Memphis Belle

Memphis Belle is a great movie of men in combat, and the bonding it provides. At the same time, it shows the awful face of war so quietly that it speaks with great volume. [12 Oct 1990, p.3F]

In the air Memphis Belle is unstoppable, giving us--earthbound and safe--a clear-eyed look at the nuts and bolts of bravery. Read full review

Despite everything I have said, I found Memphis Belle entertaining, almost in spite of my objections. That's because it exploits so fully the universal human tendency to identify with a group of people who are up in an airplane and may not be able to get down again. Read full review

Humanistic and anti-war, Memphis Belle is predictably uplifting, as is the wont of producer Puttnam, but not at the expense of good sense. These were fine kids, this exciting and intelligent film says, and it wasn't their fault society couldn't find anything better for them to do than kill or be killed. Memphis Belle is a dance of life tapped out on a tombstone. [12 Oct 1990]

Memphis Belle (the title is the name of the plane) doesn't soar. But it does serve as an entertaining historical account similar to the baseball scandal of Eight Men Out or the Olympic glory of Chariots of Fire (no surprise, since co-producer David Puttnam also did Fire). [12 Oct 1990, p.4D]

It has been a while since we had a good, human movie about a war we could all agree on. In that, Memphis Belle is right on target. [12 Oct 1990, p.G5]

To a post-Vietnam War generation put off by militarism, David Puttnam's inspiring account of the final and most-harrowing WWII mission of the B-17 bomber The Memphis Belle may seem hopelessly dated, but older viewers are likely to find much to enjoy in the film. Read full review

The vigorous young cast enhances the excitement of the flight sequences, which are spectacular. Movie rah-rah has rarely been this entertaining. Read full review

Inspired by real-life events covered in Wyler's WWII documentary The Memphis Belle, this David Puttnam production may not be the most original movie around, but at least Caton-Jones steers through the stock situations with verve and panache. Read full review

Skilfully crafted account of the final bombing raid over Germany in 1943 of a Flying Fortress, inspired by William Wyler's wartime documentary of the same title. Produced by David Puttam it avoids the worst cliches and gets affecting performance from its young all-American aircrew. [16 Jan 2005, p.87]

The characters in Memphis Belle may have ethnic names, but in spirit the actors are all playing WASPs — fresh-faced, pretty-boy WASPs, the kind that make the little girls swoon. It’s Dead Poets Society Goes to War. Read full review

Lithgow's opening narration tries to throw you off the scent of the cliches, and director Michael Caton-Jones (Scandal) does his best to avoid them or make them seem charmingly dated. But they're still there. [12 Oct 1990, p.22]

A sentimental drama that's 'good in the air' and something of a throwback to war films of old. Read full review

Memphis Belle is an ambitious, lavishly produced, terrific-looking adventure about a B-17 crew and its 25th and last mission in May 1943 at a crucial point in the bomber war. Unfortunately, the film is at war with itself. [12 Oct 1990, p.R04]

The direction by Michael Caton-Jones, the Englishman whose first theatrical feature was Scandal, is undistinguished here, but the material is not great. Read full review

Offering a romanticized view of heroism drawn from the Hollywood war epic, Memphis Belle is unashamedly commercial. Its moral fabric is thinner than that of other David Puttnam productions. Read full review

All of the actors acquit themselves admirably, especially Stolz, who has a star's low-key magnetism, and the jazz stylist Harry Connick Jr., who makes his acting debut here as the drawling rear gunner. But the roles are too generic for anything like real depth. The fight scenes are about what you'd expect; they're competently shot, but even when they deliver thrills, every scene, every passage, is familiar. We've seen it all before. Read full review

Since each member of the 10-man crew is given his small equal share in the movie's script, none of them is able to add emotional weight to the realities of soldiering. That means that actors like Matthew Modine and Eric Stoltz have no place to go with their talent. Like the movie, no one is bad, really, but then no one is good. [12 Oct 1990, p.29p]

A true story of the Memphis Belle's magnitude deserved to be told with as much dramatic intensity and as much natural humanity as possible. It deserved to be more than just an action-adventure dressed in phony heroic conventions.

Memphis Belle goes off in several different directions at once, and the result is a movie that's scattered and unfocused. [12 Oct 1990, E1]

The B-17 was a machine designed to accomplish a specific task, and so is Memphis Belle. The mission of this movie is to provoke a strong but narrow range of emotions in the viewer. It may succeed, but its mechanical nature is never in doubt. [12 Oct 1990, p.C]

Memphis Belle simply doesn't fly. [12 Oct 1990, p.4]

Monte Merrick's script is an unspectacular, cliche-riddled voyage from start to finish, with everyone lugging their own tote-bags of facile character idiosyncrasies. Read full review

Memphis Belle is the most superficial, jingoistic, stereotyped World War II movie in years. [12 Oct 1990, p.6]