[Farmer 2006, pp. 18–19.] The casting of James Franco in a action adventure feature, at the time was considered a "stepping stone" to his rise as marquee player and movie star. [Farmer 2006, pp. 19–20.] ]Production
The film was shot on location in the United Kingdom primarily in spring 2005 although principal photography continued on into the summer. [Farmer 2006, p. 16.] The trench scenes were shot in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, the same location used for "Band of Brothers" and "Saving Private Ryan". The airfield and aerial shots were filmed on and above RAF Halton (near Aylesbury) where hangars, mess rooms and officers quarters were built adjacent to Splash Covert Woods. All scenery and props were removed when filming ended. The interior shots of the chateau were filmed at RAF Halton's officers' mess, Halton House. Some interiors and studio green-screen work were filmed at Elstree Film and Television Studios in Borehamwood, Herfordshire. [Farmer 2006. p. 50.]
The film was financed privately outside the standard Hollywood studio circuit by a group of filmmakers and investors, including producer Dean Devlin and pilot David Ellison, son of Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison; both spent more than $60 million of their own money to make and market "Flyboys".
The Nieuport 17s featured in the film included four replicas built by Airdrome Aeroplanes, an aircraft company based outside of Kansas City, Missouri. The other aircraft used were a mix of authentic aircraft (the Nieuport 17 that James Franco used throughout the filming was an original combat aircraft from Kermit Weeks' collection in Florida, specially brought over for the film) [Farmer 2006. p. 20.] and replicas including Nieuport 17s, a sole Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter and a number of Fokker Dr.I replicas. [Farmer 2006. pp. 21–22, 50.]
In preparing for the starring role, James Franco took flying lessons. All the other main actors, except Jean Reno, were filmed in actual aircraft in anticipation of using the aerial footage in final scenes. (Reno pointedly refused the offer, with a "No thanks, I'm afraid of flying." admission). Very little other than Franco's closeups in a cockpit ultimately made it to the screen. [Farmer 2006, p. 53.]
Historical accuracy
This film has been widely criticized for its lack of historical accuracy. [Phillips, Michael. [http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/cl-et-flyboys22sep22,0,5824581.story "Flyboys": Movie Review".] "Chicago Tribune", 22 September, 2006. Retrieved: 24 August 2008.] The most serious lapse was the blending of the Lafayette Escadrille with the Lafayette Flying Corps, a sub-unit where the real-life Eugene Bullard actually served. [Flammer, Phillip M. [http://www.neam.org/lafescweb/le_roster.html "Roster of the Lafayette Flying Corps."] New England Air Museum, 2006. Retrieved: 24 August 2008.] Various details of World War I fighter aircraft technology shown in the film were inaccurate. For example, the aircraft engines in the CGI scenes are pictured as not moving. The rotary engines used in early aircraft rotated along with the propeller at the same speed. [ [http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Aerospace/earlyengines/Aero4.htm "Early Aircraft Engines."] "U.S. Centennial of Flight", 2003. Retrieved: 24 August 2008.]
One major point of contention in the film is the singular use of Fokker Dr.I Triplanes which were not in widespread operational use. Almost every Triplane was also painted red in the film indicating that the Triplane was in Jasta 11, the "all-red" unit. Its leader, Manfred von Richthofen, the "Red Baron", flew four "blood-red" Triplanes (although undersurfaces remained blue). [Winchester 2004, p. 141.] On the director/producer commentary track for the DVD release, Producer Dean Devlin noted that they were aware of this predominant use of red triplanes, but wanted to give clear visual signals to the audience to enable them to easily distinguish friend from foe in the aerial sequences. [Bill, Tony and Dean Devlin. "Special Features: Audio Commentary." "Flyboys" (DVD: Full Screen). "MGM", 2006.]
In the film, the RMS Aquitania is depicted as a luxury liner, however, in early 1914 she was converted to use as an armed merchant cruiser, and by 1915 had been put into use as a troop transport ship and painted with dazzle style camouflage. However, the film might have used it to demonstrate the style of transport ships during the war. [Mancini, Louis. [http://www.ocean-liners.com/ships/Aquitania.asp "RMS Aquitania."] "Monsters of the Sea: The Great Ocean Liners of Time", 2008. Retrieved: 24 August 2008.]
The use of weapons and ordnance was not realistic as anti-aircraft artillery shown in use by the Germans was not of any type used by any side in World War I. Had any of the portrayed flak bursts come as close as they appeared in the film, the aircraft would have been most likely destroyed. Also, one scene describes the Germans as using a new 9 mm caliber "Spandau" machine gun, even though no German machine gun was ever produced in 9 mm, but rather in 7.92 mm caliber (however, information was passed around between soldiers during World War I; this might have been another demonstrative case).Fact|date=August 2008
Reception
Critics generally gave unfavorable reviews of the film based on the hackneyed dialogue and inconsistency of the plot, although public acceptance was more forgiving focusing more on the realistic aerial scenes. The Rotten Tomatoes web site, as of 25 September 2006, gave it a "rotten" rating with a mere 33% positive reviews. [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/flyboys/] Google Movies provided an average rating of 2.6 out of 5 as of 13 November 2006. Established reviewers did, however, credit the film for the exciting action sequences in the air.
The movie opened fourth at the box office with a total box office gross of $17,770,614. [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=flyboys.htm] On 26 December 2006, "Variety" named it one of the ten biggest box office flops of the year, citing an estimated shortfall of $90 million. [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117956263.html?categoryid=13&cs=1]
References
Notes
Bibliography
* Farmer, Jim. "The Making of Flyboys." "Air Classics", Vol. 42, No. 11, November 2006.
* Winchester, Jim, ed. "Fokker DR.1: JG 1". "Biplanes, Triplanes and Seaplanes" (Aviation Factfile). London: Grange Books plc, 2004. ISBN 1-84013-641-3.
External links
*imdb title|id=0454824
* [http://www.flyboysthemovie.com/ Official Site]
* [http://www.apple.com/trailers/mgm/flyboys/ Apple/Quicktime Trailer]
*rotten-tomatoes|id=flyboys|title=Flyboys
