The storyof a German airman obsessed with Germanys' highest Award-The Blue Maxby mikemikegigi

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July 04, 2009: The Blue Max is a story of 2 kinds of obsession.One is for the highest honor that is bestowed upon anyone who can shoot down a maximum number of enemy aircraft-The Blue Max.Another is his squadrons relative-An Aunt by marriage,The Countess-who happens to be the wife of a German General(played by James Mason)-played by Ursula Andress.George Peppard gets the Blue Max,however in the end loses the girl and his life as he pilots an unsafe experimental aircraft.

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Hubris Can Only Fly So Farby Anonymous

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June 15, 2004: John Guillermin's 1966 film about Bruno Stachel (George Peppard), a common German soldier during WWI who leaves the trenches to join the elite Luftwaffe. Socially out-of-league with his aristocratic companions and eager for respect, Stachel will stop at nothing in pursuing honor in the form of the Blue Max, the most prestigious aviation medal. The recurrent theme is hubris/arrogance and how it affects the human condition. All of the characters are driven by ambition and are amoral to a certain degree. Bruno Stachel has the most humble of origins (a peasant who first served in the trenches) and so is the most arrogant of the characters. He knows he's an ace pilot but is unable to earn the respect of his fellow officers because of his low social status. In his mind, he can earn the social respect he covets by earning the medal: then, he feels, people will have no choice but to respect him. Ironically, the respect he obtains is nothing more than the arrogance of others. Arrogance from his superior (James Mason) who needs to create a hero to look good himself as a commanding officer. Mason is quite the pragmatist in creating a hero to the point of letting Stachel sleep with his wife (Ursula Andress)to boost his confidence. The countess needs the fire of a young hot-head like Stachel to fulfill her desires: she only needs her husband to preserve her lofty title of Countess. Unfortunately for Stachel, there's a price for being the hero, and the greatest heroes are often those who die in battle. Quite aware of this and tired of being cheated on, Mason's character realizes all too well the value of having the glory of a dead war hero illuminate his stale command. Alltogether a great film with good cinematography. The film quality is excellent for this almost 40-year old film: so good, one would think it was filmed recently but for the actors in it. The dog-fight scenes are some of the finest ever to be filmed. The film is well balanced between the combat scenes and the personal drama: the theme is well carried by the plot. All of the actors perform quite well. George Peppard performed his role competently as Stachel: his being out-of-place or uncomfortable enhanced his performance instead of limiting it. Bruno Stachel is a character who is supposed to feel out-of-place and uncomfortable in his social surroundings: he exceeds in skill and arrogance to compensate for his insecurity. Peppard was perhaps a little too reserved when his character demanded more arrogance but that is forgivable. The only actor who would have done better than him in that role would have been Marlon Brando in a similar role as in 'Young Lions'. In sum though, the acting is top-knotch with great direction. It's a film not to be missed.