Risa Morimoto's documentary "Wings of Defeat" airs on PBS' Independent Lens

by Chris MaGee

I have to thank my blogger-in-arms Nicholas Rucka for smacking me across the head and reminding me that Risa Morimoto's fantastic documentary "Wings of Defeat" will be airing on Tuesday May 5th on PBS' documentary series "Independent Lens" (check your local listings for the exact time). Nicholas actually was the original editor on the film which follows Morimoto's journey to Japan to hear the stories of surviving kamikaze pilots after she discovered that her late Uncle trained to be one during the latter days of WW2. That's right. Surviving kamikaze pilots. It's not something that most people think is possible given the nature of what these pilots were ordered to do, but that's what makes "Wings of Defeat" such a fascinating and enlightening documentary.

The only sad bit of news is in order for the film to fit into the "Independent Lens" time slot it has been edited down to 52 minutes. The version that I saw was 89 minutes and every single extra minute of footage is worth the attention; so if your curiosity has been sufficiently peaked after catching "Wings of Defeat" on Tuesday then head over to the Edgewood Pictures site to purchase the full version on DVD.

Also, if you're not sold on the idea of staying home Tuesday night to see the amazing film then read my review of it here as well as my interview with Risa Morimoto here.