The Great Waldo Pepper (1975) Online

I first saw this film in the theater almost 30 years ago and have caught it a few times on TV since. Finally, I was able to find a DVD copy on E-Bay (apparently it is not currently available on DVD through normal means) and I am glad I did so. This movie has stood the test of time. It is both fun to watch and has some depth to it - it is not just a piece of fluff.

The casting is excellent - not a single actor is unfit for the part. Redford's looks and charisma, coupled with the fact that while he is still pretty young he does have a few visible age lines, make him perfect for the part of a debonair flyboy, ten years removed from World War I, who is stubbornly resisting the increasing regulation of flying as a profession. Bo Svensen is a great complement as the slightly older, more experienced, and more even-keeled Axel Olsson. Geoffrey Lewis' Newt Potts, Pepper's old squadron commander, represents the future that Pepper is trying to avoid. Ed Herrmann is the embodiment of the "seat of your pants" spirit of the early aircraft producers. Phil Bruns is a convincing "carnival barker" as Doc Dillhoeffer. And the Swedish actor Bo Brundin puts in a great turn as Ernst Kessler, German fighter ace turned barnstormer, who has long since realized that the bravery and chivalry he found in the air (both among comrades and opponents) is rarely found on the ground.

Kessler is based on Ernst Udet, the second-highest scoring German ace of WWI. Udet barnstormed after the war, had a shortened version of "Lola" painted on his Fokker D-VII, and had a fight similar to the epic battle that is an important subplot in the movie. Thus it is a nice touch that Udet is shown in the opening photo montage. (It's also good that no sequel was made - I'd hate to see the Kessler character return to Germany, join Hitler's Luftwaffe and commit suicide.)

This is also notable, on a personal level, as the first place I ever saw Susan Sarandon. I've been a fan ever since. Hell, she still looks great.

The flying sequences are magnificent. There's no CGI here, folks. These are real aircraft - beautiful replicas of Curtiss Jennies, Standard E-4's, and of course the Sopwith Camel and Fokker Triplane (plus a few others) - doing real stunt flying. The talented stunt pilots are credited under the umbrella of Tallmantz Aviation, which I'm guessing was formed by legendary stunt pilots Frank Tallman and Paul Mantz. Tallman himself flew in this film (and died in a crash three years later; Mantz died making "Flight of the Phoenix," another of my favorite flight movies, in 1965.) And the climactic sequence, while it may seem unlikely to some, is actually based (perhaps loosely) on a similar incident that occurred during the filming of either "Hells' Angels" or "Wings" in the late 1920's. The only possible anachronism that I can spot is Kessler's stunt plane, which looks a little too advanced for 1928. But I could be wrong there.

Beautiful aircraft, great flying sequences, fine acting, and even a real plot - what more could you want?

First I must say that this beautiful movie handles the wide screen format extremely well, to watch it on TV comes near to an act of profanation. The lines, the colors , the surfaces, the sun that always seems to be low above the horizon ... The Great Waldo Pepper really is a work of cinematic art.

Secondly I would really like to know how the idea for this script developed. It looks like the aviation business is a metaphor for the movie industry. I would not be surprised had director and co-scriptwriter George Roy Hill put many personal feelings and experiences into it. Aviation stands for freedom. But even in the title scene the constant fear of being forcefully grounded becomes evident – the main character, aviator Waldo Pepper, talks an overawed boy into getting a canister of gas for him with the promise of a free tour above the landing strip. Cute, at first sight, but also curiously grim. It immediately started me wondering how the boy could manage to carry the full canister over the required long distance.

The wish to be free and be able to fly off sets ever more demanding conditions. People get bored with acrobatics, they want to see blood. The artists comply, because they are ambitious but also because they know that it is the only way that allows them to continue. Time moves on and it becomes evident that commercial air service will put an end to the adventurous phase of aviation. Hollywood seems to be the only way out. Acrobats are needed as stunt-men there. The grindhouse routine of the dream factory is not to their liking, but what else can they do? On a set Waldo Pepper meets a famous German flyer he idolizes. Much to his surprise this Erich von Stroheim character is deeply in debt. „In the air, I see heroism, chivalry and a spirit of comraderie", rasps the German, „but on the ground ..." He just limply shrugs. The final quixotic showdown between Pepper and the German is a natural and very good ending of this surprisingly „deep" and rather pessimistic movie that offers far more than nostalgia.

