This is a remarkable short film from the Sundance Film Festival, one of two temporarily put up on YouTube to mark Memorial Day (I'll put up the second one tomorrow.) It'll only be available for a couple of weeks before being taken down again, so you might want to save a copy. It's described as follows:
For aviation fans, get ready for a ton of wonderful archival footage coming your way in William Lorton's Spitfire 944. A true-life story, Lorton has discovered rare 16mm footage of a 1944 spitfire crash and tracks down the pilot, now an 83-year-old World War II veteran to show him the footage. The early parts of this film consists of wartime remembrances and nostalgia for days gone by. The elderly pilot recalls his time spent with his comrades and explains the basic information involved with his aircraft. What he doesn't know is that he is about to see, for the first time in his life, footage of his own crash. When the camera captures the man's honest reaction to what he's viewing, the greater theme at work is suddenly revealed in a flash. The result is an affirming, honest portrait of a man confronted with his past.
Here it is. I recommend watching it in full-screen mode.
It's suddenly got dusty in here . . . at least, that's what my eyes are telling me . . .
Peter
5 comments:
Peter, thanks for your post. That is a fascinating and moving video.
I always wondered where those excellent recon photos came from; strange that I'd not heard of the PRU before this. Thank you!
Terrific video - odd that while the USAF were using Spitfires for photo-reconnaissance, the RAF were using Mustangs
Fabulous! Spits were known for having short range so I see how he could get into arguments. Especially in the mess having a few beers and you tell someone that you flew non-stop to Berlin and back in a Spit. "Ya sure you did buddy!"
Wow...Awesome. Thank you!!!
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