Сценарии к фильмам на английском языке - Перл Харбор (Pearl Harbor)

В ролях:Бен Эффлек, Джош Хартнетт, Кейт Бекинсэйл, Алек Болдуин, Джон Войт, Дэн Эйкройд, Кьюба Гудинг-Мл.
Сценарий/субтитры

Out of BLACK we hear the sound of an airplane roaring by.

EXT. POV OF AN AIRPLANE

Flying over American heartland. We see the earth through the
pilot's perspective as sky and ground swap positions, the
plane swooping down and storming over the ground.

THE PLANE

is a biplane, racing over a field lush with young plants. It
releases a trail of crop spray, and climbs again...

Up into a crystalline blue sky where sunshine pours like
honey over family farms stretching to the horizon. Maybe
it's not heaven, maybe it's just Tennessee. But as long as
there's been an America, men have fought and died for this
place -- as volunteers.

Far off, but visible from the plane is

A BARN - DAY

The barn is unpainted except for hand lettering that says
McCawley Crop Dusting. Another plane noise, this one made
by kids, brings us to TWO BOYS, sitting in the shell of an
old plane propped on crates, scavenged of it's engine, seats,
and wheels.

The boys sit in it's cockpit, butts crowded onto the nail keg
they've replaced the seat with. They've even attached a 2x4
as propeller, as if their imaginations needed any help. They
wear overalls and have bowl haircuts: RAFE and DANNY, 10
years old.

RAFE
Bandits at 2 o'clock.

DANNY
Power dive!

They buzz their lips in a flying noise and work the controls,
Rafe's bare feet on one pedal, Danny's on the other.

RAFE
It's Germans!

DANNY
Kill the bastards!

Rafe looks at Danny in shock -- then they both laugh and go
right back into their game, manufacturing their own machine
gun and engine sounds.

RAFE
Good shooting, Danny!

DANNY
Good shooting, Rafe!

RAFE
Land of the free...

DANNY
Home of the brave!

RAFE
There's another one!

Their vocal motors roar again... But a man's hand grabs Danny
by the straps of his overalls and jerks him from the cockpit.

It's Danny's FATHER and he's a fearsome sight; drunk, his
hair uncombed, his face unshaven, his teeth -- those still
left -- are rotting. He's also missing an arm; but the one
that's left is potent, and he's shaking Danny with it.

DANNY'S FATHER
You no count boy! Johnson come lookin',
said he'd pay a dime for you to shovel
his pig shed, and I can't find you no
place.

DANNY
Daddy, I told you I was comin' here.

His father slaps him off his feet. Rafe is so horrified he
can't get a sound out. Danny isn't even surprised. But when
his father snatches him up again, twisting the overall straps
so tight they choke him, he struggles. It does no good; his
father starts marching across the field, dragging and
strangling Danny.

DANNY
Da!... Dad...

The father's drunken anger makes him oblivious -- until
CRACK! The 2x4 propeller slams him across the back, knocking
him to the ground and making him drop Danny.

The father rolls over to see 10-year-old Rafe, holding the
2x4 like a bat.

RAFE
Let him alone!

The father's eyes bulge in rage; he struggles to his feet.

DANNY
Rafe... Daddy... No!

The man looks murderous, but Rafe draws back the board.

RAFE
I'll bust you open, you...German!

The words ring something deep in the man's booze-broken
brain. He begins to cough, convulsively; it brings a blossom
of blood to his mouth. He wipes it with his hand, but blood
clings to his teeth. He chokes out --

DANNY'S FATHER
I fought the Germans.

He looks at Danny in shame, with the realization of what he's
just done. He turns and staggers away.

Danny looks at Rafe -- a communication between boys joined by
something deeper than blood. Then Danny runs off after his
father.

DANNY
Daddy! Daddy! Wait.

Danny catches him, takes his father's hand, and walks away
with him.

The crop duster we saw in the air has just landed, behind
Rafe. The pilot, RAFE'S FATHER, shuts off the engine.