This movie is made by some of the same players that made Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Writer, Director and Actor). Unfortunately, it doesn't have nearly the acclaim. Perhaps because the ultimate tone of the movie is darker, the movie still captures that fun that permeates Butch Cassidy.

In terms of the aerial stunts and flying sequences, not only does the hold up to the modern movies like 'Flyboys', it is in fact, much better. Visually just as complete, you also know these are the real deal.

The script is brilliant. At the end of this film, one is forced to wonder why this level of movie so rarely is ever seen today.

You can read the other reviews for plot points, and details. Suffice to say that if you are a fan of movies with planes, actions, love, tragedy cool war history lover, or Hollywood of the early thirties, you'll eat this movie up.

Now lets get a DVD of this that is worthy!

This is a well shot film (the light in the Prarie scenes are beautiful) about why people love flying and how it gets into their bones to the point where they will take great risks with their lives as well as other people's!

Redford looks heroic and every bit the Ladies Man especially in uniform.

The aerial sequences are terrific with some really risky stunts and shots. Made in 1975, there are no CGI effects - everything is real and raw.

I felt the film to be a little slow at times but it's a film for grown ups so we can take that speed, can't we?

Scott A. Frisina's review on the main page is as good a synopsis as anyone can give - that's how it is - read it then see this excellent film.

This is a great movie, from a very special era in movies, and contains an all-time great scene that speaks to the darker nature of humanity. SPOILER AHEAD!! I speak of the scene where Ezra Stiles, Waldo Pepper's best friend has crashed, and he is trapped in his plane, which has caught on fire. Waldo is trying to free him from the burning plane. A crowd of onlookers, who came to watch the aerial show, has gathered around the burning plane, staring while Waldo tries to free his best friend. THey do nothing but stare while Waldo screams at them, begging for their help.

The faces of the onlookers provides an insight into human nature: the blank, staring faces of the Midwestern peasantry, rapt at the sight of the trapped Stiles burning to death. Waldo frantically tries to enlist their help in dragging Stiles, to no avail.

Waldo finally has to brain his trapped friend so that he will not burn alive while still conscious.

Anybody who likes old airplanes, stunt flying or just plain adventure and an interesting story should like this early Robert Redford film.

Redford plays the "The Great Waldo Pepper" as he barnstorms from place to place in the early 1900s. You see some wonderful bi-planes and the interesting characters who flew them. The most flamboyant person in this story is "Axel Olsson," played by Bo Svenson. He and Redford are intense competitors and the competition between the two is fun to witness, especially with humor thrown into the mix.

This film is noted for sporting a very young and beautiful Susan Sarandon who makes a very memorable exit from the film! Except for an excessive amount of usages of the Lord's name in vain, this would have been an excellent family film. Other actors whose names you might recognize in here are Edward Herrman, Georffrey Lewis and Margot Kidder.

The film's opening title card read: "Nebraska, 1926" and shows the old black-and-white Universal Pictures logo presentation, which features an old early 20th Century plane flying around the orbit of the planet earth . The Second Greatest Flyer in the World . The war was over - and the world's greatest flyers had never met in combat . But Waldo was going to change all that - even if it killed him . The era the picture is set in is mostly the ¨Roaring Twenties¨ , specifically the period is between 1926 and 1931 , in which bitter pilots are reduced to defying death in air flying circus such as Waldo Pepper (Robert Redford) , Axel Olson (Bo Svenson) and Ezra Stiles (Edward Herrmann). As a disillusioned biplane pilot named Waldo who had missed flying in WWI takes up barnstorming and later he carries out a movie career in his quest for the glory he had missed . After that , the pilot-become-barnstormer gets hired as a stuntman for the Hollywood movies . Eventually getting a chance to prove himself in a film depicting the dogfights in the Great War . Waldo believes the honor of the best WWI fighter pilots and he deems to be the German Ernst Kessler (Bo Brundin) who is working in Hollywwod as an aerial stunt .

