HBO has become the symbol for excellence in made-for-television movies. And the premium cable channel delivers another quality drama tonight at 8 in "The Tuskegee Airmen," starring Laurence Fishburne.
As a whole, "Tuskegee" is not a great movie. But it is way above average, and it contains scenes that will move you in a way television seldom does.
The film, which is based on the real-life experiences of some 440 African-American combat pilots, is about the fighting of two wars by those men. The first is the bloody one the airmen courageously fought in the skies over Europe and northern Africa during World War II. The other one -- the more difficult war, according to the film -- is the one they fought at home to be trained and accepted as men with the right stuff.
The unmistakable theme of the film arrives early: For African-Americans, this country has always sent out two distinct and contradictory messages. The first is that all men are created equal. The second is found in the thousands of written and unwritten rules that have denied blacks access to many of the things whites have. In "The Tuskegee Airmen," what's denied is the chance to be commissioned an officer and become a hero by flying combat missions in World War II.
What separates this HBO movie from the standard movie-of-the-week fare on ABC, NBC or CBS is the quality of the writing and performances. They make for three absolutely knockout scenes in particular -- none of which relies on the artificially heightened drama of air battle action.
In one scene, Fishburne as Lt. Hannibal Lee is forced to land his disabled plane away from the training base. On the ground, he finds himself in a field that is being worked by an Alabama chain gang -- black prisoners chained together, while two white overseers on horseback tower over them like something out of "Cool Hand Luke."
The look of recognition that crosses Lee's face, the look of disbelief that crosses the faces of the prisoners when Lee takes off his goggles, and the look of the white bosses to all of it come together to form a tableau that speaks volumes about race and power -- without a word being uttered.
It's a scene that combines chance, timing, character and history in such a way that it's burned into your memory bank.
