Wings

It is, in fact, the masterpiece of war production.

There not being so much of Clara Bow in the picture, or a straining for her to turn on that 'it' personality, she gives an all around corking performance.

It won the first Academy Award for best picture back in 1927, establishing a tradition of silliness that hasn't been broken to this day, but there is some thrilling flying footage and impressively expensive spectacle.

Long touted as a classic by cinema historians, and justifying almost every adjectival extravagance.

This feature gives one an unforgettable idea of the existence of these daring fighters.

Wings comes from an era when it was okay to be heartbreakingly emotional at all times. The beats are more obvious, and the acting is more over-the-top, but it doesn't necessarily feel artificial.

William Wellman's silent WW1 flying epic soars thrillingly while it's airborne, but on the ground it plods.

A mixture of melodrama, sentimental romance and heavy-handed comedy, Wings was superbly choreographed with skilfully photographed stunt flying and aerial combat.

Not a very unique, nor an especially artistic production, for sure, but it is one heck of an outstanding picture.

Still exciting aloft but terribly sentimental and cliché-ridden on the ground.

...the last of the grand studio epics of the silent film era.