That was an excellent one.

Fantastic!

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

A documentary about the formation of the Israeli Air Force in time to defend the fledgling nation as it declared independence.Starting with two Piper Cubs flown in across the Mediterranean on overload fuel tanks for 11 hours to create supply aircraft.In California C-46 and Constellations were purchased and smuggled out of America across the Atlantic by a circuitous route to create a transport command.Luftwaffe Me 109's were cobbled together with parts obtained through Czechoslovakia and assembled in Tel Aviv and flown straight into combat without any flight testing. The irony of flying in Luftwaffe equipment was not lost on many of the volunteer Jewish American pilots many who had less than 30 mins cockpit familiarization before flying into combat.The first combat ground attack by just four Me 109's stopped the Egyptian Army in its tracks as it started its invasion of Israel.3 smuggled B-17's were used to bomb Cairo with the US commercial pilots bluffing their way into Egypt pretending to be TWA flights.Ultimately the Israelis obtained Spitfires which led to the only known Spitfre/Spitfire combats with the Egyptian Air Force Spits.With commentary by pilots who flew and with contemporary footage and photography. An interesting testament to the pilots who turned the tide in Israel's favor.

I have read reviews blindly marking this movie as a propaganda or nationalistic trash. I cannot say so. This movie is from the point of view of Israel but any adult and educated person is easily capable to filter this out. I am not historian so I do not dare to say anything regarding historic accuracy. Movie is a celebration of bravery of the men and women fighting for their (and also others) country. The defeated opponents are kind of humiliated in the movie while Israel's victory is praised. Sad think is that it is a celebration of war. There is no victor in a war, only suffering. The movie uses a lot of interviews and historical facts spiced by "action" scenes. Some basic animations and rather primitive effects are clearly out-dated, but considering the budget agreeable. However it does not diminish value of the movie. On the other hand it moved the movie from dry documentary to more juicy and enjoyable experience. I can recommend this movie to all people interested in the middle- east history if You can (or are allowed to :) think on Your own.

This movie will inspire you. It is a well made movie about the 1948 Israeli war, and the difference that each individual can make to an entire country's destiny.I do not like war movies - but this is a movie about survival and ingenuity. There is no drama in this film. It is about people who made a difference. It lets you understand how the nation of Israel came to being - without any help from the entire world.It is a war movie, but not about guns and planes - it is about people. There is humour in the movie and there is gravity. You may not like Israeli people - but you will understand why they were made tough, and have to stay tough. Hats off to Nancy Spielberg for documenting a vital part of history that would have simply been forgotten. Highly recommended.

"Above and Beyond" is a documentary from Nancy Spielberg, Steven's sister. Additionally, it was written and directed by women--making this film rather unusual. Sad that we don't see more like this.The movie is about a period seldom talked about--the formation of Israel and its statehood in 1948. At that time, most of the Arab world seemed ready to destroy the country and Israel had few resources other than folks eager to create a new nation. They had nothing in the way of military--and the lack of an air force was particularly worrisome. This film is about this first air force-- mostly made up of foreigners (mostly Americans) using surplus WWII airplanes.Fortunately for this film, many of the old pilots were alive to participate in the production--rather amazing considering how long ago these events occurred. In addition to this and some great production values and an interesting story, it's well worth seeing.