Capt. Wendell O. Pruitt with his crew chief, S/Sgt. Samuel W. Jacobs, c. November 1944
The Tuskegee Airmen’s aircraft had distinctive markings that led to the name, “Red Tails.”[N 5]

As appearing in Red Tails, (main roles and screen credits identified):[12]

Production

George Lucas began developing Red Tails around 1988,[13] after hearing of the Tuskegee Airmen from his friend George Hall, a photographer.[14][15] At the time, the film was scheduled for release in 1992,[16] with Kevin Sullivan writing the screenplay and Thomas Carter directing.[17] Lucas originally conceived of the film as a long, detailed narrative similar to Lawrence of Arabia, and as a trilogy,[3] but after multiple script drafts, he decided to focus on the combat portion of the story.[18] He compared it to Tucker: The Man and His Dream as "a story too good to be true".[19] In researching the film, Lucasfilm invited some of the surviving Tuskegee Airmen to Skywalker Ranch, where they were interviewed about their experiences during World War II.[20][21] Lucasfilm was also given access to the original mission logbooks used by some of the pilots.[22] A number of writers worked on the project until John Ridley was hired in 2007 to write the screenplay.[13][23] Lucas held discussions with Samuel L. Jackson regarding Jackson possibly directing and acting in the film. Although Jackson praised the script, he did not commit to either role.[24] Anthony Hemingway was ultimately chosen to direct in 2008.[25]

Pre-production began in January 2009, with location scouting having taken place in June 2008 in Prague, Czech Republic, Italy and Croatia. [2] Production began in March 2009 with high-definition Sony F35 cameras used for principal photography,[26] which took place in the Czech Republic, Italy, Croatia and England over a period from August to December.[2] While shooting in the Czech Republic, the actors also underwent a "boot camp" program, during which they lived in similar conditions to the actual Tuskegee Airmen.[22]

Harkening back to his early work on Star Wars where he had studied World War II aerial footage to create the space aerobatics performed by Rebel X-wings and TIE fighters, Lucas was familiar with World War II aerial combat.[27]The Lucas template for photographing computer-generated imagery (CGI) dogfighting "involved lots of action, continuous motion, moving camera, streaks, loops and rolls, and all of the things aerial photography allows you to do in live action."[28] Aerial scenes in Red Tails involved actors sitting in a gimbal-mounted cockpits (and mock-up fuselages and wings), in front of a green screen, rocked back and forth by production crew members.[29] In order to achieve a realistic reaction, actors were flown in actual P-51 Mustangs at the Planes of Fame in Chino, California, to experience the forces involved in dogfighting.[N 6][29]

Editing began while the production was in Prague. Avid editing systems were used simultaneously in a Prague studio and at Lucasfilm.[31] A vehicle was fitted with a "technical center" so that the production could quickly move between locations.[26] In March 2010, Lucas took over direction of reshoots, as Hemingway was busy working on episodes of the HBO series, Treme.[32] The Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder was brought in late in production, after Hemingway's principal photography, to provide re-writes for the Lucas-directed reshoots.[33]

Lucas covered the cost of production with his own money, and provided a further $35 million for distribution.[3] In an interview on The Daily Show on January 9, 2012, Lucas revealed that the long delay in the production of the film was because major film studios balked at financing and marketing a film with an "all-black" cast and "no major white roles." He went on to explain that studios receive "60% of their profit" from overseas, and the studios feel there is no market there for films with all-black casts.[3]

Reception

Red Tails received mixed to negative reviews from many reviewers, currently holding a 36% rating on Rotten Tomatoes; the consensus states: "Despite a worthy fact-based story and obvious good intentions, Red Tails suffers from one-dimensional characters, corny dialogue, and heaps of cliches."[34] On Metacritic, the film holds a 46/100 rating, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[35] The main criticism was directed to the tone of the film; Stephen Holden in The New York Times review, noted, "In structure and tone, “Red Tails” proudly harks back to the 1940s and ’50s, when good guys were good, and bad guys bad."[36] In rebuttal, co-writer Aaron McGruder commented on the film's tone: "Some people are going to like this tonal choice and some people are going to say, 'Oh it should've been heavier and it should've been more dramatic.' But there's a version of this that doesn't have to be Saving Private Ryan. We can be Star Wars, as crazy as it is."[33] Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times review, stated, "Red Tails is entertaining. Audiences are likely to enjoy it. The scenes of aerial combat are skillfully done and exciting."[37] In a similar vein, aviation historian Budd Davison, in agreement with fellow historian Barrett Tillman, although cognizant of the "Hollywood treatment," had a caution to aviation enthusiasts looking for a faithful reenactment of the Tuskegee legend, "... buy some popcorn, lean back and enjoy, this is Hollywood telling a story, not making a documentary. Save your guffaws until afterwards with your friends."[38]

