Red Tails

Red Tails
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Anthony Hemingway Uncredited: George Lucas[1]
Produced by	Rick McCallum Chas. Floyd Johnson Executive Producer: George Lucas
Screenplay by	John Ridley Aaron McGruder
Story by	John Ridley
Starring	Cuba Gooding, Jr. Terrence Howard
Music by	Terence Blanchard
Cinematography	John Aronson
Editing by	Michael O'Halloran Ben Burtt
Studio	Lucasfilm
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	January 20, 2012 (2012-01-20)
Running time	121 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$58 million[2][3][4][5]
Box office	$49,869,881[6]

Red Tails is a 2012 war film produced by Lucasfilm and released by 20th Century Fox.^{[N 1]} The film is a fictionalized portrayal of the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American United States Army Air Force (USAAF) servicemen during World War II.^{[N 2]}

Filmed in 2009, Red Tails was directed by Anthony Hemingway from a screenplay by John Ridley, with additional material shot the following year with executive producer George Lucas as director and Aaron McGruder as writer of the reshoots.^[1] Red Tails is the first Lucasfilm production since the 1994 film Radioland Murders that is not associated with the Indiana Jones or Star Wars franchises. The film stars Cuba Gooding, Jr. (who previously starred in The Tuskegee Airmen, an HBO made-for-television film about the same group of pilots) in his first theatrical film in five years,^[9] and Terrence Howard (who had also portrayed a Tuskegee pilot in Hart's War).^[10]

Plot

The film begins with a group of Messerschmitt Bf-109's attacking a formation of B-17 Flying Fortresses inflicting heavy losses. The escorting fighters go after the marauding Bf109's at the cost of leaving the bombers vulnerable to another wave of Bf-109's. The story then shifts to 1944, Where the 332d Fighter Group comprising of young African American USAAF fighter pilots are finally sent into combat in Italy, after enduring racism throughout their recruitment and training in the Tuskegee training program. They are assigned worn-out Curtiss P-40 Warhawk aircraft. Chafing at their ground attack missions against trains and enemy ground transport, the Tuskegee Airmen recognize that they may never fight the Luftwaffe in fighter-to-fighter combat. The tight-knit group of Joe "Lightning" Little (David Oyelowo), Martin "Easy" Julian (Nate Parker), Ray "Ray Gun" or "Junior" Gannon (Tristan Wilds), and Samuel "Joker" George (Elijah Kelley) under the guidance of Major Emanuel Stance (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) and Col. A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard), face a white military bureaucracy still resistant to accepting black flyers as equals.^{[N 3]}

Strife develops between roommates and best friends, Easy and Lightning, each of whom are battling their own inner demons; Lightning is a hotheaded and reckless pilot who takes too many risks, while Easy is an alcoholic prone to self doubt. After returning to base from a mission, Lightning spies a pretty Italian girl named Sofia (Daniela Ruah), becomes instantly infatuated with her, and starts a relationship.

Meanwhile, Stance is able to secure a chance to "light up the board" when the Tuskegee Airmen are chosen to support the Allied landings at Anzio, Italy known as Operation Shingle. There, they battle German fighters led by a German ace pilot they nickname, "Pretty Boy" (Lars van Riesen),who led the attack on the B-17's in the beginning of the film. The Tuskegee Airmen score their first aerial victories over the enemy, as well as destroying a German airfield. However, Ray Gun is injured during the battle and suffers impaired vision in one of his eyes. Ray Gun begs Easy to keep him on the flight roster who ultimately relents and allows him to keep flying.

Bullard is then approached by the USAAF Bomber Command, who are impressed with the Tuskegee Airmen's performance and ask him to use his fighters as bomber escorts due to unacceptably high casualties among bomber crews. Bullard accepts on the condition that his unit be supplied with the new North American P-51 Mustang^{[N 4]}. The tails of the aircraft are painted bright red and become the unofficial name of the outfit. Bullard noted that the flaw of previous escort fighters is that they would recklessly pursue German fighters at the cost of protecting the bombers, so he orders his pilots to stay with the bombers at all costs. Their first escort mission is a success, with the 332nd downing multiple Luftwaffe aircraft without the loss of a single bomber. However, Ray Gun is shot down and captured while Deke crash lands and nearly dies.

