Wings (1927)
★★½ — Wings (1927)
Wings was produced by Paramount at a cost of around two million dollars, a substantial gamble for the era, and it paid off handsomely at the box office. William A. Wellman, a First World War pilot himself (he had flown with the Lafayette Flying Corps in France), brought genuine firsthand authority to the aerial sequences, coordinating with the United States Army Air Corps to stage the dogfights using real aircraft and real pilots. The film arrived in 1927, right at the tail end of the silent era, just months before The Jazz Singer shifted the industry toward sound. Clara Bow was already the biggest star in Hollywood at the time of production, while Charles Rogers and Richard Arlen were considerably less established. Wings went on to win the very first Academy Award for Best Picture, at the inaugural ceremony held in 1929.
Wings (1927), the first film ever awarded Best Picture at the Oscars, is a monumental achievement in silent cinema, and watching it nearly 100 years later, you can feel the weight of its legacy. It’s an epic war drama packed with jaw-dropping aerial combat sequences that were revolutionary for their time: real planes, real stunts, and death-defying dogfights shot with astonishing clarity and scale. For 1927, it was pure spectacle, and even today, those flying scenes are thrilling, visceral, and impressively choreographed. As a silent film, it’s also one of the most technically advanced I’ve seen from the era. The cinematography is bold (sweeping shots, dramatic lighting, creative camera angles) and the performances, while broad by modern standards, carry real emotion when they need to. Clara Bow brings charisma and warmth, and the central friendship between two young pilots feels genuine, especially in its quieter, more intimate moments. That said… yeah, it’s tough to watch now. Over two hours with no dialogue, just title cards and a repetitive musical score looping in the background. My brain, spoiled by sound, colour, and rapid editing, started to rebel. The pacing drags, the melodrama feels overwrought, and without the context of the time, some scenes land flat. And let’s be honest, modern audiences aren’t built for this kind of endurance test. But judging it against talkies would be unfair. On its own terms, as a silent film, Wings is absolutely one of the best, the pinnacle of what the form could achieve just before sound changed everything. I'm going to have to give it a fair average. Not because it’s great by today’s standards, but because it was greatness in its moment. A landmark film, historically vital, visually impressive, and emotionally resonant in flashes. Watch it not for fun, but for respect.
Rating: ★★½ | Year: 1927 | Watched: 2025-11-10
Where to watch (UK)
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from William A. Wellman: The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
More from the 1920s: The Eagle (1925) · The General (1926) · The Docks of New York (1928) · A Throw of Dice (1929)
More drama: Viy (1967) · Wonder (2017) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Beautiful Boy (2018)
More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)