In the face of media criticism of the portrayals of the Tuskegee Airmen in Red Tails, a number of activists had taken to social media to protest against what was thought to be a racially-tinged effort to denigrate the contribution of the wartime fighting unit. Beginning with statements to support the film made by surviving Tuskegee Airmen who had seen the film in previews, and spurred by the comments made by Lucas in a candid interview on The Daily Show where the producer openly discussed the difficulties of trying to get Red Tails made over the past 23 years, a Facebook campaign was started. In the Oakland, California premiere, two sold-out screenings were a testament to the success of the campaign. Effie Tesfahun, one of the organizers, explained, “When [Lucas] said Hollywood does not want to touch black films, it really hit me … I thought we should get together and all go and support [this film]. Regardless of what Hollywood thinks, we all want to see positive messages of black people in the movies ... We need to speak, and speak loud, and speak with our dollars, because that’s where people pay attention, when you start talking with your money," Tesfahun said. "We are sending a message that this is what we want.”[39]

Documentary

Lucas also produced a companion documentary, Double Victory, which debuted on January 13, 2012 on H2. It details the full real life story of the Tuskegee Airmen, and includes interviews with many of the surviving members.[40]

References

Notes
  1. ^ Although the film is preluded with a note that it is based on actual events, the characters are fictional, although "à clef" portrayals of individuals involved in the Tuskegee Airmen saga.[6]
  2. ^ The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American military aviators in the United States armed forces. The film epilogue states that the Tuskegee Airmen hold one of the best fighter records in World War II, and that 66 Tuskegee pilots were killed in action.[7]
  3. ^ An "aviator call sign" or "callsign" is a nickname given to a military pilot or other flight officer. With origins back to World War II, the call sign is a substitute for a name, and is used on name tags, aircraft and radio conversations, to simplify communications and possibly mask the origin of the person from the enemy. The call sign is given and was a source of contention with "Junior" Gannon who wants others to call him "Ray Gun".[10]
  4. ^ The Tuskegee Airmen initially were equipped with Curtiss P-40 Warhawks fighter-bomber aircraft, briefly with Bell P-39 Airacobras (March 1944), later with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts (June–July 1944), and finally the fighter group acquired the fighter aircraft with which they became most commonly associated, the North American P-51 Mustang (July 1944).[11]
  5. ^ The red markings that distinguished the Tuskegee Airmen included red bands on the noses of P-51s as well as a red rudder; their P-51B and D Mustangs flew with similar color schemes, with red propeller spinners, yellow wing bands and all-red tail surfaces.[11]
  6. ^ Surviving single-seat P-51 Mustangs often have been modified to incorporate a second seat behind the pilot.[30]
Citations
  1. ^ Demby, Gene. "George Lucas: Hollywood Didn't Want To Fund 'Red Tails' Because Of Its Black Cast." huffingtonpost.com, January 11, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c Fernandez, Jay A. "Director picked for Lucasfilm project." The Hollywood Reporter, September 30, 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d "George Lucas says Hollywood won't support black films.‎" BBC News, January 12, 2012. Retrieved: January 13, 2012.
  4. ^ Fritz, Ben. "Movie Projector: Fourth "Underworld" to Soar Higher Than 'Red Tails'." The Los Angeles Times, January 20, 2012. Retrieved: January 25, 2012.
  5. ^ "Red Tails (2012)." Box Office Mojo/Internet Movie Database. Retrieved: February 5, 2012.
