Director William A. Wellman’s masterpiece is the first film to win the Academy Award® for Best Picture. Featuring a meticulous restoration and a newly recorded soundtrack based on the original score, Wings comes to Blu-ray for the very first time. This timeless story of love and loss follows two men who go to war and the girl they leave behind. Popular Twenties “It” girl Clara Bow stars in this unforgettable World War I epic alongside Richard Arlen, Charles “Buddy” Rogers and the legendary Gary Cooper in a cameo appearance. The aerial battle sequences still rank among the best in motion picture history.

• Amazon Sales Rank: #249 in DVD
• Released on: 2012-01-24
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Black & White, Full Screen
• Original language: English
• Running time: 141 minutes

Most helpful customer reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful.
A Must-Buy !
By Lawrence H. Bulk
Though it's certainly not the 'best' silent film ever made, WINGS (1927), a World War I "war in the air" movie, is my personal favorite silent film. It is now being released in a new Blu-ray restoration - you can order it here: Wings [Blu-ray]. This promises to be the best version ever released to the public. (A DVD version is also being offered.)

I first saw the film in 1969 at the George Eastman House in Rochester, NY during the fifth Cinecon (Cinecon is still going strong). We were told that this was the first public showing of the complete film in almost forty years (clips have been used in other Paramount Films, most notably during the beginning of The War of the Worlds (Special Collector's Edition)).

Two years later, WINGS was shown at the Paramount Theater in New York City. I still have the original LIFE Magazine review of that showing. (The lines to get in went around the block!)

In 1985 Paramount released a LaserDisc edition as well as a VHS tape. Until now, these two versions were the only officially authorized home video releases of WINGS, at least in the U.S.A. These editions featured a beautiful organ score newly composed by that master of silent film accompaniment, the late, great Gaylord Carter. Though originally WINGS was shown in tinted prints, this LaserDisc edition was in black-and-white only and, like all prints I have seen before or since, was made from the print which survived in the Cinémathèque Française.

In 2002-3, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ("AMPAS") had a retrospective of all Best Picture winners up to that time. The program began with the second winner THE BROADWAY MELODY. AMPAS saved WINGS for last; it was shown two nights - May 15 and May 16, 2003. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater (cap. 1012) was sold out both nights. I know. My wife and I were there, having flown to Los Angeles especially for this showing - and we attended BOTH nights! (Note: WINGS did not actually win for Best Picture; that category was not instituted by the Academy until several years later. SUNRISE won for Best Artistic Achievement; WINGS won for Best Production.)

This showing was of what was called a 'partially-restored' print; some tinting was in evidence, but not as much as that for which I had hoped. It was the first time I had ever seen the film with any of its tints present. This print too was derived from that Cinémathèque Française print and was essentially a fifth-generation print. However, the music (and the recreated 1927 sound effects) played, with a live orchestra, was the original music which had been used at the first showings of the film. Gillian Anderson, a wonderful musicologist, had recreated the score (which had been arranged by J. S. Zamecnik, using some fairly well-known classical and popular music) and she conducted the orchestra. I had not thought that anything could top Gaylor Carter's score, but this one did, at least in my opinion. (Adrian Johnston had recreated the sound effects; they were so good that it was possible to distinguish the German airplane engines from the 'American' ones.)

Recently, on September 6, 2011, the AMPAS had a special program featuring the newly-restored COLOR print of Georges Méliès' A TRIP TO THE MOON (1902). What a fantastic restoration!! (I am anxiously awaiting the release of this movie on home video; it has been announced by Flicker Alley - I have already ordered a copy - for release sometime in March 2012.) My wife and I attended that program and, afterwards, I had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Tom Burton, head of the preservation department at Technicolor Los Angeles, who had been in charge of that color restoration project. He told me about the forthcoming release of this new Blu-ray (and DVD) edition of WINGS, of which he was also in charge.

He told me that new elements, never used previously, were being used to create this new edition. All of the original tints (as closely replicated as possible) will be included and Mr. Burton claimed that this edition will look better than anything seen since WINGS' first release. He also told me (and these are his exact words) that I will be "blown away by the sound track."

The new Blu-ray and DVD will not feature Ms. Anderson's music reconstruction, however. J. S. Zamecnik's original 1927 score has been re-orchestrated and arranged by Dominik Hauser, another musicologist. In 1927, sound effects (machine guns, airplane engines, etc.) were performed behind the screen. Ben Burtt, a noted (and superb) sound engineer has recreated these effects for the new restoration.

In addition, Gaylord Carter's score will be present on a second audio track (and this is very welcome).

This film is being released as the first title in Paramount's 100th Anniversary retrospective and it is one of the 'crown jewels' in Paramount's oeuvre. I should think that Paramount would insist on top quality for this restoration. (Paramount claims the film has been restored frame-by-frame!)

Obviously, as of this date, I have not seen the new Blu-ray. I ordered it on November 15, 2011 immediately upon reading Paramount's press release. This new edition is being at least partially created from a duplicate negative (the original is long-gone), an element not used previously. In all versions I have seen up to the present, certain scenes appear 'washed out' - this is due to fact that all of them have been derived from that Cinémathèque Française print - ant that is NOT a negative. I surely hope that these scenes will be corrected for this new restoration. As I have already seen the amazing quality Mr. Burton and his team at Technicolor can accomplish, I am confident that this edition will be as definitive as possible. When I receive the disc on January 24, 2012 (the scheduled date of release) I shall watch it immediately and, in an update I shall post a day or two later, I shall comment on its quality.

