The Cold Blue

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The Cold Blue

2018

1h 12m

Documentary

War

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100%

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13 Reviews

88%

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

A meditation on youth, war and trauma.

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Donald Clarke

Irish Times

We are left with a valuable record of an extraordinary period. The vibrant colour lends the images an immediacy that strips away the decades.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 5, 2019

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Philip De Semlyen

Time Out

'The Cold Blue' gives a real sense of what it was like to be strapped into one of these jolting, juddering, bomb-filled crates. They were called the greatest generation for a reason.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 1, 2019

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

There is a succession of poignant images: very often of that piercingly blue sky - the hostile "cold blue" - in which the Memphis Belle and the other B-17s flew their missions.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 26, 2019

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Dan Schindel

Hyperallergic

The visuals captured by Wyler's crew are overpoweringly mesmerizing. Even in the midst of combat, there's an unreal quality to the 16mm footage. It could almost be counted against the film that it doesn't quite convey the danger.

Feb 18, 2020

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Paddy Kehoe

RTÉ (Ireland)

[A]n extraordinarily moving portrait of the American bomber pilots of the Second World War.

Rated: 5/5

Jul 5, 2019

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Paul Whitington

Irish Independent

Erik Nelson's documentary combines digitally restored footage that was hidden in a vault for decades with the disembodied memories of 8th Air Force veterans to create a moving and oddly beautiful experience.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 4, 2019

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Daniel A. J

Wow! Narrated by the survivors. It's stunningly powerful. This was truly the Greatest Generation and the sacrifices they made are astounding. Brave men. It's never mentioned in any of the WW II films, but the overwhelming majority of these men, like all men and women in WW II, gave up their innocence and some of their best years to keep our country free. We owe them all an infinite debt of gratitude. Yet none of them ever mention that.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/05/23

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Audience Member

The amount of film they had from WW2 is insane. The war stories some of the Veterans tell will but chills down your back. Highly recommend this documentary!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

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steve r

Amazing movie! Watch it when you want to be reminded what real men were like.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

4/5: An incredible look into the B17 Flying Fortresses and the Greatest Generation.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/30/20

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Audience Member

Nice job capturing some reality. Its good for us who were not there to attempt to put ourselves in those places, those positions...and imagine the stress and the pain and work that these guys had to endure because the world let someone like hitler go as far as he did. Never again.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

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Audience Member

This documentary portrays, in a very eye-opening manner, what American bomber crews experienced in the skies over Europe during World War II. The footage is fresh and colorful, the commentary by the veterans is emotional and sobering and the movie will help one to realize what many members of "The Greatest Generation" experienced in the defense of freedom. This is a must see!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

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Erik Nelson

Director

Erik Nelson

Writer

Paul Allen

Executive Producer

Rocky Collins

Executive Producer

Carole Tomko

Executive Producer

W. Clark Bunting

Executive Producer

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Synopsis

A meditation on youth, war and trauma.

Director: Erik Nelson
Producer: Peter Hankoff, Erik Nelson
Screenwriter: Erik Nelson
Production Co: Creative Differences, Vulcan Productions
Genre: Documentary, War
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 14, 2019
Runtime: 1h 12m

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