As a result of his injuries, Deke is discharged, and Ray Gun is assumed to be dead. Easy realizes it was his fault Ray Gun was allowed to fly, blames himself and spirals deeper into alcoholism. Lightning, worried about his friend, makes a deal with Easy; he will follow orders and fly less recklessly as long as Easy remains sober. Meanwhile, attitudes against the Tuskegee Airmen begin to change as they earn the bomber crews' respect, even being allowed into the "whites only" officer's club. Ray Gun is sent to a POW camp, where he is recruited by a group of POWs who are planning to escape. The escape attempt is successful, but some of the POWs are spotted by a guard so Ray Gun draws the Germans' attention while the other POWs escape. One of the POWs manages to reach the 332nd's base and informs them about Ray Gun's sacrifice, assuming him to be dead. Later, Lightning finally proposes to Sofia and she accepts.

The Tuskegee Airmen are then tasked with escorting the first American bombers to attack Berlin. However, despite their P-51s having more than enough fuel for the trip, the 332nd is only asked to escort the bombers on the first leg of their journey due to propaganda reasons. But the fighter squadron meant to relieve the 332nd never arrives, and Easy makes the decision to stay with bombers all the way. They are then attacked by Pretty Boy, now leading a flight of revolutionary Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters. Despite being outclassed by the jet fighters' superior speed and 30 mm cannon, the Tuskegee Airmen are able to shoot down some of the Me 262s. Pretty Boy manages to get on Easy's tail and is about to shoot him down, but at the last moment, Lightning attacks and kills Pretty Boy in a head-on attack. Victorious, but mortally wounded, he eventually crashes. Easy is then forced to inform Sofia about Lightning's death and consequently overcomes his alcoholism for good. At Lightning's funeral, Ray Gun miraculously returns, having survived his escape from German captivity.

Ultimately, the Tuskegee Airmen are awarded the Presidential Unit Citation in honor of their achievements.

Cast

Tuskegee Airmen: Capt. Wendell O. Pruitt with his crew chief, S/Sgt. Samuel W. Jacobs, c. November 1944

The Tuskegee Airmen’s aircraft had distinctive markings that led to the name, “Red Tails.”^{[N 5]}

As appearing in Red Tails, (main roles and screen credits identified):^[13]

• Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Major Emanuel Stance
• Terrence Howard as Col. A.J Bullard
• Nate Parker as Martin "Easy" Julian
• David Oyelowo as Joe "Lightning" Little
• Ne-Yo as Andrew "Smoky" Salem
• Elijah Kelley as Samuel "Joker" George
• Tristan Wilds as Ray "Ray Gun" or "Junior" Gannon
• Kevin Phillips as Leon "Neon" Edwards
• Marcus T. Paulk as David "The Deacon" Watkins
• Michael B. Jordan as Maurice "Bumps" Wilson
• Daniela Ruah as Sofia
• Bryan Cranston as Col. William Mortamus
• Ryan Early as Captain Bryce
• Lars van Riesen as "Pretty Boy" (the German antagonist pilot)
• Method Man as "Sticks"
• Gerald McRaney as General Luntz
• Henry Garrett as Hart
• Robert Kazinsky as Chester Barnes
• Rick Otto as Flynt
• Lee Tergesen as Col. Jack Tomilson
• Andre Royo as Chief "Coffee" Coleman
• Leslie Odom, Jr. as Walter "Winky" Hall
• Jermaine Johnson as "Sneeky"
• Edwina Finley as "CeCe"
• Stacie Davis as Mae
• Aml Ameen as "Bag O'Bones"
• Rupert Penry-Jones as Campbell

Production

George Lucas began developing Red Tails around 1988,^[14] after hearing of the Tuskegee Airmen from his friend George Hall, a photographer.^[15][16] At the time, the film was scheduled for release in 1992,^[17] with Kevin Sullivan writing the screenplay and Thomas Carter directing.^[18] Lucas originally conceived of the film as a long, detailed narrative similar to Lawrence of Arabia, and as a trilogy,^[4] but after multiple script drafts, he decided to focus on the combat portion of the story.^[19] He compared it to Tucker: The Man and His Dream as "a story too good to be true".^[20] In researching the film, Lucasfilm invited some of the surviving Tuskegee Airmen to Skywalker Ranch, where they were interviewed about their experiences during World War II.^[21][22] Lucasfilm was also given access to the original mission logbooks used by some of the pilots.^[23] A number of writers worked on the project until John Ridley was hired in 2007 to write the screenplay.^[14][24] Lucas held discussions with Samuel L. Jackson regarding Jackson possibly directing and acting in the film. Although Jackson praised the script, he did not commit to either role.^[25] Anthony Hemingway was ultimately chosen to direct in 2008.^[26]