  6. ^ Cone, Brandon and Josh Phillips. " ‘Red Tails’ looks good, fails elsewhere." Bixby Bulletin, January 24, 2012. Retrieved: January 25, 2012.
  7. ^ "Celebrating African Americans in Aviation." San Diego Air & Space Museum. Retrieved: January 24, 2012.
  8. ^ " 'The Tuskegee Airmen'." Teach with Movies. Retrieved: January 24, 2012.
  9. ^ Berardinelli, James. "Hart's War." Reel Views, 2002. Retrieved: January 24, 2012.
  10. ^ Powell, 2nd Lt. William. "What's your sign?" Museum of the United States Air Force, June 3, 2005. Retrieved: June 29, 2012.
  11. ^ a b Rice, Markus. "The Men and Their Airplanes: The Fighters." Tuskegee Airmen, 1 March 2000.
  12. ^ "Credits: Red Tails (2012)." IMDb. Retrieved: January 24, 2012.
  13. ^ a b Spelling, Ian. "Life with Indy." Starlog #191, June 1993.
  14. ^ Madsen, Dan. "New Movie Update: 'Red Tails'." The Lucasfilm Fan Club Magazine #12, Summer 1990.
  15. ^ Curtis, Bryan. "George Lucas Is Ready to Roll the Credits." Los Angeles Times, January 17, 2012.
  16. ^ Windham et al. 2010, p. 151.
  17. ^ Eller, Claudia. "A look inside Hollywood and the movies: The Road to 'Radioland' Mill Valley Murder-Mystery, or the Not-So-Young George Lucas Chronicles." Los Angeles Times, June 20, 1993.
  18. ^ Weintraub, Steve. "Producer Rick McCallum Talks Red Tails and Live-Action Star Wars TV Series; Describes Show as 'Empire Strikes Back' on Steroids." Collider.com, January 18, 2012.
  19. ^ Dutka, Elaine. "Lucas' Next Movie: Tuskegee Airmen." Los Angeles Times, August 11, 1990.
  20. ^ "Tuskegee Airmen to be subject of Lucas film." MSNBC.com, June 17, 2008.
  21. ^ Thompson, Jeff. "TNAA honors Carters during 125th anniversary celebration." The Tuskegee News, August 5, 2010.
  22. ^ a b Orange, B. Allen. "Exclusive: Michael B. Jordan Talks Red Tails." MovieWeb.com, September 15, 2010.
  23. ^ Fleming, Michael. "Lucas taps Ridley to write 'Tails'." Variety, August 27, 2007.
  24. ^ Vejvoda, Jim. "Jackson Eyeing Red Tails.". IGN, August 18, 2008. Retrieved: August 25, 2008.
  25. ^ McNary, Dave. "Hemingway to helm 'Red Tails'." Variety, September 30, 2008.
  26. ^ a b "FGV-Schmidle: Light & Camera Rental Munich - Red Tails." fgv-rental. Retrieved: January 24, 2012.
  27. ^ Kline 1999, p. 49.
  28. ^ Kline 1999, p. 50–51.
  29. ^ a b "Red Tails: About the Production." Celebrity Wonder. Retrieved: January 24, 2012.
  30. ^ O'Leary 1998, p. 57.
  31. ^ "George Lucas' new epic shoots on F35." sony.lv. Retrieved: January 24, 2012.
  32. ^ Sperling, Nicole. "After 5 years, George Lucas is directing again." Entertainment Weekly #1092, March 5, 2010.
  33. ^ a b Larnick, Eric. "Aaron McGruder, 'Boondocks' Creator, on Writing 'Red Tails' and Working With George Lucas After Making Fun of Him.‎" moviefone, January 20, 2012. Retrieved: January 23, 2012.
  34. ^ Red Tails at Rotten Tomatoes
  35. ^ Red Tails at Metacritic
  36. ^ Holden, Stephen. "Pilots Who Fought to Soar Above Racism." The New York Times, January 19, 2012.
  37. ^ Ebert, Roger. "Red Tails." Chicago Sun-Times, January 18, 2012. Retrieved: January 24, 2012.
  38. ^ Tillman 2012, p. 28.
  39. ^ Arnold. Eric K. "Oaklanders come out in droves for “Red Tails” opening." Oakland Local, January 24, 2012. Retrieved: January 26, 2012.
  40. ^ "The History Channel presents ... Double Victory." teamredtails.com, January 8, 2012. Retrieved: February 5, 2012.
Bibliography
  • Kline, Sally, ed. George Lucas: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers series). Jackson, Mississippi: Press of Mississippi, 1999. ISBN 978-1578061259.
  • O'Leary, Michael. North American Aviation P-51 Mustang (Osprey Production Line to Frontline 1). Oxford, UK: Osprey, 1998. ISBN 978-1855327030.
  • Tillman, Barrett. "Tales of the Red Tails; Inside the Tuskegee Legend: The men, the machines, the missions." Flight Journal, February 2012.
  • Windham, Ryder, Daniel Wallace and Pablo Hidalgo. Star Wars: Year By Year - A Visual Chronicle. New York: DK Publishing, 2010. ISBN 978-1-40534-167-7.

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