Product Description
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Europe, 1916. a living legend flies in on painted wings to
become famous the world over. For millions of his countrymen, he
becomes an idol, a symbol of hope and pride, the provocative red
paint adorning his Fokker aircraft earning him the nickname 'The
Red Baron'. Baron Manfred von Richthofen (Matthias Schweighofer)
is the crack pilot of the German aerial combat forces; a legend
in his own time, a hero at home and a man both feared and
respected by the enemy, including Allied Forces' Canadian pilot,
Captain Roy Brown (Joseph Fiennes). He and his fellow officers,
including Lieutenant Voss (Til Schweiger), see their duels in the
sky as almost sportsmanlike, clever challenges that, at least at
first, obscure the reality of the horrors of the battlefields
below. Unwittingly, he allows the German high command to
manipulate his chivalrous code of honor and misuse him for
propaganda purposes, until the young pilot falls in love with
KSte (Lena Headey), a beautiful and resolute nurse who opens his
eyes to the tragic fact that there is more to war than dogfights
won and adversaries downed. With a torn heart, despite the heavy
losses in his squadron, von Richthofen cannot help but take to
the sky where each new combat mission could be his last.
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World War I fighter ace the Red Baron (Valkyrie's Matthias
Schweighöfer) comes to life in this pretty, if perfunctory
docudrama. The opening credits establish Baron Manfred von
Richthofen's childhood interest in flight. Flash forward to 1916,
and the German lieutenant belongs to a combat squad that includes
his friend Voss (Til Schweiger, Inglourious Basterds). After von
Richthofen shoots down Canadian pilot Roy Brown (Joseph Fiennes),
he meets French field nurse Käte (Lena Headey, The Sarah Connor
Chronicles), who helps to save Captain Brown. Between missions,
Manfred tries to win Käte over, but she's a tough sell (and the
boyish Schweighöfer looks too young for Headey). Believing that
it's better to e the enemy than to sneak up on them, von
Richthofen paints his craft crimson, leading to a legendary
nickname (and making a significant impression on Peanuts creator
Charles Schultz). At this point, the coincidences--and the
casualties--start to accumulate. When the Baron runs into Brown
the next year, the latter encourages him to pursue Käte. Von
Richthofen gets his chance after suffering a head injury (surely
other nurses served in northern France), and a love affair ensues
as he continues to lose colleagues. Through Käte, the Baron comes
to realize that his superiors see him more as a propaganda tool
than as a human being, but he's in too deep to turn back. "You,"
he tells Käte toward the end, "are my greatest victory." Like
that line, Nikolai Müllerschön's English-language debut registers
more as romantic fantasy than as a believable portrayal of a real
person. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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Review
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The Red Baron is an impressive heroic epic with striking visual
effects and spectacular action sequences. --Roland Emmerich,
Director 2012 & Independence Day
The Red Baron is a handsome, meticulously detailed epic. --Kevin
Thomas, Los Angeles Times
4 Stars. The Red Baron deserves several standing ovations.
Stupendous aerial dogfights are so nail-bitingly tense we believe
we are piloting the Fokker D-V11 and DR-1 Triplanes with the Red
Baron... this gem of a film. The Red Baron is a must-see for
anyone interested in history and the human condition. --Moving
Pictures Magazine
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