''Red Tail Reborn'' is a 2007 historical documentary film by Adam White about the
Commemorative Air Force
The Commemorative Air Force (CAF), formerly known as the Confederate Air Force, is an American non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas, that preserves and shows historical aircraft at airshows, primarily in the U.S. and Canada.
The CAF h ...
's
Red Tail Project
The Red Tail Squadron, part of the non-profit Commemorative Air Force (CAF), known as the Red Tail Project until June 2011, maintains and flies a World War II era North American P-51C Mustang. The twice-restored aircraft flies to create intere ...
. The project involves the restoration, exhibition and maintenance of a
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
flown by the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...
332d Fighter Group
33 may refer to:
*33 (number)
*33 BC
*AD 33
*1933
*2033
Music
* ''33'' (Luis Miguel album) (2003)
* ''33'' (Southpacific album) (1998)
* ''33'' (Wanessa album) (2016)
*"33 'GOD'", a 2016 song by Bon Iver
* "Thirty-Three" (song), a 1995 song by th ...
. The exhibition of this plane is considered to be a traveling and flying tribute to the
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the ...
. In addition to increasing awareness of the travails of the Tuskegee Airmen, this film served to highlight the Red Tail Project fundraising effort to rebuild the plane after a 2004 crash.
The film was initially broadcast and released on DVD in 2007 in the director's home state of Ohio, winning local
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
recognition. The following year, it was broadcast nationally for the first time on
Public Broadcasting Services
Public Broadcasting Services Limited (PBS) is the public broadcaster of Malta. PBS is funded by government grants and the sale of commercial airtime. Its TVM channel is Malta's most watched television channel, and its radio station Magic Malt ...
(PBS) stations. The film had a sequel called ''
Flight of the Red Tail''.
Story
''Red Tail Reborn'' is described by
AllMovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was founded by popular-cul ...
as "... the story of the brave African-American pilots who risked their lives in order to ensure that peace prevailed, and the people who have dedicated their lives to ensure that they are not forgotten."
[ It tells three stories in one: the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the history of the Red Tail Mustangs they flew (one of which is the subject of the restoration efforts) and the story of the late Don Hinz who crashed the first restored Mustang in 2004.
The film sheds light on the bravery and heroism of the Tuskegee Airmen in their service as ]bomber
A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...
escorts for the Allied Forces in the European Theatre of World War II
The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...
. It documents that the Tuskegee Airmen were the country's first African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
military aviators taking flight in World War II, despite contemporary stereotyping of African American men as lacking the essential intellectual and emotional qualities necessary to fly. The film even presents government documents deriding African American men as substandard and "cowards". It describes segregation endured by the African American military officers, and it describes how these pilots distinguished themselves with their record.[
It details the evolution of the Red Tail Project mission and the re-dedication to this enthusiasm when the mission's leader perished while flying a plane in homage to the Tuskegee Airmen.][ This includes an explanation of the provenance of the plane and the various restoration efforts that led up to the Red Tail Project.][''Red Tail Reborn'', 2007, Hemlock Films.]
History and production
Among those that Cleveland filmmaker White interviewed to make the film were 13 of the Tuskegee airmen. Several of the Tuskegee Airmen were from the northeast Ohio region. One of the veterans interviewed was Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...
Charles McGee, who had served in World War II, the Korean War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Korean War
, partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict
, image = Korean War Montage 2.png
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...
and the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
and whom White said had more combat flight hours than any other American.[ The film was shot in ]Billings
Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metro ...
, Montana. The film was produced to help increase awareness and elicit financial support for The Red Tail Project. The film was produced by Cleveland-based Hemlock Films, which is White's production company. It was underwritten by the Parker Hannifin Corporation
Parker Hannifin Corporation, originally Parker Appliance Company, usually referred to as just Parker, is an American corporation specializing in motion and control technologies. Its corporate headquarters are in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, in Greater ...
.
