The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress

William Wyler
Part of

56th New York Film Festival

September 28 - October 14, 2018

Major William Wyler’s Memphis Belle, shot on 16mm from a B-17 bomber, is one of the greatest of the WWII combat documentaries, and it has now been meticulously and painstakingly restored.

DIRECTOR
William Wyler
YEAR
1944
COUNTRY
USA
RUNTIME
45 minutes

Q&As with Erik Nelson and Catherine Wyler on September 29 & 30

In February of 1943, Major William Wyler went up in a B-17, 16mm camera in hand, on his first combat mission over Bremen with the Ninety-First Bomber Group. On this and the missions that followed, the Hollywood master, then at the height of his career, braved freezing and perilous conditions to get the images he needed, saw his sound man perish on a return trip from a raid over Brest, and refused an order to stop flying combat missions issued by his superiors, worried that he would be taken prisoner in Germany and identified as the Jewish director of Mrs. Miniver. The final result was Memphis Belle, one of the greatest of the WWII combat documentaries, and it has now been meticulously and painstakingly restored.


Preceding The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress is The Cold Blue. Get tickets here.

The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress
The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress
The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress
The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress

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