This attractive drama about flying results to be an elegiac homage to WWI fliers . It features impressive vintage aircraft flying sequences made by expert stunts and professional pilots . However , there are no studio takes in airplanes , all close-ups of actors being airborne were done for real, sometimes with George Roy Hill, a former Marine pilot himself, flying the airplane while directing ; as scenes with Robert Redford and Bo Svenson climbing out on the wing were done without any security harness or parachutes . The film reunited three successful Hollywood professionals of the sixties and seventies : actor Robert Redford , filmmaker George Roy Hill , and screen-writer William Goldman , the latter Oscar Winner for ¨The Sting ¨. All of them got a big hit with ¨Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid¨ . Breathtaking as well as overwhelming flying sequences , intelligent plot and brilliant scenes are major assets in this stunning flick . Robert Redford gives one of his best acting , along with Bo Svenson and Bo Brundin ; both actors are Swedish . The notorious secondary player Geoffrey Lewis also gives an admiring interpretation , as always . The movie represents an early screen role of actress Susan Sarandon , the film was one two 1975 movies that Sarandon appeared in that were released in that year , he other one was The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) which is considered to feature Sarandon's breakthrough film role . The yarn features actress Margot Kidder who became famous for starring in the "Superman" franchise with Christopher Reeve .

Colorful as well as evocative cinematography by the great cameraman Robert Surtees , a photographer expert on super-productions . Lively and enjoyable musical score by Henry Mancini , Pink Panther's composer . The movie is pretty well but had a commercial flop . The motion picture was compellingly directed by George Roy Hill . This is third and final of three films that as an actor, Robert Redford made with director George Roy Hill, he first two were The Sting (1973) and Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid (1969) . George Roy Hill had a long career from the fifties until the eighties with hit smashes such as ¨The world according to Garp¨ , ¨Slap shot¨, ¨Butch Cassidy¨, ¨The Sting¨ , ¨Hawaii¨ , ¨The world of Henry Orient¨ and commercial failures such as ¨The little drummer girl¨ , ¨A little romance¨ , ¨Slaughterhouse five¨, ¨Throughly Millie¨ , ¨Toys in the attic¨ , ¨Period of adjustment¨ and this ¨The great Waldo Pepper¨ ; however , the latter being today better considered than old times . Rating : 6,5/10 Above average . Worthwhile watching .

As someone who loves the notion of flight as adventure to the extent of having been in a microlight, hot-air balloon, helicopter, twin-seater single - propeller aircraft, best of all a twin-prop civilian charter flight over the Grand Canyon, and lover of the devil-may-care spirit of 1920's America, this particular movie celebrating a barnstorming "flying-circus" troop was always going to be right down my street, or should that be flight-path... Throw in heavyweight participants hot from "Butch Cassidy..." and "The Sting", like director George Roy Hill, screenplay writer William Goldman ("Butch Cassidy" only) and of course Robert Redford in the lead and you just know this one is going to straighten up and fly left.

The film title and introductory scenes where we first see Redford's "Pepper" character are however deceptive. These entertaining almost playful scenes where we witness Pepper's good-natured rivalry with fellow-flier Bo Svennson not only for the patronage of the target awe-struck thrill-seeking populace of little-town Americans but also for, of course "the girl", Susan Sarandon in an early role, have a touch of whimsy, even sentimentality as Pepper takes a hero-worshipping young tyke up for a spin.

However the film grows more serious as it continues, as we are made aware that in the end this is a business and that to make money and outdo rival companies for daring, the Barnum-type owner/entrepreneur Dilhoeffer (well played by Philip Bruns) exhorts Pepper and his confederates to ever more dangerous stunts with nary a thought for the consequences (health and safety doesn't get a look in here!). The outcome is predictable as first of all, Sarandon and later Pepper's friend, boffin-type aircraft designer Stiles die horribly in stunts which go disastrously wrong, leading the film to its ultimate and overriding motif about the "otherness" of people like Pepper, gifted with a rare talent but with a bent for living on the edge, outside everyday society.