RAFE'S FATHER
What's goin' on, son?

RAFE
Nothing. Danny's Dad just come to get
him.

Rafe turns back to the ramshackle plane and replaces the 2x4
propeller. His father looks toward Danny and his father,
walking away, then looks at his own son.

RAFE'S FATHER
Hey, boy -- you wanna go up?

Rafe can't believe it; he runs to the plane and hops into his
father's lap. As his father cranks the engine and tucks him
into the harness, Rafe says --

RAFE
Daddy, sometime will you take Danny up
too?

RAFE'S FATHER
Sure will, son.

The engine races to life...and we --

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. NEW JERSEY AIR BASE - DAY

American P-40 fighters blast through the air, props screaming
and wind singing by their wings.

There are eight pilots in their individual seats, and we
focus on two: RAFE MCCAWLEY has grown lean and handsome.
And DANNY WALKER is very much the same.

Their planes start swapping positions in the formation; while
the other guys are flying along in a tight line, Rafe and
Danny are playing, one of them gunning his engine to go high,
the other diving and coming back up in his place,
leapfrogging.

It scares the other guys, having their planes flashing in and
out, so close. The TRAINING CAPTAIN, watching through
binoculars on the ground, talks into his RADIO --

TRAINING CAPTAIN
McCawley! Walker! Cut that out!

RAFE
I thought this was a training flight.
I'm just trying to give Danny some
training.

DANNY
Not on your best day, boy!

Rafe grins and guns his plane low, in the opposite direction
he was moving before. Danny reacts almost instantly...
leapfrogging in the opposite direction, scaring the piss out
of everybody else.

TRAINING CAPTAIN
That's it, get into a wedge!

The squadron responds, forming up into a tight V, Rafe and
Danny just behind and on either side of the center.

RAFE
Didn't you say test the limits?

DANNY
Hey, you wanna test my limits, you better
line up a couple dozen women on the
GROUND...cause I got NO limits in the
air!

Rafe grins, loving the challenge. Then he and Danny do the
leapfrogging maneuver laterally, swapping sides in the V.

TRAINING CAPTAIN
Everybody down!

EXT. NEW JERSEY AIRFIELD - DAY

The planes land in tight order and taxi off the runway; shut
down their props, slide back the canopies and hop down. We
see young pilots we'll get to know: ANTHONY, BILLY, RED.

TRAINING CAPTAIN
Where are McCawley and Walker?

EXT. RAFE AND DANNY - STILL IN THE AIR - DAY

They've circled to opposite ends of the airfield and are now
heading right at each other, like two bullets playing
chicken.

TRAINING CAPTAIN
Aw shit...

INT. THE COCKPITS

From Rafe and Danny's POV, the rush is awesome.

THE PILOTS ON THE GROUND watch in awe as the P-40's get so
close they can't possibly get out of each other's way.
Billy, the most boyish-faced of the pilots, yells to drown
out the sound of the collision...

At the last instant, both planes snap a quarter turn so that
their wings are vertical, and they shoot past each other
belly to belly.

IN THE COCKPITS

Rafe and Danny burst out laughing.

THE PILOTS ON THE GROUND

laugh and congratulate each other.

TRAINING CAPTAIN
You know what they say... You can take the
crop duster out of the country -- but
don't put him in a P-40.

Rafe banks to land, and Danny tucks in behind him. Danny has
Rafe's plane in his sights.

DANNY
If I had guns I'd be chewing up your --

Rafe feints left, banks right, and appears behind Danny.

RAFE
If you had guns, you'd be pissin' on 'em.

They're almost to the landing strip, Rafe behind Danny. But
as Danny's wheels are about to touch, he guns his engine and
snaps the nose of his plane straight up.

THE OTHER PILOTS stop laughing.

ANTHONY
He's doing an inside loop!

TRAINING CAPTAIN
Aw, shit...

Danny pulls it off, just barely making a full circle to come
in behind Rafe and bounce to a stop on the runway.