The film was inspired while White was filming '' The Restorers'', after a P-51C Mustang
Over twenty variants of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter were produced from 1940, when it first flew, to after World War II, some of which were employed also in the Korean War and in several other conflicts.
Allison-engined Mustangs
NA ...
landed for refueling and White met Doug Rozendaal, the pilot of the Red Tail Project's ''Tuskegee Airmen'' plane. When White heard Don Hinz had been killed in a crash of that very same plane, he felt compelled to do a story focusing on it. Once he got involved in the project, a local PBS station committed to airing the final product, which was an early step in the successful development of the project. When researching the film he noticed a lack of resources about the Tuskegee Airmen and felt driven to fill the void.[
]
Airings and DVD release
The film premiered at the MAPS Air Museum at the Akron-Canton Regional Airport in Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
, Ohio on Saturday February 10, 2007 and debuted during a simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simul ...
on Western Reserve Public Media
WNEO (channel 45) is a non-commercial educational television station licensed to Alliance, Ohio, United States. It is simulcast full-time over satellite station WEAO (channel 49) in Akron, Ohio. Both are member stations of PBS and jointly bran ...
, PBS network stations serving northeastern Ohio, the following day. The stations re-aired the show four more times between February 13 and 20.[ The film debuted in western Ohio at ]Wright State University
Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in honor of aviation ...
on March 22, 2007 at which time a two-disc DVD was made available. It was released to the general public in DVD format on March 23, 2007. The film, which was not rated, was available in 1.33:1 aspect ratio and in Color, Dolby
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (often shortened to Dolby Labs and known simply as Dolby) is an American company specializing in audio noise reduction, audio encoding/compression, spatial audio, and HDR imaging. Dolby licenses its technologies to ...
, DVD, NTSC
The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...
, widescreen
Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratio (image), aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ...
format.[ was produced in color format. The film began national PBS broadcasts during ]Black History Month
Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently ...
in February 2008, reaching over 300 affiliates in its initial national airing,[ although specific dates and times varied from station to station. The PBS airings began on February 5.] PBS also aired the film later in 2008 during its November Veterans Day
Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces (who were discharged under conditions other than dis ...
programming.
The DVD release includes a second disc with four hours of additional interviews, deleted scenes, and productions stills. A reviewer from '' Flight Journal'', feels the DVD package will connect with an audience of actual and aspiring restorers of military combat aircraft, which sometimes referred to as warbirds. It notes that the narrator, Michael Dorn, is a warbird owner and pilot.
Legacy
In 2008, the film garnered three regional Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
s from the Lower Great Lakes Region of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, edu ...
in the following categories: Best Informational/Instructional Program, Best Music Composition/ Arrangement and Best Research. The film had been nominated for a total of six Emmys including the following additional categories: Best Lighting Location, Best Videographer – Program (Non News), Best Writer – Program (Non-News). The 2004 film followed the success of ''The Restorers'', which chronicled the restoration efforts for various warbird and vintage aircraft and which also won regional Emmy Award recognition.[ Whereas, ''The Restorers'' focuses on general aircraft restoration, the ''Red Tail Reborn'' expounds upon the restoration and rebuilding of a specific plane and the Red Tail Project. Although it was not released in theatres and its DVD sales were not among the top 100 in 2007, the success of its national airing spawned a 2009 ]sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
entitled '' Flight of the Red Tail'', which is also known as ''Red Tail Reborn 2'', that was available on DVD on November 27. The sequel is a 12-minute documentary follow-up.[
]
Notes
External links
Red Tail Reborn PBS page
Red Tail Reborn Hemlock Films page
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{{good article
2007 films
2007 documentary films
Documentary films about African Americans
American aviation films
American television films
Cultural heritage of the United States
Films shot in Montana
Historic preservation
Tuskegee Airmen
World War II aircraft of the United States
Regional Emmy Award winners
2000s English-language films
2000s American films