Such people are of course rarely long for this world, as is tacitly underscored at the end where we learn of Pepper's death at a young age from a commemorative picture on a wall but are overall left with a great admiration for all those risk-taking individuals from those times, unforgettable photographic images of whom (you know the ones I mean, wing-walking or even playing tennis on bi-planes, workmen casually eating sandwiches on girders atop the under-construction Empire State Building etc) can still draw gasps of admiration from people like me living our ordinary, mundane earth-bound lives.

The cinematography is fantastic, thirty years before "The Aviator", the air stunts are brilliantly pulled off and photographed. Redford is at his winning best as the "out-there" Pepper and he's well supported by his band of high-flying misfits. Part of me was repelled however by the seeming disregard for the deaths of Mary Beth and Stiles by Dilhoeffer, Pepper etc not to mention the rubbernecking general public and believe a little more humanity could have come through in the writing.

On the whole though this is a charming, greatly entertaining movie, not without its darker side and for me belongs in the same air-borne formation with "Only Angels Have Wings" and "The Aviator" as a classic movie celebrating the lives of those fascinated by and/or who make their living in the skies above. Mere days after Captain Sullenberger's near miraculous emergency descent into the Hudson river, amen to that!

Now that flying seems such a mundane, everyday way of getting people from A to B, it is strange to recall that there was a time, not so long ago, when it seemed far more magical. In the twenties and thirties aviation represented what space travel came to represent during my childhood in the sixties and seventies- mankind's most thrilling new adventure. The aviator-poet John Magee was able to write in his sonnet "High Flight" that while flying he had "slipped the surly bonds of Earth" and "put out my hand, and touched the face of God".

"The Great Waldo Pepper" is a film which, like the more recent "The Aviator", captures some of the excitement of those days. It is set in the world of the "barnstormers", troupes of pilots who would perform stunts to entertain the crowds. This was a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s, and many of the barnstormers were former fighter pilots from the First World War; the troupes became known as "flying circuses", after the squadron commanded by Manfred von Richthofen, Germany's greatest ace. At first their stunts were relatively simple ones, but as time went on the crowds became more demanding and the pilots were expected to perform increasingly dangerous manoeuvres, sometimes verging on the suicidal. The proprietor of the "flying circus" featured in the film puts it simply. "I'm not selling good flying. I'm selling sudden death." The film charts the exploits of the title character and his two great rivals, Axel Olsson (an American but presumably originally from Scandinavia, to judge from his accent) and Ernst Kessler (a German loosely based upon another real-life flying ace, Ernst Udet). Pepper's rivalry with these two men stems from the fact that they both had distinguished combat records during the war, whereas he served in the American forces but was employed as an instructor and never saw active service. (His rivalry with Olsson, however, does not prevent them from becoming close friends).

At the beginning of the 1920s flying was an almost entirely unregulated activity, but during the decade it became more commercialised as the first airlines and air mail services were launched and tighter regulations were introduced in the interests of public safety. After a young woman is killed in a dangerous stunt that goes wrong, Pepper loses his pilot's licence and is forced to abandon barnstorming. He is, however, unwilling to give up flying altogether, and travels to Hollywood where he becomes a stunt pilot under an assumed name. He learns that Kessler and he are both working on the same film, a wartime aviation drama, and that they are due to re-enact a famous dogfight between British and German planes. Somehow, they manage to turn their film sequence into a real-life duel.

The film was directed by George Roy Hill and starred Robert Redford, who had previously worked with Hill in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Sting". (Unlike those two films, however, this one does not co-star Paul Newman). One of Redford's greatest assets as an actor was his amiable, boyish charm, and that is much in evidence in this film, especially during the more comic first half. He plays Pepper as charming and debonair, with an insouciant, devil-may-care attitude, in contrast to the more level-headed Olsson and the gloomy, saturnine Kessler. Kessler has fallen on hard times after Germany's defeat; his pessimistic attitude is due to the fact that he was a hero in wartime but has become a nobody in peacetime. (Something similar happened to the real Udet, who went on to join the Nazis and ended up committing suicide). His character comes more to the fore in the second half of the film which is notably darker than the light-hearted early scenes.

