Fly Hard: George Lucas Honors History in Red Tails

The auteur goes from Star Wars to World Wars.

Yoda famously told Luke Skywalker that "wars not make one great," but the Jedi master's creator, George Lucas, has been trying to prove the greatness of one particular group of warriors for 23 years. When Red Tails, his passion project about the Tuskegee Airmen, didn't quite happen in 1988, he kept at it, and the results hit the big screen this Friday. Kinda proves that he really takes to heart the whole "Do, or do not - there is no try" thing.

The first African-American military pilots in the U.S. armed forces, these airmen received segregated training yet still managed to earn 95 Distinguished Flying Crosses. The Lucasfilm production, directed by CSI: NY's Anthony Hemingway, follows the 332nd fighter group, which was the only operational unit. As white pilots continued to engage enemy fighters while on bombing runs with an emphasis on earning kills, they often left bombers unprotected. Ultimately, the Tuskeegee Airmen were assigned to escort bombers in missions over Europe, because of their willingness to put the B-17s first. 

Serious stuff, yes; but expect some hard-hitting battles. In an interview with Jon Stewart, Lucas said of the action sequences that they were as close as we were going to get to Star Wars Episode VII. As Vader would say, the circle is now complete: Lucas based the X-Wing battles in the very first Star Wars on aerial dogfight footage.

Red Tails opens Friday in theaters everywhere.

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