Looking at culture, news and gossip through an aeroplane window. Featuring contributions by the finest writers and artists.
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It wasn’t just the F-104 footage that was nice — the entire film was a treat! For those of us who don’t speak German, was it a general documentary about flight, or a Bundeswehr recruiting pitch?
It was weird, artsy-fartsy stuff. For most of the film the narrator just quotes the ancient Icarus myth. The name of the film translates to: “Beneath you, the sky.”
Not sure what the purpose of it was. They just indulged in romanticism, as it seems.
As far as my now rusty German permits, it isn’t directly a recruiting pitch for the German armed forces, but a rather more introspective and philosophical response to the wonder of flight (“Man flies…nature is new again”).
Is it just me or is there a 2001 vibe, three years early, to the shots of the Starfighters powering toward the stratosphere to the accompaniment of keening, dissonant sound?
You should bring back Werner Herzog to give his professional opinion on this. In tone it’s not a million miles from some of his own work.
Once again another fascinating aviation post. Thank you.
I’m sorry, but I have to post a link to this too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWipIji35Cg
It wasn’t just the F-104 footage that was nice — the entire film was a treat! For those of us who don’t speak German, was it a general documentary about flight, or a Bundeswehr recruiting pitch?
It was weird, artsy-fartsy stuff. For most of the film the narrator just quotes the ancient Icarus myth. The name of the film translates to: “Beneath you, the sky.”
Not sure what the purpose of it was. They just indulged in romanticism, as it seems.
And damn, Eric Brown has died. His connection with the film above is the Marineflieger Sea Hawks: he was the guy in charge of introducing them.
As far as my now rusty German permits, it isn’t directly a recruiting pitch for the German armed forces, but a rather more introspective and philosophical response to the wonder of flight (“Man flies…nature is new again”).
Is it just me or is there a 2001 vibe, three years early, to the shots of the Starfighters powering toward the stratosphere to the accompaniment of keening, dissonant sound?
You should bring back Werner Herzog to give his professional opinion on this. In tone it’s not a million miles from some of his own work.