There are excellent performances from Redford and from Bo Brundin as Kessler. (Olsson is played by Bo Svenson; are there any other English-language films where two major male characters are played by actors named Bo?) The main attraction of the film, however, is not the acting but the magnificent flying sequences, all of which were performed using real aircraft, not models or special effects. (It is said that the actors performed all their own stunts, including wing walking, which must have given the film's insurers some nervous moments). It is these exhilarating scenes which give the film its excitement and much of its emotional power, making it a fitting tribute to the pioneers of aviation. 7/10

Watching all these wonderful actors in their prime, the great storyline and the great cinematography for the first time has had me enthralled. This is a really enjoyable film with considerable depth. In my mind it is an exploration of the competitive nature of the flyers themselves - whether friends or rivals, one soon becomes acutely aware of their constant need to push their limits, not only amongst themselves but also within themselves.

For some reason this film is only averaging a rating of 6.4, and it deserves much more than that, so my vote will hopefully help to reflect a more appropriate rating for what is a really enjoyable movie.

Even if you are not into aviator flicks, you will enjoy this movie - it is an excellent example of the filmmakers and scriptwriters art. I give it my heartiest recommendation.

How can this film barely have more than a single page of comments? Redford in his youthful heyday, following the success of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Susan Sarandon as the female lead, and yet, apparently, so few have ever seen this that less than two pages covers comments. Major urging: see this film.

Extremely well written and directed, even better acting, all stunts by human beings and not computers, and beautifully photographed. The only weakness is that due to audience availability, this film is hard to find on DVD, even at Blockbuster. Similar to The Hill, absolutely the best acting performance by Sean Connery, but try and see it. Major hint to those who have missed Waldo Pepper: never, ever, under any circumstances whatsoever, attempt the double loop, especially in a plane. Today, July 28, 2007, we had two crashes at the Wisconsin and Ohio Air Shows. Death isn't just in the movies when doing stunts in a plane.

I love this picture for many reasons. I don't know why it isn't available on DVD. It reminds me of my childhood dreams of becoming a military pilot and the joys (and terrors) of flying. As a teen-age in the mid-1930's I saw Ernst Udet drag the Oakland Airport with his swept-wing bi-plane inverted and pick a handkerchief off the runway with his wing tip. And about 8 years earlier, when I was about 6, I lived in Rio Vista on the Sacramento River mid-way between Sacramento and San Francisco, when a mail plane crashed in a grain field just outside of town. I ran out with a crowd of town folks and other kids. By the time we got to the plane it was burning fiercely with the pilot trapped in the cockpit and no way the men in the crowd could have rescued him. Everyone was grim-faced and silent, except for one smart alec who said he wished he'd brought his knife and fork because the burning pilot smelled good. I have often wondered if this gruesome event inspired The Great Waldo Pepper's scene where Waldo's friend crashes and burns. But I expect this was a common occurrence.

This movie has special significance for me because I first saw it as a

teenager. Yet it holds up as a great movie for me 28 years after it was

made (unlike some others I could name).

I like Robert Redford in almost anything, and he's at his best here as

a barnstorming pilot in the 1920s who pretends to have seen more action

in World War One than he did. He made me feel for the character when he

said, "It should have been me" after rival flyer Axel Olsen exposed him

as a "four-flusher" for claiming he was a key figure in a famous battle.

Pepper finally gets his chance to go up against the German World War One

ace Ernst Kessler (perhaps loosely based on the real German ace Ernst

Udet) as a stunt pilot in a movie crew.

The dialogue scenes between Pepper and Kessler leading up to the

climactic dogfight are the best part of the movie, even though Kessler's

lines seemed to be written more in the interest of serving the plot than

in serving the character.

The idea that Kessler was a man who only felt at home in the air, for

whom nothing worked out well on the ground, resonated with me, as it did

with Pepper, who felt the same way.

