Wings

Wings (1927)

Timing: 2:24 (144 min)

7.193/10
309

7.034/10
1734

7.5/10
16000

All about film

Video 2

Photo 36

Actors and characters

Release date

1927-08-12

Country

United States

Production

Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation

Genre

Drama, Action, War, Romance

Budget

$2 000 000

Revenue

$746

Website

Director

William A. Wellman

Actors

Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Richard Arlen, Jobyna Ralston, El Brendel, Richard Tucker, Gary Cooper, Gunboat Smith, Henry B. Walthall, Roscoe Karns
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Julian Johnson

Producer

Lucien Hubbard, Benjamin P. Schulberg

Operator

Harry Perry

Composer

J.S. Zamecnik

Artist

Audition

Editing

Lucien Hubbard, E. Lloyd Sheldon
All team (39)

• The only silent film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2011, the film 'The Artist,' shot in the style of silent cinema but including some spoken dialogue and a musical score, received the award.
• For its 2012 Blu-Ray release, the film underwent remastering. The footage was restored, the original black-and-white image was converted to sepia with color added to the aerial combat scenes. The soundtrack features the original score by J.S. Zamecnik, recorded specifically for the release and supplemented with sound effects by Ben Burtt ('Star Wars,' 'Indiana Jones').
• For decades, the film was considered lost until a miraculously preserved copy in terrible condition was accidentally discovered in the Parisian archives.
• During filming – when thousands of extras fought on the ground, dozens of aircraft flew through the sky, and hundreds of explosions sounded everywhere – there were only two injuries. Stunt pilot Dick Grace (1898-1965) was injured when an airplane, whose crash was scripted to fully flip, only partially flipped, and the pilot was sent to the hospital with a neck injury, where he spent 6 weeks. In the second case, one of the military pilots assisting with the filming was injured. Unfortunately, he died. Director William A. Wellman (1896-1975) feared filming would be halted, but fortunately, this did not happen because the army command chose to blame the deceased pilot, rather than the filmmakers.
• Unlike his co-star Richard Allen (1899-1976), Charles “Buddy” Rogers (1904-1999) could not fly at the beginning of filming, but learned to do so closer to its end. During filming, Hoyt Vandenberg (1899-1954) served as his instructor and mentor (and sometimes as a second pilot). In close-up scenes where the characters are shown flying airplanes, the actors actually piloted the planes. To shoot such scenes, the camera was attached to the engine cowling, and the actors had to take off, maintain course so that the audience could see clouds or enemy planes in the background, turn on the camera, and land. During Rogers' initial training, Vandenberg sometimes hid in the back seat and flew the plane himself.
• The U.S. Army contributed to the making of the film. The filmmakers had access to thousands of servicemen, millions of dollars worth of military equipment, and, of course, airplanes.
• The filming of the Saint-Mihiel operation was carefully rehearsed for 10 days. It involved 60 aircraft and 3,500 extras (members of the U.S. National Guard were used in this role).
• Chocolate syrup was used instead of fake blood during filming.
• After its release, the film remained in theaters for 63 weeks. One of the reasons for this success is considered to be the public's interest in aviation, fueled by Charles A. Lindbergh’s (1902-1974) transatlantic flight (May 20-21, 1927).
• The only silent film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2011, the award was given to "The Artist", filmed in the style of silent cinema, but including several spoken lines and a musical score.
• The film underwent a remastering for its 2012 Blu-Ray release. The footage was restored, the original black-and-white image was converted to sepia, with color added to the aerial combat scenes. The soundtrack features the original score by Zh. S. Zamechnik, recorded specifically for the release and supplemented with sound effects by Ben Burtt (“Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones”).