The Blue Max

As directed by John Guillermin (who later made The Battle of Britain in 1969), the film's main assets are epic production values, great flying scenes, and stunning dogfights. The weak point is the sometimes ponderous character drama, not helped by Peppard, who is too lightweight an actor to convince as the driven antihero. Clearly influenced by Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1958), The Blue Max is a cold, cynical drama offering a visually breathtaking portrait of a stultified society tearing itself apart during the final months of the Great War. --Gary S. Dalkin

Predictably, he rebels even as he never fits in with his comrades. It is illustrated well by his response to his first kill (which sadly goes unconfirmed even after he went scouring the countryside for the plane he shot down). He "responds" by getting his first confirmed kill by shooting down the next enemy plane over his own airfield. While his betters who populate the squadron never cease to remind him of his place, he continues up the ranks to best them all while ridiculing their so-called code of honor. "Chivalry?" he sneers. "To kill a man and then make a ritual out of saluting him is hypocrisy."

It has great flying battle scenes. Also, a wonderful supporting cast including the aforementioned Manson, his slutty aristocratic wife (the magnificent Ursula Andress) and a stick-up-the-butt colleague/rival fellow officer (Jeremy Kemp). Karl Vogler plays von Heiderman, the Commanding Officer who refuses to let go of his notions of warfare with honor, in the face of the barbaric commencement of the 20th century.

I disagree with the reviewer who says Peppard was out of his depth in this role. He plays the part of the anti-hero very well. I was even more impressed after reading that he did his own flying in this film.

It is very long, but worth the time.


An Overlooked Gem   May 13, 2005
B. Merritt (WWW.FILMREVIEWSTEW.COM, Pacific Grove, California United States)
24 out of 24 found this review helpful

We always see "our side" (i.e., the American side) of wars whenever we watch films. Well, maybe not always, but very often. So it was refreshing to see, not only a movie based on German perceptions, but one also based on WW I instead of WW II.

George Peppard plays Bruno Stachel, an ordinary man from an ordinary family, who gets inducted into the elitist German air corp toward the end of the Great War. The upper echelon fighter jocks are none to pleased to see a dirt poor boy come up into their ranks, but Bruno doesn't much care. What he does care about (in fact, becomes infatuated with) is winning The Blue Max, the German medal for downing 20 enemy planes or more. His focus is so intent on this little scrap of metal that he ignores even his humanity. He'll conquer anything, or anyone, that gets in his way.

A stellar cast outlines this film as well, with James Mason playing a General propagandist, Jeremy Kemp as a rival flyer, and the lovely Ursula Andress who acts as a decadent love interest that is way beyond Bruno's reach.

The movie is outstanding, not only in its casting, but in many other aspects, too. The air battle scenes are amazing (remember, this was filmed in 1966). The plot is incredible in that it shows the dying actions of chivalry that, up to that point, were used during battle. And we have a bit of nudity during what I like to call "the floppy towel scene", when Ursula's character has relations with Peppard's.

Quite an achievement for a film shot so long ago. A visual and mind building feast.


The Blue Max ,revisited   February 6, 2002
Rick Galati (Lake St. Louis, Missouri United States)
20 out of 20 found this review helpful

This is one of those films that seems to get better with age. It is the story of a low-born warrior Bruno Stachel (George Peppard), who by force of will and talent, rises out of a common foxhole and into the cockpit of a fighter airplane in the closing days of WW1. It is his arch-nemesis, the aristocratic flying ace Willi von Klugermann,(Jeremy Kemp) who keenly observes Stachel's ruthlessness and nicknames him "Cobra". The aerial flying sequences are breathtaking and plentiful, many of the aircraft were constructed for the making of this movie, unlike computer generated duplications so common today. The slow cadence and almost hesitating sound of unreliable machine guns firing from the flimsy aircraft they were fitted to is striking testament to the sound editors art. Stachel's ambition for glory "in and out of bed" is unmatched by his well-born and condecending comrades. But in the end, his destiny is inexorably tilted by an unyielding competitiveness, a beautiful countess (Ursula Andress),her shrewd and powerful husband Count General von Klugermann,(masterfully portrayed by James Mason), and a demoralized, desperate Germany in the waning days of WW1. The production values of this film are excellent, the sets striking, and obvious attention to historical detail is evident. Jerry Goldsmith's musical score ties a compelling story line together with subtle variations of a hauntingly beautiful musical theme. It is my hope this film will be digitally remastered for DVD release.


A fine war movie despite the miscast lead.   May 28, 2003
Roger J. Buffington (Huntington Beach, CA United States)
17 out of 30 found this review helpful

There should be more movies made about the first world war, one of mankind's greatest struggles, and greatest mistakes. This movie deals with a German air squadron in the final days of the war, as Germany begins to sucumb to Allied superiority in numbers due to the American intervention.

George Peppard plays the lead, Bruno Stacher, as a lower-class German officer and talented air combat flyer trying to overcome the limitations of birth imposed by this class-ridden society. He is obsessed with winning "The Blue Max" -- Germany's medal awarded for shooting down 20 enemy planes. This would enable the protagonist to overcome his lower-class origins. Unfortunately, Stachel is morally flawed in a number of ways which eventually bring about his demise.

As the Amazon review of the movie indicates, Peppard appears to lack the stature to successfully pull off playing this rather complicated role. Jeremy Kemp, as Stacher (Peppard's) upper-class friend, along with James Mason as the pragmatic German general, overshadow Peppard. Ursula Andress plays the jaded, amoral German countess to perfection.

The above criticism notwithstanding, this is a fine entertaining movie. The action scenes are very authentic and are a pleasure to watch. This was a big budget movie and it shows. The movie, although on the long side, generally moves along at a brisk pace and retains the viewer's interest. All in all, this is an interesting look at the German officer corps in the latter stage of World War 1. Caste-ridden, fighting for a lost cause, but not without chivalry and honor.


"When they kill me, I don't want anyone to salute."   February 10, 2004
Ghenghis (Monvolia)
17 out of 19 found this review helpful

I dont know what to say about this movie other than I've watched it about 30 times, and the DVD lives up to the memories of the theatrical release 40 years ago.

In this DVD we have an outstanding 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer and the source material looks to have been in pretty good condition. The indoor scenes look very sharp, but the outdoor scenes suffer slightly from being mostly shot in overcast conditions but they are amazing and beatifully choreographed and don't diminish the quality of the aerial sequences. Overall,the color is well balanced and energetic. And the Dolby Digital 2.0 is 'adequate',,,, just crank up your stereo.

Extras are limited to English, Spanish, and Portuguese trailers (Yes - Portuguese!), plus trailers for five other Fox War films. Yawwwn! 5 Kills