Hell’s Angels (1930) | Region-Free (Blu-Ray) | Directed by Howards Huges | Starring Jean Harlow

Full 1080p sourced from Rare Import Blu-ray.

Title: Hell’s Angels (1930)

Genre: War, Drama, Action

Plot Synopsis:
During World War I, brothers Roy and Monte Rutledge, both students at Oxford University, enlist in the Royal Flying Corps. As they navigate the perils of aerial combat, their bond is tested by the horrors of war and their mutual affection for the same woman.

Cast and Crew:

• Director: Howard Hughes
• Writers: Joseph Moncure March, Harry Behn, Howard Estabrook
• Cast:
  • Ben Lyon as Monte Rutledge
  • James Hall as Roy Rutledge
  • Jean Harlow as Helen
  • John Darrow as Karl Armstedt
  • Lucien Prival as Baron Von Kranz

IMDb Link:
Hell’s Angels (1930)

Reviews from Letterboxd:

1. ❄️Chris Hughes❄️ – ★★★★☆
   “Howard Hughes’ Great War epic Hell’s Angels looks fantastic today due to Hughes’ meticulous archiving practices. Shot initially as a silent, it was reshot with sound after the debut of The Jazz Singer (1927), significantly delaying its release and ballooning its budget. Hell’s Angels looks very much like a silent film in terms of artistic approach and the sound elements are well recorded, especially for 1930. Some tinted scenes and an extended two-strip technicolor segment help to amplify the drama. The aerial photography is fascinating to watch. Some of the shots defy ready explanation for how they were even captured. These images are combined with some amazing model work and elaborate sets that come together almost seamlessly.”

2. Colin the dude – ★★★★☆
   “If you are at all familiar with Howard Hughes then you know how important Hell’s Angels is to film history. The first true American action blockbuster with sound. The aerial photography is next level stuff, even by today’s standards where you know that if they made it today a large portion of it would be created inside computers. This was all done for real. Lives were sacrificed to get it done. Hughes didn’t care how much money it took, he just wanted the best movie possible. Granted the actual human drama is a bit stale, but the action does more than enough to compensate. And Hughes was only 21 when they started filming!”

3. evilbjork – ★★★★½
   “Howard Hughes is a madman that made one incredible movie. It’s a technical marvel for the time. Coming out in 1930, directly in between the transition of silent to sound movies. It’s fully in sound, although much of the style is still similar to the silent era. There’s color film tinting to show when a scene is taking place at night and when Germans are speaking their dialogue is shown with title cards instead of subtitles. It’s a spectacular representation of the two eras and the transition from one to another. What makes this special is this monolithic position it has, the awe-inspiring special effects and stunts, and Howard Hughes’ burning passion that is impossible to ignore while viewing the film.”

Meta Description:
“Hell’s Angels” (1930), directed by Howard Hughes, is a war drama that follows two brothers from Oxford University who enlist in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, facing the trials of aerial combat and complex personal relationships.