Very well executed

Undescribable Perfection

Simply Perfect

Brilliant and touching

1. George Peppard's American accent, it grates, I dislike cod German accents, (or any other language) in films and would prefer people speak in the actual language i.e. The Longest Day a film made around the same time. Other actors here have made the effort to at least sound German.2. Ursula Andress a completely superfluous addition to the story, 'We must have a love interest for the ladies', really? I think that is an insult to women that they only want to see a film if there is a love interest. Like a previous reviewer states most don't like war films so to add a love interest won't make them go and see it. So there are my reasons for deducting 2 stars otherwise this is a ten star film. The action sequences, especially the aerial battles are superb when you consider none of it is CGI. I saw this film in 1966 with my parents and I wanted to see it again immediately.To George Sickler I say you obviously totally missed the premise of the entire film. The Count wanted to use Stachel as propaganda showing that anyone of the lower classes could rise and be a hero/fighter ace. When he discovers that Stachel cheated to get the Blue Max he knows it would be damaging to the image of the other fighter aces. So rather than expose him he allowed the cheat to die a hero, wonderful PR whilst removing a lover from his wife at the same time.I am just watching it again on Sky Classics, wonderful stuff.

The movie deals with the struggles of Lt. Stachel, who wants to be accepted by the German officer class. The film does a good job, and illustrates the coming collapse of Imperial Germany. Even today (51 years on), the flying scenes are unsurpassed. The affair with the general's wife added a lot of intrigue, and illustrates what a complex character Stachel was.

See it – An engrossing tale of a hotshot World War One pilot's quest for Germany's highest military honor, the Blue Max. Starring George Peppard and James Mason, it is a fictitious story with the main purpose of showing the danger of letting pride and the pursuit of glory get in the way of chivalry during wartime. Interesting tidbit - the Blue Max was originally awarded to pilots for shooting down 8 enemy planes, but by the time the war ended the figure was increased out of necessity to 30. It was also given to U-Boat captains who sunk more than 190,000 tons of enemy shipping. But I digress. This classic war film has some of the greatest aerial combats scenes in Hollywood history. Maybe the best period. If you've seen "Flyboys" or "Red Tails," you undoubtedly will agree that "Blue Max" not only is a superior film, but the combat scenes are just as good despite the outdated special effects. It's a long movie, but there are enough explosions to keep you hooked from start to finish. 3 out of 5 action rating.

I really enjoyed this film. It has great acting, action and superb aerial scenes. The cast are superb. George Peppard is great as Stachel. He doesn't care for the aristocratic comrades around him. He has fought in the trenches and seen death close up which has hardened him so he doesn't see war as a chivalrous game. He wants to prove he is equal to or better than them all so he will stop at nothing to achieve his aim of winning the Blue Max. Unfortunately this leads him to claim 2 kills which weren't his and this in the end causes his downfall. Peppard isn't wooden I don't think. I believe his character is meant to be cold and ruthless because of his experiences in the trenches. I also enjoyed Karl Michael Vogler's performance. He is very upper class and is still trying to fight a decent war despite the carnage going on around him. He sees the officer class as the backbone of Germany and even when Stachel is virtually murdered at the end he supports it because he believes Stachel and people like him are needed as heroes to help keep Germany from revolution. Jeremy Kemp too is great. He is an arrogant, upper class pilot who looks down on Stachel but sees him as a rival who is "hard to beat". The aerial scenes are great and the planes look brilliant. Other later films, like Aces High, borrowed scenes from this. The dogfights look realistic as do the scenes of fighting on the ground. I think this is a great film well worth seeing.