In closing, I'd like to mention the beginning of the movie when Waldo

Pepper lands at a small town in Iowa to offer airplane rides. He

promises a free ride at the end of the day to a boy named Scooter if he

will tote a 5-gallon gas can back and forth from the filling station to

keep Pepper's plane fueled.

The song that plays over the opening credits during this sequence has

stuck with me for 28 years. I heard it again in 1992 while attending a

boot camp graduation ceremony at the Great Lakes Naval Recruit Training

Command and remembered it from the movie. I don't know the name of it,

but I love that song.

Anyway, at the end of the day Scooter asks for his free ride and Pepper

says he only promised that to get him to haul gas. He never takes kids

for rides. Whether the character is kidding or not isn't clear, but it

certainly seems that Scooter (and his dog) get the best ride of the day.

That sequence establishes Pepper as a decent, if somewhat slippery

character and gets the m

Robert Redford got one of his best roles in The Great Waldo Pepper which was directed by George Roy Hill who did right by him with Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid and The Sting. It does a wonderful job of capturing a bygone era of the Twenties when after World War I, the airplane was a big toy played with by some big kids.

The airplane got invented just in time for use in the war to end all wars. But no one figured out quite what to do with it. In point of fact it didn't have the capacity to drop bombs on the enemy to do that much damage. In the trench warfare days the real function was scouting those enemy lines to see and report on troop dispositions. But the other side did the same thing. So when they met dogfights happened. They were colorful and exciting, but didn't really do much militarily.

Aces got their reputations like the real life Baron Von Richtofen and Hermann Goering and the fictional Ernest Kessler as played by Bo Brundin here. Waldo Pepper in the Great War came up too late to show his stuff even though his former squadron leader Geoffrey Lewis says he was the most natural flier he ever saw. He had a brief encounter with Brundin days before the Armistice where Brundin let him off. He never got a chance to prove himself.

Now he proves himself every day in the various flying circuses doing daredevil stunts. People who fly do it for the love it and won't be happy going 9 to 5 on the ground. Redford is at the height of his abilities and this is his frustration that he never got to show his stuff in the arena where it really counted. Redford did a wonderful job in fleshing this aspect of his character.

But his world is changing, if the military has put aviation on hold there are lots of commercial uses. And a guy named Herbert Hoover who Secretary of Commerce at that time spearheaded the creation of the Civil Aeronautics Agency to regulate air traffic. Airplanes would be hauling mail and people and would soon be large enough to haul freight. Not a world that calls for daredevil daring.

The Great Waldo Pepper is one of Robert Redford's best films and roles. The Great Robert Redford has this part really nailed down. Some other folks in the cast are a tragic Edward Herrmann who hasn't got the skill as a pilot that Redford has and shows it. Susan Sarandon plays a budding wing walker who also perishes tragically in one of her early roles. George Roy Hill assembled a great supporting cast to back up Redford.

In the end it's Redford who makes The Great Waldo Pepper great.

This is simply a fun movie. The flying scenes are great to watch and sometimes filled with suspense. Its simply an adventure that traces Waldo after flying in WWI to getting money from small communities for stunt flying to flying for Hollywood. There is no deep thought here and the plot is not that great but it has fun action. I am not sure if I would rent it, but its worth watching if you see that its on cable somewhere.

A very interesting story about a combination of a pilot/peddler! As usual Robert Redford was great as Waldo Pepper ! A couple of biplane pilots who fought during the WWI came back from the battle field and started working on taking people on rides and trying to see who was the greatest among them. The interesting thing was that in those days they did not have license. Shocker! When they all got into trouble for excessive stunts and the death of a young woman, they went to Hollywood, to be stunt men. My favorite scenes: Pilot destroying the platform; the plane going through the barn; Waldo Pepper walking on the wing of a flying plane, the pilot taking the plane down a city street.

I am afraid of heights and the palms of my hands were sweating throughout the entire movie.

