Prova de Fogo

I am an American History teacher and I really appreciate this film. While for me, I prefer some of the documentaries featuring the actual airmen, this is a great movie for teens and adults (despite the LARGE amount of swearing you'll hear throughout the film). It takes the true story of these pilots and creates a a fictionalized story--changing names as well as taking a bit of a creative license in telling the story. However, in spirit it is very accurate and is an excellent history lesson. What I particularly like is how blunt and directly it deals with prejudice--it doesn't pull punches or take the politically correct route.

The movie itself is well-written, directed and acted. In fact the film has an excellent ensemble cast--complete with some famous names (such as Lawrence Fishburn and Cuba Gooding) and lots of faces you'll recognize from TV and movies.

Another HBO Production about the Black-American experience that I STRONGLY recommend is MISS EVERS' BOYS. Once again, top-notch production values and an important film for our history.

NOTE: The DVD for this film is pretty poor. While all the content of the movie is there, there is little else. A documentary about the pilots and other background information is conspicuously absent. It's a real shame.