kduke wrote:
"Not to disappoint you"?
I'm afraid it does. I've been following this for almost 2 years and noted the blogs and the work they did on various paint schemes, which looked exceptional.
I did raise an eyebrow when I saw someone shot a Verry pistol at a balloon to set it on fire... I should have spotted that as a big problem.
Too bad. Too bad.
thanks (but no cheers!)
kevin
Kevin following is a review of the movie.
A, by far not complete, list of observations, doubts and observations regarding historical accuracy
Richthofen at the infantry frontlines, meeting the Kaiser and Hindenburg to observe the start of the Michael-Offensive. Richthofen observes from a concrete position that looks like an open-top version of the Führerbunker how the advancing German troops drop like flies. Deeply troubled, he turns around to the approaching Kaiser and Hindenburg, offers a reluctant salute and starts talking back to the Kaiser ("Are you unhappy, Rittmeister?"), telling him that he cannot be happy as long as the mindless slaughter continues.
After an almost-argument we see him meet Hindenburg at a coffee-table, complete with table cloth, expensive china and flowers in a vase, in a room-like enclosure in the trench line . He tells Hindenburg that he should just surrender, because Germany doesn't have a right to say their values are better than those of their opponents. "If you cannot win a fight, you must give up"
Richthofen (almost exclusively wearing an old grey wool sweater) rarely wears his Pour le Merite. hereafter(PLM).
the brothel in France entertains its customers with some fine 1920s/30s American jazz
Lt. Bodenschatz starts out as commanding officer of Manfred von Richthofen and his friends, then (after Richthofen gets the PLM) suddenly is his adjutant.
-you're required to down at least one observation balloon to receive the PLM  , regardless of how many other kills you achieve. Richthofen gets his because he shoots down Lanoe Hawker, who he was ordered to stay away from because of his own inexperience.
to receive his PLM, Richthofen and Bodenschatz are to meet general von Hoeppner at headquarters. They enter the War Room unaccompanied and unannounced, where we find Hoeppner (rolled up sleeves and suspenders, no jacket) alone, apparently doing all the work himself. 4 (constantly quiet) phones stand next to a large marked map on the table, no operator, no aides in sight. Hoeppner says something like:
"Ah, Richthofen. You're here to receive the Pour le Merite- Germany's highest military decoration[starts rummaging through the mass of papers on the desk]where do I have it now... it was somewhere around here this morning...ah- here we go [unceremoniously hangs the medal around MvR's neck and claps him on the shoulder] there you go."
Before returning to his waiting friends outside, Manfred asks Hoeppner for "some croissants, coffee and marmalade" because his men are hungry.
nobody ever wears a uniform if he doesn't absolutely have to:
a) Wolf arrives at JG 1 in a suit and tie (at least he's wearing his nightcap), as does the reassigned Bodenschatz.
b) When in Berlin, uniformed Manfred shares a car (miraculously escorted by Saxonian Cuirassiers in parade dress) with Hoeppner who is also in uniform, and von Hindenburg, who is wearing a frock coat and topper to meet the Kaiser.
c)Manfred takes Käte out to Lille wearing a dark suit and tie.
The only one constantly wearing a uniform until his transformation in the end (sweater in his last scene) is Lothar (who plays the role of ardent naz... ardent patriot).
Manfred von Richthofen seldom wears a uniform, but when he does he
a) never wears a cover and the head-bandage at the same time
b) wears an infantry officer's coat to go with his Uhlan uniform
c) wears brown boots throughout the movie, even when meeting the Kaiser in 1918
d) sports the epaulettes of a 1st Lt. throughout the entire movie
The planes never switch from the Iron Cross markings to the Balkenkreuz ones.
Göring (conveniently called Döring) is the incompetent substitute commander of JG1 while the Rittmeister is on sick leave. Reinhardt doesn't exist.
Voss tinkers with his own aircraft engines without so much as a mechanic looking on- he even single-handedly fits the Bristol(?) engine of a downed enemy into his DR1 at night.
Richthofen has a dog that features as an asset in many scenes. It's a German Wirehaired Pointer that we first see (already fully grown) as the family dog when the kids go hunting in Schweidnitz in 1906. After Richthofen dies, Käte seems to have adopted the unnamed animal. by the end of the movie, the youthful dog is at least 14 years old.
„Jasta 11“ have their own battle colors- it’s the Imperial War Flag with a red “11” printed over the imperial eagle and some other assets I couldn’t make out in the 1 1/ 2 seconds they showed it.
While the military conditions gradually worsen as the war drags on, provisions get better. The April luncheon table of JG1 includes cheeses and hams the size of basketballs, dozens of bottles of wine, liquor and champagne, enormous silver bowls full of apples and pears (April!)and loaves of fresh white bread.
Douai Airfield sports two concrete hangars that could easily accommodate a small zeppelin, which are adorned with “Jasta 11” in spray paint.
MvR’s head wound treatment includes a brace-device that wires his jaw shut (funny, I always thought that was Lothar’s injury) but does not stop him from hitting on Käte
Käte is wearing pants in at least half of her scenes. She also wears a hat model that became popular with actresses in the early 30s and is generally sporting some sort of a baggy-style look that looks very fashionable but has nothing to do with women during the 1st World War. Especially nurses. She also poses in MvRs bathrobe (after spending the night in his tent) for all the guys of Jasta 11 to see on that fateful morning of April 21st.
General von Hoeppner officially declares Manfred von Richthofen the “Greatest German fighting ace”. They generally refer to themselves as aces all the time.
Bodenschatz wears a dagger I could not get a closer look at with his cuirassier uniform.
Lothar indeed doesn’t wear the uniform of his own dragoon regiment but a yellow faced cuirassier-one. He’s apparently a member of Kürassierregiment ‘Seydlitz’.
this is all I can currently think of, more might pop up later.
EDIT:
we never hear the sound of gunfire/artillery, regardless of where a scene takes place. Not during the meeting of Brown and Richthofen in no man's land, never at any of the forward airfields where Richthofen's staffel stays. Only exception: The Michael-Offensive, where we're at a "German fortress" closely behind the first trench line to witness MvR meeting the Kaiser and Hindenburg again
the display of automobiles throughout the movie suggest numbers that are more like what they were for the 2nd World War than its predecessor. When Manfred is home at Schweidnitz in 1916/1917, no less than 3 automobiles appear in a single shot of semi busy street-life. In reality, almost all available automobiles were requisitioned by the military- very few and only the most influential of civillians still had any.
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