Living in England near where the movie was being made and seeing the rare sight of a group of B-17s/P-51s/and an ME 109 flying in formation stirred my anticipation of seeing the finished product. Hundreds of hours of aerial photography were shot and great efforts were taken to get the details right. In the end, however, the efforts were nearly all for naught. The special effects were absolutely laughable, the story line strayed far from reality, and little of the extensive aerial photography was used. The only bright spots were the actors outstanding portrayal of the interaction of bomber crew members in combat and their daily grind of life on a bomber base during WWII along with the spot on look and feel of those times. Unfortunately, the embarrassment of the rest of the movie could not be overcome.<br /><br />It is truly a shame the herculean efforts to gather so many distinctive warbirds and crews from all points of the globe, the hours of meticulous model crafting, and most importantly, a rare opportunity to bring to life the heroic efforts of all those who served in the air in Europe during WWII, were squandered in a pitiful excuse for a movie. To add to the misery, a B-17 was lost in a crash during filming. I'm sure William Wyler, were he alive today, would have gotten it right!