DANNY
Yee-hawww!!!

Danny taxis his plane over to join the others. He's grinning
as he slides back his cockpit cover; then --

DANNY
Where's Rafe?

Red, tall with flaming orange hair, tips his chin toward the
air. Seeing Rafe's plane still in the air, Danny starts to
refasten his harness.

TRAINING CAPTAIN
You're down, Walker! That's an order!

DANNY
What about him?

TRAINING CAPTAIN
He's not taking my orders anymore.

Danny's just about to ask what the hell that means, when he
notices Rafe climbing in a deliberate spiral.

DANNY
He's gonna do it.

BILLY
Do what?

DANNY
It.
(beat)
Aw, shit. Aw shit shit shit...

RAFE'S PLANE reaches two thousand feet, just a speck above
them, and seems to pause in the air.

DANNY
I shouldn't'a done an inside loop.
I shouldn't'a done an inside loop.

BILLY
Why?

DANNY
Cause now he's gonna do an outside loop.

TRAINING CAPTAIN
Aw shit. Aw shit shit shit...

Anthony and Billy join in, like an involuntary chant --

ANTHONY & BILLY
Aw shit shit shit...

RAFE, IN HIS COCKPIT, is tightly controlled, yet serene. He
noses the plane into a power dive.

The P-40 screams toward the ground, picking up speed, going
so fast it begins to shudder.

THE OTHER PILOTS are transfixed. Red is so nervous he can't
get the words out.

RED
Aw sh- sh- sh- sh-

BILLY
Shit.

RED
Yeah.

DANNY
You can do it, Rafe. You can do it.

The P-40, hurtling toward the ground at nauseating speed,
snaps into a half roll, streaking upside down over the
runway. Rafe hangs inverted in his flight harness, the
asphalt of the runway shooting past, ten feet beyond his
head.

He pushes the plane into a climb, his cockpit on the outside
of the circle. The plane reaches the top of its arc, and
almost stalls; but Rafe noses it over again, toward the
earth, only this time he has very little altitude. The plane
hurtles down, still with it belly on the inside of the
curve...

And makes it full circle. Rafe's head now is barely a foot
off the asphalt as the plane shoots past, still inverted.

THE OTHER PILOTS burst into cheers.

RAFE, IN HIS COCKPIT permits himself a smile.

He lands, and the guys run out to meet him...all except for
the Training Captain, who stands there shaking his head.

Danny jumps on the wing, as Rafe stops and slides back his
canopy. Danny grabs him by the harness and shakes him.

DANNY
You could've killed yourself, you stupid
bastard!

He dives into the cockpit, hugging Rafe.

DANNY
That was the most beautiful thing I ever
saw.

INT. COLONEL DOOLITTLE'S OFFICE - DAY

COLONEL JIMMY DOOLITTLE, mid-forties, is commander of the
base. He's as tough as he is good in the air. And right now
he's frowning at Rafe McCawley, standing at attention before
him.

DOOLITTLE
There are some people who think the
outside loop is reckless and
irresponsible.

RAFE
How could it be irresponsible, Sir, if
you were the first man in the world to do
it?

DOOLITTLE
Don't get smart with me, son.

RAFE
Never, Sir. I just meant it's dangerous
only for the kind of pilot who wants to
show off, rather than inspire the other
pilots in his unit. And all you've done
for me, Sir, working out the transfer, I
did it to say thanks. To honor you, Sir.
What the French call a "homage."

DOOLITTLE
That's bullshit, son. But it's really
good bullshit.

RAFE
Thank you, Sir.

Doolittle stands, moves around his desk, and shakes Rafe's
hand.

DOOLITTLE
Good luck over there McCawley. I admire
your decision.

RAFE
Thank you, Sir.

INT. NEW JERSEY AIRFIELD - BARRACKS - NIGHT

The pilots are getting slicked up for a night on the town.
Danny's at the mirrors with the others; he's putting on
cologne, and looks terrific in his uniform.

