They've flown 24 perilous missions. Now there's only one thing keeping the flyboys of the B-17 Memphis Belle from going home to a hero's welcome: Mission #25, a daylight raid over Germany that's their most dangerous ever.

Matthew Modine (Full Metal Jacket, And the Band Played On) heads the dynamic star cast of Memphis Belle, an acclaimed high-flying adventure inspired by true-life World War II heroes.  Legendary director William Wyler, who flew five battle runs in the famed Flying Fortress, first told the Memphis Belle's story in a 1944 documentary. Using that as inspiration, producers David Puttnam (Chariots of Fire) and Catherine Wyler (William's daughter) scoured the world to find enough operable B-17s to give their movie wings. They found five of the now-rare aircraft, along with 13 other vintage planes. 

Notes from Sean Astin on Memphis Belle

 

These airborne marvels are joined with impressive model work, wartime footage and a stirring story of the guts and teamwork required when the flak gets so thick you can walk on it. The result is a movie that soars with the spirit of courageous men who took to the skies during one of the world's darkest hours. Sean Astin plays "Rascal," the excitable young ball-turret gunner.