The Movie
The very first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Picture (actually "Outstanding Picture" back in the 1927-28 season), Wings curiously skipped the heyday of DVD and is only now making its five-inch disc debut, in standard as well as high definition. Restorations take time (more on the results momentarily), but the movie itself might just be timeless, hence the well-earned accolades.
A tale of friendship and unrequited love set against the foreboding backdrop of World War I, Wings follows wide-eyed young dreamer Jack and his hometown rival David, their innocence ended like everyone else's with America's entry into the fray. The two volunteer to serve as pilots, a romantic and dangerous new line of duty, soon distinguishing themselves as heroic aces and becoming the best of friends. But as the Allies' Big Push against the enemy comes together, their friendship and their combat skills are tested as never before, leading to one of the most heartbreaking sequences of events in movie history.
Director William A. Wellman weaves a magnificent story but he also conjures a great spectacle, produced with resources from the United States government allegedly totaling some $15M (an unthinkable sum when converted to 2012 dollars) in equipment and manpower. Using predominately real, authentic planes for the many thrilling aerial sequences, Wings lives up to its title and its lofty subject with grand style.
The Picture
Wings underwent a lengthy, painstaking frame-by-frame restoration for this new high-def edition, and the improvements are obvious. The twitchy grain structure is somewhat inconsistent, and some mild video noise now taints the image, but very little film damage of any sort remains, all the more impressive when we see the "Before" footage in the extras section. The picture quality could be considered soft, but no more so than even the best-preserved films of this era. Regardless, extremely fine details pop: the spray off a glass of champagne, or the tiny guide wires on a German balloon.
The 4:3 film is indeed black-and-white, but with a variety of sepia and other tones applied, all faithful to the original production specifications. In addition, flames in various shots are tinted orange for even more surprising visual impact. Stripping away the flaws and assuring the artistic integrity will surely help this restoration reach a new generation of viewers.
The Sound
Yes, it is also a "silent" movie, although it was never intended to be played completely without auxiliary audio. In fact, not only was musical accompaniment expected, but added sound effects were commonplace in this era. Hence the legendary Ben Burtt has designed, edited and mixed a new DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track for the Blu-ray, built around a re-recording of the score by the original, uncredited composer John Stepan Zamecnik. The music was orchestrated and arranged by Dominik Hauser, with featured pianist Frederick Hodges, and while I suspected early on that the mix would be front-heavy, I was soon proven wrong as the exquisitely produced notes enveloped me.
Burtt's carefully researched and tastefully balanced effects also open up as the action escalates, with planes flying overhead, guns firing in the distance, incoming shells and bombs bursting in air with no shortage of powerful bass. His considerable expertise undeniably makes a true classic more sonically palatable to today's home theater crowd. At some point I stopped thinking about the sound and simply experienced it as part of the cinematic whole.
As an option, we can also access a more conventional Wurlitzer pipe organ score composed and performed by Gaylord Carter in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. This track has been archived here from the 1987 restoration of Wings, having appeared previously on VHS and laserdisc editions. The DTS-HD Master Audio version of the film actually runs five minutes longer, with an intermission and a visually clever overture not present in the shorter stereo edit.
And yes, I'm aware that I had more to say about a silent movie's audio than its video.
The Extras
The documentary "Wings: Grandeur in the Sky" (36 minutes) is a wonderfully deep and entertaining "making of" that brings together a variety of expert voices in a brisk, entertaining package. For a variety of reasons, they really don't make movies like Wings anymore.
"Restoring the Power and Beauty of Wings" (about 14 minutes) is a must-see for anyone who wonders why rescuing old films is such a daunting proposition, and wishes that more titles should be so lucky. "Dogfight!" (13 minutes) lastly is a contemporary history of vintage aviation, culminating in a crash course on plane-on-plane battles. All of these extras are in high definition.
Final Thoughts
Wings on Blu-ray is a treasure, revealed in its proper glory and further reinvented by a modern master, taking a landmark film to even greater heights. It's only January, but this one is already setting the bar high for the most gratifying discs of the year.
Product Details
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