Pre-production began in January 2009, with location scouting having taken place in June 2008 in Prague, Czech Republic, Italy and Croatia.^[3] Production began in March 2009 with high-definition Sony F35 cameras used for principal photography,^[27] which took place in the Czech Republic, Italy, Croatia and England over a period from August to December.^[3] While shooting in the Czech Republic, the actors also underwent a "boot camp" program, during which they lived in similar conditions to the actual Tuskegee Airmen.^[23]

Harkening back to his early work on Star Wars where he had studied World War II aerial footage to create the space aerobatics performed by Rebel X-wings and TIE fighters, Lucas was familiar with World War II aerial combat.^[28]The Lucas template for photographing computer-generated imagery (CGI) dogfighting "involved lots of action, continuous motion, moving camera, streaks, loops and rolls, and all of the things aerial photography allows you to do in live action."^[29] Aerial scenes in Red Tails involved actors sitting in a gimbal-mounted cockpits (and mock-up fuselages and wings), in front of a green screen, rocked back and forth by production crew members.^[30] In order to achieve a realistic reaction, actors were flown in actual P-51 Mustangs at the Planes of Fame in Chino, California, to experience the forces involved in dogfighting.^{[N 6][30]}

Editing began while the production was in Prague. Avid editing systems were used simultaneously in a Prague studio and at Lucasfilm.^[32] A vehicle was fitted with a "technical center" so that the production could quickly move between locations.^[27] In March 2010, Lucas took over direction of reshoots, as Hemingway was busy working on episodes of the HBO series, Treme.^[33] The Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder was brought in late in production, after Hemingway's principal photography, to provide re-writes for the Lucas-directed reshoots.^[1]

In April 2009, Tuskegee Airman Lt. Col. Lee A. Archer Jr. was selected to be an advisor for Red Tails. He died in 2010 while the film was in post-production and the final credits bear a tribute to Archer.^[34]

Lucas covered the cost of production with his own money, and provided a further $35 million for distribution.^[4] In an interview on The Daily Show on January 9, 2012, Lucas revealed that the long delay in the production of the film was because major film studios balked at financing and marketing a film with an "all-black" cast and "no major white roles." He went on to explain that studios receive "60% of their profit" from overseas, and the studios feel there is no market there for films with all-black casts.^[4]

Red Tails was the first film to use Barco’s Auro-3D 11.1 surround sound system.^[35]

Reception

Red Tails received predominantly negative reviews from film critics, currently holding a 36% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes; the consensus states: "Despite a worthy fact-based story and obvious good intentions, Red Tails suffers from one-dimensional characters, corny dialogue, and heaps of cliches."^[36] On Metacritic, the film holds a 46/100 rating, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[37] The main criticism was directed to the tone of the film; Stephen Holden in The New York Times review, noted, "In structure and tone, “Red Tails” proudly harks back to the 1940s and ’50s, when good guys were good, and bad guys bad."^[38] In rebuttal, co-writer Aaron McGruder commented on the film's tone: "Some people are going to like this tonal choice and some people are going to say, 'Oh it should've been heavier and it should've been more dramatic.' But there's a version of this that doesn't have to be Saving Private Ryan. We can be Star Wars, as crazy as it is."^[1] Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times review, stated, "Red Tails is entertaining. Audiences are likely to enjoy it. The scenes of aerial combat are skillfully done and exciting."^[39] In a similar vein, aviation historian Budd Davison, in agreement with fellow historian Barrett Tillman, although cognizant of the "Hollywood treatment," had a caution to aviation enthusiasts looking for a faithful reenactment of the Tuskegee legend, "... buy some popcorn, lean back and enjoy, this is Hollywood telling a story, not making a documentary. Save your guffaws until afterward with your friends."^[40]

In the face of media criticism of the portrayals of the Tuskegee Airmen in Red Tails, a number of activists had taken to social media to protest against what was thought to be a racially-tinged effort to denigrate the contribution of the wartime fighting unit. Beginning with statements to support the film made by surviving Tuskegee Airmen who had seen the film in previews, and spurred by the comments made by Lucas in a candid interview on The Daily Show where the producer openly discussed the difficulties of trying to get Red Tails made over the past 23 years, a Facebook campaign was started. In the Oakland, California premiere, two sold-out screenings were a testament to the success of the campaign. Effie Tesfahun, one of the organizers, explained, “When [Lucas] said Hollywood does not want to touch black films, it really hit me … I thought we should get together and all go and support [this film]. Regardless of what Hollywood thinks, we all want to see positive messages of black people in the movies ... We need to speak, and speak loud, and speak with our dollars, because that’s where people pay attention, when you start talking with your money," Tesfahun said. "We are sending a message that this is what we want.”^[41]