I'm sorry to hear that this film is not as respected as I had assumed. This is a great film on so many levels and I highly recommend it. I saw it aged 13 and it absolutely thrilled me. Waldo's friend's death in a crash and fire may correctly need a PG warning but the film will still give most kids a love of flying. For the next 10 years I knew I would be a fighter pilot! There are obvious comparisons with The Blue Max, made 9 years earlier. I like the civilian side to this film. Susan Sharendon's sudden exit was a real shocker, which took me months to get over. In conclusion, I think that this was the first film that I watched, thinking I am an adult enjoying an adult story. It made me feel great and I've had a fascination with film ever since. All thanks to Waldo!

I saw The Great Waldo Pepper in its first theatrical release back in 1975. The story revolves around Waldo Pepper, a flight instructor from the post-Word War I era, who along with his buddies have a passion for stunt flying. Desperate for money, they preform numerous barnstorming stunts at various air-shows, such as Wing Walking, sometimes with tragic results. There are two noted aviation deaths in this movie, one in particular at a county fair, that is very painful to watch.

The cinematography is stunning. Robert Redford as Waldo Pepper, preformed all of his own stunts for the movie. Actual aviation and stunt pilots assisted in the production of the film with real aircraft used. There are no models or computer generated sequences of any kind in this movie. The result is a very realistic experience.

The problem with TGWP seems to be an apathetic approach that many of the characters have when a tragic circumstance occurs in the film. Although Waldo shows great emotion in the tragic air-show accident where his friend burns to death in a haunting scene that you will remember for the rest of your life, there are many quick shifts in the movie where the attitude becomes "business as usual" where "What are we going to do about our careers?" becomes more important than a person's life. There's a certain degree of arrogance about Waldo's character. But this is not in regards to how Redford plays him. Maybe the attitude of barnstorming pilots at the time was to become apathetic to tragic death, because they just accepted the risks associated with stunt flying and barnstorming as a way of life.

The film sputters a bit in the second half with the Hollywood stunt sequences after Waldo is grounded by the aviation authorities following a girl's tragic wing-walking death. The ending is memorable. But there seems to be something missing from The Great Waldo Pepper to make it "great." However, it is still strong enough to be "good." One precaution is that very small children may have some problems with the death scenes.

I remember 1975 well, I was living in the New Orleans area and my 4th child was born, a cute little daughter. That daughter is 38 now. And I remember this movie, by title only, but never saw it. For some reason the title didn't draw me in. Now, in 2013 I found it on Netflix and find it to be a very nice, very enjoyable movie.

Being a guy I never identified with the "star power" of Robert Redford, but I know why many of the ladies did, he was a really good-looking guy in his 30s. But could he act? Well in fact he was a very good actor, and I witnessed that over the years in other movies.

Here he is Waldo Pepper, the story starts in 1926 after WW1. He is a pilot, apparently a very good one, but had spent the war as an instructor and had missed the aerial battles. But he spoke of them, as if he had been there, as if he were the war hero. That comes to an abrupt halt when he encounters the hero he was talking about, Bo Svenson as Axel Olsson. Eventually they form a friendship and fly for one of those traveling aerial carnivals, doing stunts and giving rides.

This was the time of transition, planes were getting more common and the government was stepping in, to regulate planes and pilots, to make sure there was a baseline safety factor. Waldo Pepper did not deal easily with those new regulations.

The other key character is Bo Brundin as Ernst Kessler, the famous German fighter pilot of WW1. Everyone knew he was regarded as perhaps the best, while he also knew of Waldo Pepper, and knew he was one of the best. The climax of the story is when Ernst and Waldo are hired in a movie-filming job, they are to simulate an aerial battle. But the two rivals, once in the air, were determined to see who was best, and with dummy guns resorted to close passes and physical contact.

The last few scenes pay off very well, first as the two men discuss the famous WW1 battle, and then the aerial battle of the biplanes. It was also nice seeing a young Susan Sarandon and a young Margot Kidder, a full 3 years before her famous role as Lois Lane in one of the Superman movies.

All-in-all a fine example of a 1970s movie, and Redford was already at the top of his form.

*Spoiler/plot- The Great Waldo Pepper, 1975. Follows the life post WW1 of a pilot trying to get work barnstorming and in the film business. He meets up with other aviators and has many adventures in the USA.

