good back-story, and good acting

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

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.

Very good film showcasing German pilots during World War 1. George Peppard is as arrogant as ever as he aims for winning the coveted metal by shooting down 20 enemy planes in the closing days of the war. The film is a particularly good one as it shows how the Peppard character becomes part of the German propaganda war-effort. It tragically shows that when he is of no use for them, he can die tragically as a martyr for propaganda purposes. Having achieved greatness as Field Marshall Romel in "The Desert Fox," James Mason is great here as well again as a German commander who is ruthless and if he can live for the next 15 years, a possible favorite of the coming Nazi regime.We see the beginnings of discontent in the Fatherland as Germany is about to lose the war.Ursula Andress is wonderful here as Mason's much younger wife and Peppard's lover. Her unwittingly stupid move condemned the Peppard character.

Interesting War drama taken from German point of view , it deals with a young pilot named Stachel (George Peppard) in the air force of 1918, disliked as lower-class and unchivalrous , attempts ambitiously to earn the medal -The Blue Max- offered for 20 shooting down enemy planes . He reunites an aristocratic group of flying aces (Jeremy Kemp , Karl Michael Vogler) and emerges dispute , envy and hating . Most of the officer corps comes from Germany's high-class elite and Stachel feels out of place . His blind ambition leads him to claim a shooting down that is not his and when he confides in the gorgeous spouse (Ursula Andress) of a General (James Mason), conflicts are inevitable .Big-budget extended adventures produced by Elmo Williams about a maverick pilot and his partners undergoing risked feats on air and bombing on earth . Based on a novel by Jack Hunter and being well adapted by Franchina and Ben Barzman . Very good aerial actioner plenty action , steamy romance , drama , fantastic cloudy scenes and spectacular dogfighting . George Peppard shows professionalism as crack fighter pilot named Stachel , an ambitious youth assigned to dangerous missions . Top-notch support cast gives excellent performance as Jeremy Kemp as astute contender , Anton Diffring , Derren Nesbitt , Peter Woodthorpe , Loni Von Friedl and Carl Schell as Von Richthofen , the famous Red Baron . Rousing aerial scenes staged by Squire , being wonderfully photographed by Douglas Slocombe and marvelous musical score by the great Jerry Goldsmith are the chief assets of this spectacular film . This lavish airplane movie is professionally directed by John Guillermin , habitual of disaster films ( Skyjacked , King Kong , Kong lives ) , adventures ( Tarzan in India , Tarzan's greatest adventure , Sheena ) , Wartime ( Bridge of Remangen , Guns at Batasi , I was Monty's double ) and intrigue ( Death on the Nile , Shaft in Africa , The whole truth ) . John Guillermin usually worked with George Peppard in various films ( such as P.J , House of cards and Blue Max) and Peter Sellers (Never let go , Walz of the Toreadors) . 'Blue Max' is a rehash of the former airplane movie clichés in which the splendid casting stands out . Rating : Good and entertaining , it's a fairly watchable and breathtaking film and results to be a good treatment of WWI flying aces .

How much you like this film will probably depend on how much WWI flying sequences and dogfights appeal to you, but I enjoyed it very much (although probably not as much as my friend Bridget von Hammersmark did since it's about her fellow Germans after all). The flying sequences are thrilling and I liked George Peppard very much in a role that is at times heroic and sympathetic and at other times shows ruthlessness, callousness or underhandedness. I liked the rivalry between Bruno Stachel (Peppard) and Willi von Klugermann (Jeremy Kemp) and also the theme of class and bourgeois politics that runs throughout the film. I liked scenes where Stachel has different viewpoints to the higher ups in the German military, because of his humbler beginnings and his more direct experience of life in the trenches. I also find it interesting in the aspect of how a supposed hero gets treated by his "superiors" when he is in danger of becoming a liability and embarrassment (I was reminded of some of the plots regarding Jack Bauer in 24 here). Ursual Andress reminded me a little of Bridget von Hammersmark here, but alas I found her character and chemistry with Peppard fairly dull, although at least she does contribute something to the story in the end (but mostly she's just an additional prize for the two pilots to compete over). Some more standard war movies probably wouldn't interest me very much, but this is one of the ones that had an extra element of excitement, ambiguity and character/human interest for me. I very much love the flying sequences and some good characterization and themes keep things on the ground moving too.