There is one 'cut' in all versions I have seen: Clara Bow's topless scene has had 21 frames removed. These frames exist (they are in the print owned by the Library of Congress) and I hope they are being restored to this Blu-ray. (If they are present, I'll note this in my update.)

If you are unfamiliar with WINGS' plot, it is simple Hollywood Hokum - but Hollywood Hokum at its very best, mostly due to the superior and sincere acting of ALL of the cast as well as the exemplary direction of William Wellman. [If you want to read a good book about this film and its director, I highly recommend The Man and His Wings: William A. Wellman and the Making of the First Best Picture written by William Wellman, Jr., his son (whom I had the great pleasure of meeting a couple of years ago).] Basically, the story is simply about two men in love with the same woman - but of course she loves only one of the men. Naturally there is another woman, the 'girl next door' in love with the man the first woman does not love - but he does not realize that he really loves her instead. When the United States enters WWI, both men join the Army Air Corps, the 'girl next door' joins the Women's Motor Corps, they're all sent 'over there' and --- well, I'll let you guess the rest.

Spectacular - and I mean SPECTACULAR - aerial 'dogfight' scenes and some absolutely splendid direction and cinematography (including the first, to my knowledge, big 'moving-boom' scene ever done in the movies) make this a film not only memorable but eminently re-watchable (I myself have seen the film over 100 times - and that's no exaggeration!).

When you see the leading men, Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Richard Arlen, up in the air, they REALLY are up in the air! There are no - repeat NO - rear projection or other cinema 'tricks' being used. Both men learned to fly those planes (made of wood and canvas!) and they not only flew them (during their close-up scenes), they also had to turn on the camera mounted in front of them - and then they had to act while flying the plane! (Read their lips and you'll see some 'interesting' language!) The other pilots you see up with them were stunt pilots. This sort of thing has never been - and will never be - done again (insurance companies would never allow it). But this is why the flying scenes in WINGS look absolutely real - they are!

Frankly, WINGS is a terrific audience pleaser. It's an action/adventure movie which also appeals to women and it's a love story which also appeals to men. In over forty years of watching this film and showing it to many, many friends and acquaintances, I have met only one couple who did not enjoy it (they claim that they do not like 'older' films).

As I have not yet, as indicated, seen this new edition, I cannot make a definite recommendation at this time (December 2011). I shall do so, one way or the other, when I have seen my copy. But Amazon's price is so low that, based on my knowledge so far, I think it would be 'safe' for anyone interested to pre-order this disc as I have done.

Thank you for reading my comments. I hope that you found them to be somewhat interesting and I truly hope that everything I have written is accurate (if you find any errors of fact, please let me know in a comment).

If you did find this review useful, please check back a day or two after January 24, 2012 for my update.

And if you buy this new edition of Wings [Blu-ray] (or the DVD edition), I hope you enjoy the film as much as I do.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
Special Features: Blu-ray vs. DVD
By Book 'em Dano
For you buyers mulling over which version (Blu-ray vs. DVD) to purchase, note the difference in the "Special Features" content offered on each release.

The Blu-ray version includes three (3) special features: the making-of documentary "Wings: Grandeur in the Sky," as well as "Dogfight," a featurette covering early aeronautics, and "Restoring the Power and Beauty of Wings," which details the film's restoration process.

The DVD version includes only one (1) special feature, the aforementioned "Wings: Grandeur in the Sky" (the "making of" documentary).

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
And The First Best Picture Oscar...
By Chip Kaufmann
...goes to WINGS! That was way back in 1927. It remains one of the great anti-war films even though the war is World War I. It also marks the apex of the careers of its three stars: Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, and Richard Arlen. Buddy Rogers would later marry Mary Pickford and concentrate on Big Band music while Clara Bow made only a few sound films before retiring in 1933 at the age of 28. Richard Arlen stayed in movies a bit longer but is best remembered today as the hero of 1932's THE ISLAND OF LOST SOULS with Charles Laughton. The director William Wellman would go on to quite a distinguished career making such films as THE PUBLIC ENEMY with James Cagney, the 1937 A STAR IS BORN and 1943's THE OX-BOW INCIDENT. He made his last film, LAFAYETTE ESCADRILLE, in 1958.

Wellman had actually flown planes during the Great War and so he wanted to make sure that this film captured what it was like to fly and to engage in combat up in the skies. One of the film's great strengths is the outstanding aerial photography which Howard Hughes would copy for HELL'S ANGELS three years later. Another strength, surprisingly, is the story itself. While basically one of the first buddy films, WINGS manages not only to capture the horrors of war but the innocence of pre-WWI America as personified by the three main characters. Clara Bow in particular gives a truly outstanding performance showing that she was more than just a 1920's sex symbol when given a good script and placed in the hands of a capable director like Wellman. By the time the film is over you long for its beginning and the stability and security of small town America. The final scenes in particular are among the most powerful in all of silent film with an ending that you have waited the whole movie for.

After years of bootleg copies from Asia simply transferring the old VHS edition to DVD, Paramount is finally giving WINGS the quality restoration it deserves. Available on both Blu-Ray and DVD, the release will include the film's original orchestral score in a new recording, the old Gaylord Carter organ score from the VHS copy, color tints like those used in 1927, and period sound effects. This is scheduled to be the first of several restorations by Paramount of a number of the studio's legendary films to coincide with the company's 100th anniversary in 2012.