Wings

Like Eric Player, I saw this film many years ago, and it too is one of those rare flicks that remains imprinted on one's memory.

I don't know if any of my fellow reviewers have seen this film as it was meant to be seen -- in a pristine restored print, shown on an actual movie screen with live organ accompaniement.

And Not on VHS tape (yuchh)!!!

I live in the Washington DC area, which also happens to have, outside of Hollywood, two centers of film preservation and restoration: the Library of Congress Motion Picture archives, and the American Film Institute.

Some 15 - 20 years ago, I attended a screening through the AFI, as part of its great classics film festival, and was blown away by this presentation.

The quality of the restored print was so startingly crisp that it looked as if it was shot the day before.

No need to expound further upon the performances, nor the plot, save to say that Wings just about has everything that makes a special film great.

Incidentally, the always handsome Charles Buddy Rogers had a special regard for this film, and often in his later years, accompanied Wings when it was shown at festivals and college film classes.

Rogers lived into his early nineties -- the last surviving star of the film -- and died just around 5 years ago!


Wings: A Worthy First Best Picture Winner   September 2, 2002
Martin Asiner (jersey city, nj United States)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

WINGS has most of the virtues and only a few of the vices of the silent movie. The lack of speech requires the audience to pay close attention to subtle nuances of facial expression and scene change. Director William Wellman managed to create an impressive recreation of a war that was silent on the screen but not in the mind. The plot, though thin, still carries the movie to the point where the real stars come in--the exciting dogfights that still resonate with visual power. Clara Bow is the marquee star but she disappears after the first half, only to reappear minutes before the closing credits. Charles Rogers, who bears a stunning resemblance to Robert Downey Jr., plays Jack, the object of her love, who in turn loves Sylvia, played by Jobyna Ralston. Richard Arlen is David, who also loves Sylvia. Mary (Bow) loves Jack (Rogers) but confusingly tells David that she loves him. The love quadrangle becomes even more tangled when Jack effortlessly and conveniently switches affection from Sylvia to Mary. Once, however, the viewer rolls with the numerous romantic plot twists, he can see that the aerial fight scenes form the collective real star of the film. And beyond them lies an anti-war subtext in whose carnal viciousness prefigures the much later graphic killing fields of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. To appreciate WINGS, one must view it as contemporary audiences did. To them, WINGS was a movie whose plot was secondary to the then state of the arts special effects. The result was a convincing and viscerally effective film that is worth the while to view, even after nearly seventy-five years.


ah, Clara...   February 25, 2000
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

I keep running across critics badmouthing this film, and I can't for the life of me understand why. Everyone seems to agree, at least, that the flight sequences are amazing --- some of the best ever filmed. Wellman held up production so that the skies would look just right behind the planes. Quite striking... If you're a Clara Bow fan, she's not really in this quite enough, but she is certainly adorable and looks great in her uniform. One complaint I've heard about this film is that Buddy Rogers isn't a compelling enough actor. This is hogwash, I think, and I can't understand why I keep reading it. He's perfectly charming, and very moving, in a couple of scenes in particular. Adding to the enjoyment are a few unique directorial choices --- the bizarre bubbles floating all around in the drunk scene and some very strange camera movements for example. It's nice to see Gary Cooper (VERY briefly) so young, too. Apparently he "stole" the scene he was in, and had everyone talking about him. Really, he just sort of pops in for a minute and looks handsome and sweet, but it's nice to see him nonetheless... All in all, I'd rank this as one of my favorite Academy Award winners.


A bit above average, I guess.   May 8, 2004
E. Belianski (Toronto, CANADA)
7 out of 12 found this review helpful

Well, here is exactly the type of silent film that most people do not watch nowadays; it's neither a comedy like the Charlie Chaplin movies, nor a horror film like Nosferatu. This, instead, is a typical American action/drama flick, with ample quantities of both.

It certainly suffers at times for being a silent film; dialogues have to be displayed on the screen, and this happens quite often because the story here is sometimes quite complex. Not only do the characters talk a lot, but the story also often requires some explaining, and some of the explanations can be quite long.

The action sequences are not as "big" as in they would be in movies today, but they are a lot more impressive in their own way. I was just amazed at how they could have shot some of those sequences; I got the impression that the person who was shooting was probably in quite a lot of danger, because I knew that they could not have used special effects in 1927; what I was seeing was the real thing. It was quite exhilirating to see those old, unsafe, WW1 planes in the air. I do not think that any director today would be crazy enough to duplicate something like this with real planes, so this is probably the only chance anyone has to see these planes in action, and feel like you're right in the thick of a dogfight.

That having been said, the film does stretch out for a bit too long sometimes. It never really gets boring, but it never really gets particularly interesting for most of the movie either. Most of the time, it's just entertaining enough to keep you watching it.

The reason I gave it a "4" is because the ending, when it comes, is quite good (don't let anybody spoil it for you; watch for yourself), and also because of the action sequences. The film is also quite funny in a few spots, notably in any scene with the patriotic Dutch aviator (I wish we had seen more of him), and in the Paris "drunken man" scene.

Overall, not a bad movie, and one that I know others may like more than me; so go ahead and see it (don't forget, though; it's 131 minutes)!


Still "Holds Up" After 70+ Years!   March 19, 2000
Phil Figgs (Kansas, USA)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

I saw "Wings" for the first time tonight, but not on a tape -- at a silent movie festival! I sat in a huge, dark auditorium and soaked in the music of a live theatre organist. Now granted, you won't see it larger than life like this at home, but I've GOT to tell you how much I liked this movie! It was NOT slow for me; not at all! The combat scenes are fantastic, especially for this early period of movie making. The story was touching, the dogfight scenes were thrilling. . . what can I say? WATCH this moive, and you'll want to own it! I know I plan to buy it!