Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The Japs would NOT sign a defeat Treaty UNLESS they were Convinced after a SECOND Atomic Bomb that it's time to pack it in and find a new way of life. In fact their Ego was SO misguided,that for YEARS Jap Soldiers still hid in caves waiting for their next order. ROBERT TAYLOR plays Colonel Paul Tibbets,the pilot who's Bomber plane "The Enola Gay" (named after his Mother)put an end to Japanese delusions in World War II. Colonel Tibbets under personal and G.I. Strain,manages to pull it off. Eleanor Parker as his Wife,almost loses it a few times,as not knowing what his actual mission is,nor did MOST of the military personnel who were actually involved. This is an important film and should be a MUST see for present generations.

Despite my love for aviation films, I somehow never got around to seeing "Above and Beyond" until now. Much of this is because although I like airplane films, I incorrectly assumed that this movie would basically be a by the numbers and very dull documentary about the dropping of the first atomic bomb. Seeing them recreate this somewhat mundane process depressed me and I only got around to seeing it finally because the film starred Robert Taylor--an exceptional actor. Fortunately, my assumptions about the film were mostly wrong--and it was a very good retelling of this true story.I think the biggest reason I liked "Above and Beyond" is because it does NOT show as much of the technical aspects as I thought it would. Instead, it focused a lot of the film on the personal toll the project took on its commander, Col. Tibbets. Now this is NOT the toll on him after the dropping of the first A-bomb (he actually seemed to have no problems with this from everything I've read--saying that it DID help end the war)--but how the secrecy demands of the project took a major toll on the Colonel's marriage. I had just assumed, incorrectly, that Tibbets was some guy chosen at the last minute to command this mission and that he was already serving in the Pacific. Instead, he was picked long before and headed an unit in Utah that spent many, many months working out the specifics of the bombing. The security for all this surprised me--as I'd just assumed this was only for the Manhattan Project itself.Interesting, well-written and acted, this is a nice historical piece that is both fascinating and entertaining. I was particularly impressed by the recreation of the atomic bomb drop from the point of view of the crew as it happened--it was well done and believable. The only negative, if there is one, is that the film really doesn't even mention the second bomb dropped a few days later--a bit on an odd omission. I guess being second doesn't hold a lot of interest to most folks.

This film chronicles the life and career of Paul Tibbets, who dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. Far from getting heavy into the ethics or justification of that event, it mainly looks at the personal life of the man involved in this controversial bombing.There is one scene early on when one of his commanders is trying to decide if Tibbets is right for the job. He asked him if he could end the war tomorrow and save half a million American lives and others but would have to kill 100,000 people in the process, could he do it. He hands him a buzzer, and asks is he could push it. Tibbits pushes it. And thus he is chosen to head the mission.They go into a great deal of time in chronicling the relationship with his wife and the strain his "secret" mission put on the marriage. So it was interesting to see if from this personal perspective.But overall I found it a simplistic approach to a very difficult topic. The film was made in 1952 and the country was still very much pro-war in regards to WWII. To be certain if the film were made today, it would look VERY different by the liberals in today's Hollywood.Mucxh of the film is told from the viewpoint of Tibbets wife, played by Eleanor Parker. She in fact narrates much of the film to add necessary details. I suppose this tactic was used to make the viewer more sympathetic and forgiving of a difficult subject - and kept them from delving too deeply into the controversy.There is one attempt at the end when, after the bombing makes news and Tibbets is revealed as commander, a reporter asks him what he felt personally about dropping the bomb. He doesn't want to comment, but when the reporter pushes with a "but my readers WANT to know!", he turns the question back to the reporter. He says "How do THEY feel about it?"Don't look to this film for any in depth answers to difficult questions. But if you enjoy seeing the personal side of the story to those involved, then this is a well made film with an adequate cast.

In 1945 a B-29 piloted by Colonel Paul Tibetts (Robert Taylor) dropped the first atom bomb on human beings in Hiroshima, killing some 78,000 people and destroying with one blow about three square miles of urban landscape, virtually ending World War II.All things considered, including the fact that this was released in 1953, it's an interesting if shallow story. That's too bad because the narrative has a lot of intrinsic energy. The movie, though, follows the usual conventions of the time and, for one reason or another, doesn't really want to get into cumbersome reality or moral implications.The commanding general comments during Tibetts' training that, for a moment, Tibetts looked a little uncomfortable. Tibetts explains that while he'd been a bomber pilot over Germany he walked through the bomb bay before every flight and it occurred to him every time that there were going to be "people down there." "You're right, sir, I did feel uncomfortable. I wouldn't think much of myself if I didn't." General: "Neither would I." Tibetts is going to kill almost 80,000 people, mostly civilians of different ages, and it makes him "uncomfortable." End of philosophical quandary.There are some nice shots of B-29s landing, taking off, and in flight -- but not many of them. And not much goes on in the interiors either that isn't required for the telling of the story. Pilots often complained that the B-29 was a beast to fly.Probably a lot of material having to do with the development of the bomb and Tibetts' mission was still classified, so much -- maybe most -- of the film is given over to Tibetts' family life. He has a beautiful wife and a child. When she gives birth to a second, Tibetts isn't there for her and she resents it. The conflict intensifies over time because Tibetts is heavily burdened with the responsibility of preparing for the all-important bombing. He becomes snappish with his family. He fires old friends for breaches of security. He doesn't handle his wife delicately either. "It's none of your business," he tells her. And, mollifyingly, "I'll tell you what. You take care of the house and children and let me take care of my work." Of course he can't tell her about why his work is so important. It's a secret. What's worse, he has to keep secret the fact that it's a secret.The entire domestic theme could have been eliminated and the time spent in pursuit of other things if the writers and producers had wanted to go that way, but they didn't. I'm not entirely sure they should have. It would have been a different kind of film. As it is, the result is a rather shallow film that's in its own way kind of reassuring because it's so nostalgic. The wife has a full-time job at home, and the husband goes out and fights in the jungle to make a living or win a war. And they were locked together for life. Divorce, while not unheard of, would have been a disgrace. Candidates have lost presidential nominations for having been divorced. (Ronald Reagan was our first and only divorced president).A couple of observations. Tibetts took off for Hiroshima from a USAAF base on the island of Tinian. New Yorkers would have felt at home on Tinian. The streets were laid out and named as they were in Manhattan. The main drags were Broadway and Fifth Avenue, West End Avenue was where it should have been, and so forth.The bomb was armed in flight by a Navy officer. "It's been planned ahead of time." Why Navy, you ask? I mean -- this being an Air Force mission and all? Official justifications aside, the Navy probably didn't want to be left out of the show. It would probably be a mistake to believe the dynamics of celebrity are less primitive than that.Tibetts and crew certainly had awesome responsibilities but had little to do with the development of the bomb. Their job was to carry the thing to its target and deliver it as planned, rather like the driver of a UPS van. But there are times when the script gives Tibetts what appears to be control over the scientists he deals with. Nobody ever remembers who came in second, who dropped the bomb over Nagasaki, so we might point out his name was Bock and his plane was Bock's Car.At any rate, it's a dated but watchable movie and for those too young or inattentive to history to already know the story, it's worth catching.