Wings (1927)

War and romance are beautifully interwoven in this, one of the most well-regarded films about the First World War and the very first Best Picture Oscar winner. A cast that includes Clara Bow, Charles Rogers, Richard Arlen and a very young Gary Cooper, this silent epic took audiences to the skies in the throws of aerial combat and into the heart of America's "it" girl.

One might have to look pretty hard to see past the blatant American propaganda as the film is something of a big pat on the back for the doughboys (you might be able to see the influence on Quentin Tarantino's film within a film in "Inglorious Basterds"), but if you can, this film can be an emotionally resonant experience. Coming just nine years after the defeat of the Germans, director William A. Wellman might have thought it best to celebrate heroism and cushion the atrocities of the then ugliest war in man's history. It certainly does tackle the horrors of death, but in a glossy, Hollywood fashion.

Jack and David (Rogers and Arlen) are two young men from Smalltown, USA who are conscripted when WAR descends unto America, wreathed in flames. The boys are dragged from crying mothers and their girls--though Jack doesn't realize that Sylvia, the girl he loves, has already fallen for David--and shipped off to France in order to be trained as pilots. Mary (Bow) is left behind to worry about Jack, who is completely oblivious of her affections towards him.

The film turns to Europe where the boys are sent to fight the Kaiser's army and save the continent from itself. The aerial sequences are spectacular; the audience breathlessly zooms through the clouds, shooting down German fighters in dogfight after dogfight, as cameras strapped to the engines of the planes take viewers to the eyes of the pilots. None of the actors knew how to fly a plane before filming began, but by the end they were experts.  Many might now feel the strain of watching so much up in the air, but this was revolutionary when it came out and following Charles Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic, audiences could not get enough of the flying. I, frankly, found it rather exhilarating knowing that one man broke his neck on set and another man died while trying to capture a scene.

While the film might have been marketed around these fight scenes and though they are rather amazing, the story has heart and it revolves around Mary's love of Jack and the very strong friendship (almost homoerotically so) between Jack and David. The heart is ridiculous, stupid, blind and irrational, but one cannot combat the power of love, this film seems to say. Bow uses all of her charm, which is ample, and I must say I've developed a bit of a crush on her. There are great, tender moments from all three leads, not least of all a passionate kiss in a destroyed cottage and Mary's controversial decision regarding a very important notice.

The film probably does not tackle death as bleakly as it should have, and it certainly doesn't address the psychological affects of trench warfare in the way that the far superior "All Quiet on the Western Front" would do three years later, but it is still moving to observe the ways relationships are thrust together and torn apart due to a war that affected people that it had no right touching.

There are better films about this war, but it is clear how much "Wings" would affect future filmmakers. From its great performances to its deft direction to its wonderfully choreographed battles, this is a testament to ingenuity. It's glossy where it shouldn't be for modern audiences and a bit too USA!!!, but its heart is in the right place at all of the right moments.

3.5/4