Howard Hughes' Hell's Angels

Howard Hughes' Hell's Angels
British brothers become world war i pilots and fall for a platinum blonde. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 12/07/2004 Starring: Ben Lyon James Hall Run time: 135 minutes Rating: Pg Director: Howard Hughes
Customer Review: An interesting slice of film history, but very heavy going as a movie
Out of circulation for decades until producer-director Howard Hughes' death, Hell's Angels is one of those films that are perhaps better heard about than seen. The production of the film, that saw three pilots die and others - Hughes included - involved in crashes while the budget steadily climbed to $3.8m, an amount so huge in 1931 that it could never be recouped at the box-office, is unfortunately far more dramatic than anything on the screen. Indeed, it's a shame Universal couldn't accompany this DVD with a documentary: as it is, it's completely extras free. The story was regarded as mawkishly clichéd in 1931 and it's not got any better with age. What's surprising is that, for all the spectacle and danger, many of the aerial sequences aren't as impressive as other early WW1 pictures like The Dawn Patrol or William Wellman's magnificent Wings (still the gold standard for WW1 aviation films and currently the only Best Picture Oscar winner not available on DVD). Indeed, the scenes covering the making of the film in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator are far more exhilarating and breathtaking than anything in the film itself. It's possible that the original version of the film was better - it was started and completed as a silent film in 1928 with Greta Nissen in the Jean Harlow role before the coming of sound convinced Hughes to bury the original version and entirely reshoot it as a talkie - but despite having the more than capable James Whale and Edmund Goulding as uncredited co-directors, the final cut often feels like a creaking home movie made for an audience of one. It still has its moments, but getting to them often feels like harder work than it should. The restoration is as good as can be expected, restoring the original tints and early Two-Strip Technicolor sequence (from a print sourced in John Wayne's private collection!), though often the age of the material is very apparent in the picture quality.
Customer Review: Howard Hughes Comes To Hollywood
Brothers Roy and Monte Rutledge ditch their native Oxford for England's Royal Flying Corps at the onset of the First World War. One of the brothers (James Hall) is madly in love with a beguiling and attractive girl named Helen, played by Jean Harlow. Meanwhile, after the news that war has been declared on Germany, their German friend Karl (John Darrow) is ordered back to his country to enlist in the war and fight Britain; a sentence he resents on account that he considers the English his friends. Karl ultimately ends up on a Zeppelin (a German airship) with orders to bomb an area in London. As the story progresses Roy and Monte volunteer for a risky mission: to bomb a German munitions facility using a German plane. Before they commence to their duty however, Roy and Monte decide to enjoy what could possibly be their last night together and Roy goes off and looks for Helen, only to find her in the arms of another man. (Sometime in mid 1934, The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) drafted a document that set the standards on what was acceptable to be shown on motion picture screens. A lewd scene in the movie involving Helen and a drunken man is a fine example of pre-code behavior). "Hell's Angels" was really a movie ahead of its time. Howard Hughes, the director, wasn't afraid to do anything if he knew it would be beneficial to the picture, and cost certainly wasn't an issue because the results were sensational. The aerial sequences alone were convincing for its time, and even today, because it was acheived through the means of practical effects and obviously required an aviator's skill. The color sections of the film (the destruction of the Zeppelin in particular), were also well done, creating the right atmosphere for a highly elevated airship in danger of being compromised. And the sacrificing of the German airman falling down a darkened pit without even so much as a whimper was both frightening and unnerving; this scene is a sparkling example of how images can triumph over words. But what I found most wonderful of all in this film was an eight minute, two-strip Technicolor scene featuring Jean Harlow, the only color footage that exists of the actress.