Wings - 1928

Starring: Clara Bow, Charles Rogers, and Richard Arlen

Genre: Action, Drama, and Romance. Wings has a little bit of everything.

Duration: 141 min. (1 hr. and 21 min.)

Interesting fact: Blood in this movie was made out of chocolate. (imdb.com)

I actually watched Wings a couple of years ago right after I saw my first silent film about Joan of Arc. Seeing Wings made me want to watch all of the movies with Oscars to their names. As I have found with most of the movies at the beginning of the list, Wings deals with war.

I remember watching it and being amazed at the effect that a movie could have on an audience without uttering a word. Wings is, by the way, the only silent film to win a Best Picture award at the Oscars. Well, technically then it was the Best Production award, but same/difference.

The acting was great. These guys had to actually learn how to fly planes and act at the same time. Personally, I think flying a plane without being a pilot would make me forget just a few of my lines. Clara Bow, who played Mary Preston, was adorable with her clothes and hair. She had this look in her eyes that made the viewer feel genuinely with her. She was able to portray her emotions on screen well.

Although Wings was good, it did seem to drag on at some points. I feel that some parts were lengthened more than they needed to, but we do live in a society where everything is fast. I’m sure in that time, when movies were a treat, the lengthiness wasn’t even noticed. It’s not the actual duration, but rather, what was accomplished in the allotted time. However, movies nowadays move so quickly and with such technology, that it was nice to see where movies started and what was achieved with so little.

The ending of Wings was the best part for me. It made me just stare at the screen openmouthed. I love movies where even after they are long over, they still linger in the corners of my mind, as almost an afterthought. Wings is just this type of movie. I’ll never forget the profound statement of war, love, and everything in between that this movie made.

Favorite line: “Do you know what you can do when you see a shooting star? You can kiss the girl you love.”

Rating:Good

I’m really awful at rating things based on scales or stars. What is the scale? What is 5 stars to me compared to you? So, I’m just going to say : good, laughable, neutral, ugh/bad, and cryable. That's the best I can do.