*Special Stars- Robert Redford, Bo Svenson, Bo Brundin, Susan Sarandon, Margot Kidder, Geoffrey Lewis, Edward Herrmann.

*Theme- Aviation is a heady career.

*Trivia/location/goofs- This film is based on some real-life early 'barn-stormers'. The location for the WW1 filming set was an alfalfa farm right off the road that leads from the town of Piru Ca to the nearby lake of that name. Wing walking was done by the lead actors without safety equipment. Some camera shadows are seen during the wing walking.

*Emotion- A throughly great and entertaining film on all levels. It could be another classic favorite film from the director, George Roy Hill. The casting and plot keep the viewer interested and the pacing of the film is enjoyable. A top notch feature film about interesting characters and adventures.

Being a Big Robert Redford fan for years, I have seen this movie numerous times and just got the DVD of it. It makes you stop and think of the chances these young took back in the dirty 1930's to fly these machines. My dad use to tell us about how these small towns (he was from Nebraska too, just like the movie)had these air shows. One time he saw a dare devil, like the one in the movie, crash and burn to death in from of hundreds of people. They just don't make movies like the one Redford did, any more! I have a fear of heights and every time I saw that girl on the wings standing there, my heart will drop and my palms get sweaty!

. In the 1970's, I was competing in Freestyle Snow Skiing, and the sport was very new, it went through trying times, people were injured permanently and the sport had to regulate itself and stop the barnstorming aspect of itself. I remember being able to do stunts one year, that were illegal the next year. We, the competitors, felt that the sport was being regulated to death.

. But the sport survived, and still thrives, people are doing wilder stunts now than back then, so I guess all came out well in the end. I remember going to a Halloween party in a nice sports car, way back then, dressed as the great Waldo pepper, in a flight uniform with scarf, and knowing that my time, at that age, was very similar to his. I related to the movie at that time in other words. . Paul Bannon

I've long been impressed with the variety of films in which Robert Redford starred during his prime years. He took chances tackling roles that few others would accept, and there was always a sense of quality in his films.

That being said, it almost seems as if this film didn't quite know what it wanted to be. A sort of light-hearted look at stunt pilots? Well, that's in there. A serious look at the psyche of aerial daredevils? Well, that's in there, too. The first half of the film and the last half of the film seem almost like different stories. The most interesting part of the film is the relationship that develops between Waldo Pepper (Redford) and a German flying ace from World War I; but again, what exactly is the point. Oh, and yes, some of the flying is quite stunning. I couldn't help but think how differently this film would be made today with all the computerized special effects. However, from my perspective, it's quite a depressing film...including the ending.

There's certainly nothing wrong with the acting here. Robert Redford is flyer Waldo Pepper, and is very believable in the role. Bo Svenson, no favorite of mine, is quite good here as another stunt flyer. Bo Brundin is interesting as the clearly moody German air ace. I never cared much for Susan Sarandon, but she does well here as the slightly ditzy girlfriend of one or both of the American stunt pilots. Geoffrey Lewis, a reliable character actor, does well here, as he pretty much always did. Edward Herrmann has a somewhat small role, and is almost unidentifiable; this seems before he was typecast in later roles.

I have quite a few favorite Robert Redford films, but this is not one I want to watch again. Once in 1975 and once in 2015 is plenty for me. Of course, if you are into aeronautics, you might warm up to this film more than I did.

Kessler's character is based heavily on the great German flier, Manfred von Richthofen. I have read Richthofen's personal memoirs which he published in a book called "Der Rote Kampfflieger" and was translated to English as "The Red Battle Flier", and the details he provides are in consistency with those portrayed in the movie. I am very much a lover of aviation and, particularly, early aviation. The 30's, before WWII and after WWI, were the Golden Days of aviation and they were shown wonderfully in this film with excellent scenery, breathtaking skies, good actors and beautiful planes. You cannot be an aviation enthusiast and not see this movie! And even if you aren't, you're still in for a treat. This has a good storyline, great lines, comedy, a little romance, adventure, and plenty of flying! A+++++++++++!!!