Red Tails received a nomination at the 2012 Teen Choice Awards for "Choice Action Movie".^{[42][N 7]}

Historical accuracy

Red Tails portrays largely fictional events based on the exploits of the Tuskegee airmen, although many viewers were left with the impression that the film was entirely historically accurate. Through a series of three webinars, entitled: "Tuskegee Airman Webinars - 'Was the Movie Accurate'?" sponsored by the Commemorative Air Force's Red Tail Squadron, surviving Tuskegee Airmen Colonel Charles McGee and Colonel Harold Brown provided perspectives related to the film's interpretation. Although discussions as to use of equipment and dates were mentioned, three claims made in the film were the most contentious: the number of losses suffered by bomber crews under escort, the encounters with Luftwaffe jet fighters and the overall record established by the Tuskegee Airmen. ^[43]

According to period records, it was believed that the Tuskegee Airmen did not lose a single bomber due to enemy fire, a statement made by a bomber pilot in the film. However, this claim has been proven inaccurate and an Air Force report from 2006, showed that at least 25 bombers were lost to enemy fire.^[44] As depicted in the climactic scene, the Luftwaffe Me 262 interception of a Tuskegee Airmen escort mission did not result in the first victory over the vaunted jet fighters, credited to another U.S. unit.^{[N 8][46]} The film also states in the epilogue that the Tuskegee Airmen established one of the best fighter records in the U.S. Air Force. Officially, the Tuskegee Airmen did not produce a single fighter pilot ace, although Lee Archer's record is still in dispute.^{[N 9][46]}

At the end of webinars, host Brad Lang, the CAF Red Tail Squadron Leader, described the interaction as important to reconciling the historical record with the Red Tails film's essentially dramatic retelling of the Tuskegee Airmen saga. Both colonels also agreed that the discussions were important to resolving the controversy over the film.^[43]

Home media

Red Tails was released on DVD and Blu Ray/DVD combo, as well as via digital download, on May 22, 2012. The Blu Ray/DVD combo includes Double Victory, a companion documentary to the film that debuted on January 13, 2012 on H2. It details the full real life story of the Tuskegee Airmen, and includes interviews with many of the surviving members.^[48][49] The Blu Ray/DVD combo also includes several featurettes that focus on the film's cast and crew. The only bonus feature included on the regular DVD edition is a series of "highlights" from Double Victory.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Film portal

• Official website
• Red Tails at the Internet Movie Database
• Red Tails at AllRovi
• Red Tails at Box Office Mojo
• Red Tails at Rotten Tomatoes
• Red Tails at Metacritic
• Official Facebook page
• Team Red Tails

v t e Tuskegee Airmen Units 99th Fighter Squadron 100th Fighter Squadron 301st Fighter Squadron 302nd Fighter Squadron 332nd Fighter Group 477th Fighter Group Air fields Chanute Field Moton Army Air Field Tuskegee Army Air Field Pilots Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. (C/O) Lee Archer Henry Cabot Lodge Bohler Edgar Bolden George L. Brown Roscoe C. Brown Eugene Calvin Cheatham, Jr. Clarence Dart Alfonza W. Davis Gene Derricotte Charles Dryden Julius Freeman Oliver Goodall Raymond V. Haysbert Percy L. Heath, Jr. Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr. Alexander Jefferson Herman A. Johnson Charles William Ledbetter Charles McGee John W. Mosley Wendell O. Pruitt Lawrence E. Roberts Isaiah Edward Robinson, Jr. Robert Searcy Wilmeth Sidat-Singh Vernon Sport Charles Sumner "Chuck" Stone, Jr. Percy Sutton Roger Terry Spann Watson Malvin "Mal" Greston Whitfield Henry A. Wise Jr. Coleman Young Incidents Freeman Field Mutiny Aircraft Bell P-39 Airacobra Curtiss P-40 Warhawk North American P-51 Mustang Republic P-47 Thunderbolt Media Fictional films The Tuskegee Airmen (1995) Hart's War (2002) Red Tails (2012) Documentaries Silver Wings and Civil Rights: The Fight to Fly (2004) Red Tail Reborn (2007) Flight of the Red Tail (2009) In Their Own Words: The Tuskegee Airmen (2012) Double Victory (2012) Other Henry Browne, Farmer Wings for This Man "Wingmen" (The Boondocks episode) Black Eagle (Wild Cards character) Legacy Red Tail Project Tuskegee Airmen, Inc Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site Other Noel F. Parrish See also African American military history Buffalo Soldier Golden Thirteen 366th Infantry Regiment U.S. Army Black Panthers United States Colored Troops