Does the Trailer for Red Tails Compare to The Tuskegee Airmen?
Just hours after George Lucas and Lucasfilm announced a release date for the long, long, long in development Tuskegee Airmen action-drama Red Tails, the first trailer has debuted online. "We count our victories by the bombers we get to their targets, by the husbands we return to their wives, by the fathers we give back to their children," says a very determined Terrence Howard at a crucial moment in the very determined two-minute clip. Sounds heroic, Terry! But how does Red Tails compare to the 1995 HBO film, The Tuskegee Airmen?
Pretty well, actually! In fact, they look fairly similar, save for the Lucasfilm-enhanced scenes of aerial battle in Red Tails, which dwarf similar scenes in Airmen. (That is Cuba Gooding Jr. appearing in both films to muddy the waters further.) All of which raises the question: Do you like your Tuskegee Airmen historical dramas laced with the stoicism of Terrence Howard or the stoicism of Laurence Fishburne? That answer will go pretty far in determining your interest in Red Tails when it's released on Jan. 20, 2012.
VERDICT: Delayed on the tarmac.
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Comments
If nothing else, the combat footage looks impressive. Obviously, that doesn't mean it's a well-executed story, but I remember Tuskegee's stock footage shots snapping me right out the reality of that film. The problem with barrier-breaking films like these is the melodramatic self-awareness of their own importance. In that respect, it looks like Red Tails is exactly the same. Hopefully, that's just the way the trailer is cut.
Oh, and Lawrence Fishburne > Terrence Howard all day long.
I'm surprised this trailer has gotten a pass from so many others on the interwebs today. Is it because it's Friday? Because the story of the Tuskegee Airmen is so heartwarming and heroic? Because they don't remember The Tuskegee Airmen? Or, because we're actually missing something, and this looks good? The mind reels.
Alright! Let's glorify war and killing some more! I love the line in the trailer when one of the black guys goes "We have the right to fight for our country." Yeah..... the same country that beat you, killed you and enslaved you for a hundred years. Only black people could be dumb enough to be tricked into such blind nationalism. That's like jews going "We have the right to fight for Germany!!"
JD, your views demonstrate a lack of understanding of the historical importance of the Red Tails squadron and the contribution they made to the march towards inclusion and equality for black Americans in the armed forces. These people were Americans as much as anyone else and they had just as much to lose if America and Britain lost World War II. This movie does not glorify war; it recognizes and applauds the heroic actions of the first black United States Air Corps squadron. The Tuskegee Airmen are true heroes.
Wow even today the idiot still exists
The thing that I find disappointing, if not alarming, is that when TH says "We count our victories by the bombers we get to their targets, by the husbands we return to their wives, by the fathers we give back to their children..." Well, the pilots in those bombers sure as heck weren't black. So once again, the African-American is there to sacrifice himself on the altar of the superior ra- sorry, his superior officer.
*cough* loser *cough*
Is that why so many white pilots were killed before the Tuskegee air man were even put to the test. To accomplish the goal that they could not. superior my ass
The end justified the means. True patriots always rise above the pettiness of the issue itself whether it be racism, social inequalities, etc. Judging from the outcome, I think that their stance was well worth the effort in that it debunked the myth ( 1925 Air War College Report) surrounding AAs ability to fight and serve in that capacity. And, didn't shortly after the war President Truman signed executive order 9981. This order issued on July 26, 1948 by President Truman expanded on Executive Order 8802 by establishing equality of treatment and opportunity in the Armed Services for people of all races, religions, or national origins.
As a retired Air Force Master Sergeant and long-time Air Force history buff, the only flaw I find is there was no mention of Lt. Colonel (now General) Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. - commander of the 332nd Fighter Group. There are some who believe the character of Colonel A.J. Bullard, in the Red Tails film, is based on Davis. General Davis deserves his own place in such a historic film, not a character based on him and his command just as much as he deserved his fourth star.
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