The dogfight scenes in the trailer look too cluttered,

And the planes are to colorful. We recently mounted a production of "Billy Bishop Goes to War" at a theater here, and the themed artwork in the gallery was by a guy who does paintings of biplanes. He had a lot of notes on camouflage schemes for biplanes.

But too-colorful military vehicles is standard for Hollywood. It helps to be able to tell the difference between good guys and bad guys.

Now that I think about it, too-cluttered military formations is standard Hollywood too -- they want to get everybody in the shot. If it was more like real life, they'd never be able to have more than one person/vehicle in a shot.

I still want to see Flyboys, though.

I need to add to my queue.

Oh, do, it really is quite marvelous and it’s oozing with the care of smart creative types. Like, there’s a shot from the ill protagonist’s spinning point of view and it’s fixed on a ceiling fan. And there’s lots of off-kilter, Lynchian touches. The plot’s kinda crippled by its own involutions and the dialogue, which you could dance to but is a bit ‘And the yegs viddied the ptitsas while the bulls were all Darmok with their arms wide’ in places where something clearer would have helped your understanding of whats the what. Makes it all the better for rewatching, I suppose.

And Joseph Gordon Levitt (Or Gordon Joseph Levitt or Joseph Levitt Gordan or however you assemble those words to make his name) is good, good, good. And looking a little like Heath Ledger.

I was happy I waited for the DVD because the language is a bit odd and I liked having the subtitles.

5 minutes in and we realised we'd be needing them but, unfortunately, they wouldn't come on.

And the planes are to colorful.

The Germans did use a lot of bright primary colors, though, and even some pastels (including pink). I think one problem with the trailer is that you see so much of Richthofen's plane (maybe the most recognizable aircraft of all time) that one might be led to believe the film is about him.

I'm looking forward to Flyboys, but then again, I did have something of an obsession w/ WWI pilots back when I was a child.

Me too! Guynemer! Nungesser! Frank Luke - the Balloon Buster. Raoul Lufberry. Immelmann. Boelcke. Albert Ball. Rickenbacker. Mick Mannock. And, of course, Billy Bishop.

And the planes are to colorful.

As DXM notes, they didn't call them the Flying Circus for nothing.

A film about Manfred von Richthofen! Great idea! Von Richtofen and a CGI beagle wearing Doggles dogfight (get it?)!!!

I really don't like the title "Flyboys." I wish they'd called it "The Escadrille" or something. "The Hat in the Ring Gang" would be a great name for a movie, but that's a different group.

you see so much of Richthofen's plane (maybe the most recognizable aircraft of all time)

So help me - any discussion of Richthofen puts me in mind of Snoopy and his continuing saga against the Red Baron.

As DXM notes, they didn't call them the Flying Circus for nothing.

He's not pining, he's passed on. This is a late flyboy! He's a stiff! Bereft of life he rests in peace! If you 'adn't nailed him to the cockpit he'd be pushin' up the daisies. He's rung down the curtain and joined the choir immortal. This! Is an ex FLYBOY!

Beautiful plumage paint job...

I really don't like the title "Flyboys."

Yeah, "Flyboys" evokes the World War II era to me more than WWI. Hey, why not just call it "Wings," which was about WWI fliers. They reuse famous old titles all the time.

Yeah, "Flyboys" evokes the World War II era to me more than WWI. Hey, why not just call it "Wings," which was about WWI fliers. They reuse famous old titles all the time.

Because the people expecting Thomas Haden Church and Tony Shaloub would be wicked disappointed?