this film have virtually nothing to do with the original memphis belle of 1944 and except i suppose that it involve the crew of a b 17 on their final mission . maybe a few duplicate shot . that about it . two notably good thing about it . one be that it give u the feeling of what it really like to be aboard a bomber in combat and or at least i think it do and never have be in that situation myself . they have convince me though . on the ground the big airplane shiver from the vibration of the four engine like a magic finger mattress . everyone and everything jiggle at high frequency . we see bombs arm in flight . we see what the target look like through the bombardier sight . we feel the airplane lurch upward after the couple of ton worth of bomb be release . and we catch some of the dynamic of the crew . the bombardier have pose a a doctor . one waist gunner play grab with the other religious medallion . the other outstanding feature be the aerial photography and or the computer generate image . everything be so crisp and so clean and so sky blue and except for those black blotch ahead and the drab b 17 drone their way to and from hell . it extremely excite too and once it get off the ground . that part of the problem . everything we see happen to the memphis belle happen to one 8th air force bomber or another and but never to the same airplane on the same mission . it a if all the very real danger face these flier have be put into a duck press and slap onto the plot . if you have see airplane in jeopardy movie before and you will find little that innovative here . a man dangle out of a hole in the fuselage ( twice ) . the near miss after takeoff . the sight of a buddy ship go down . should we throw the badly wounded radio operator out with a parachute over germany in hope that his life will be save . be run out of fuel throw out everything we do not need . let sing danny boy for good luck . the whole film be derivative and from the beginning to the end and and everything be spell out in big letter like a child alphabet book . the opening line from a pr officer tell u a lot . let see now . we have a guy from omaha and then an irishman from boston and or something like that . the pr officer ( john lithgow ) turn out to be a knucklehead ( baloney be my business ) but that doesn not stop the writer from use him a the crude tool of exposition . the opening scene and a drunken party and be rip off from das boot and only here and in case you do not know why the party be take place and it make plain for you . i do not want to die . one drunk scream at the sky . in das boot wolfgang peterson let you figure out for yourself that despair lead to drunkenness . his writer think you have enough in the way of inferential ability to pick it up . these writer do not . the dialog be ludicrous and right out of a 1944 funnybook . captain to crew represent let make this our best bomb run ever . crew member represent right down the pickle barrel . captain represent you bet . captain to crew represent boy and nobody ever say this be gon na be all fun and game . be here to do a job so let do it . if we do not do it somebody else will have to come back and do it . there be virtually no swearing . it alright for u to see a man blood and gut splatter all over the nose and but we aren not allow to hear a terrified or a wounded man shout or or even . i think the most nauseating bit that include in this movie and from the point of view of poetics and be the damned dog . see and a in all other bomb movie and the ground crew be wait tensely for the return of their airplane and crew . they play desultory softball to distract themselves but glance into the sky from time to time . they have a dog . the dog mirror the anxiety of the men and skulk around and look worried . at one point he flop onto his belly and his chin bury in his paw and and seem to be look airward . i think this be know a the pathetic fallacy . at least the writer leave out the conflict of crew member about some mixed up love affair back on the ground . well the film may serve it didactic purpose anyway . kid who do not know why this war be call world war two may learn something from it . ( a student at a well know university once compliment barbara tuchman after a lecture on world war i and say he would always wonder why the other be call wwii . ) for the rest of u and if you can stomach that dog you can get through an exciting and well photographed war movie .