Anthony and Billy are combing their hair at the sinks. Billy
declares to his image in the mirror --

BILLY
You good-lookin' sumbitch...don't you
EVER die!

ANTHONY
That's your line for tonight, ya know.

BILLY
What, good-lookin' sumbitch?

ANTHONY
No, numbnuts, die. You get your nurse
alone, you look her in the eye, and say,
"Baby, they're training me for war, and I
don't know what'll happen. But if I die
tomorrow, I wanna know that we lived all
we could tonight." I've never known it
to fail.

Red finishes brushing his teeth at the sink beside them.

RED
He's n-never known it to work, either.

The guys head out laughing, running into Rafe coming in.

DANNY
Doolittle didn't kill you? Attaboy!

Rafe catches Danny's arm.

RAFE
Danny, there's something I gotta tell
you...

EXT. NEW JERSEY BARRACKS - NIGHT

Rafe and Danny are walking on the parade ground; the other
guys are already on the bus that will take them into town.
Danny's upset by what Rafe just told him.

DANNY
How could you do this?

RAFE
The Colonel helped me work it out.

DANNY
I don't mean how'd you do the paperwork,
I mean how the hell did you do it without
letting me in on it?

RAFE
I'm sorry, Danny, but they're only
accepting the best pilots.

DANNY
Don't make this a joke, Rafe. You're
talking about war, and I know what war
does to people.

RAFE
Danny, you know how many times I saw you
come to school with a black eye or a
busted nose, and couldn't do a thing
about it -- for you, or for your mother...
or your father, with his lungs scorched
out with mustard gas, and more left of
his lungs than there was of his spirit?
You've made your sacrifice, Danny. It's
time I made mine.

BILLY
(from the bus)
The nurses are waiting!

RAFE
Let's go.

DANNY
Nah, you go on.

RAFE
I have to talk to Evelyn. And I want you
to meet her.

DANNY
Some other time. I don't feel like a
party.

Danny walks away. The bus driver's ready to leave, and Red
is honking the horn for Rafe to come. Rafe reluctantly lets
Danny go, and heads for the bus, where the pilots are
chanting --

PILOTS VOICE
Nurses! Nurses! Nurses!

INT. A MOVING TRAIN - DAY

The trains of 1942 have their own beauty, with felt seats,
shaded lamps, and paneled compartments even in the economy
section. But the glow of the train is outshone by EVELYN
STEWART. She's one of ten young women, Army nurses, gathered
at one end of the car as it rattles along the track.

The other nurses are pretty and ripe -- maybe a bit too
ripe. Their lips painted bright red, their faces powdered,
their spirits high.

Evelyn listens in amusement to BETTY, a cute blonde with
unmissable boobs, and BARBARA, a burnette equally endowed.

BETTY
Do you have trouble with your boobs in
the uniform?

BARBARA
You mean hiding them?

BETTY
Hide them? On a date with pilots? I'm
talking about how you make them show!

SANDRA, another nurse, speaks up.

SANDRA
Loan 'em to me, I'll make 'em show.

BETTY
The boobs or the pilots?

The girls laugh and shove each others' knees; it's a party
wherever they go. But Evelyn can't keep her mind on the
frivolity. She looks out the window and her thoughts drift
away.

BARBARA
We'll ask Evelyn. Evelyn? Evelyn!

BETTY
Ooo, she's thinking of her date! Come
on, you've been dating a pilot. We want
to know what we can expect.

Suddenly all the girlish faces are looking at Evelyn.

EVELYN
I've been dating one pilot. And only for
a few weeks. But I know he's different
from all the others.

Sandra throws up her arms and swoons onto her friends.

SANDRA
True love!...

BETTY
Morphine, give her morphine!

BARBARA
Give her an enema.

EVELYN
But I do have a warning for you. There's
one line you all need to know, and you're
likely to hear it from any man in a
uniform. It goes like this: "Honey,
Baby... We never know what's gonna happen,
and I may die tomorrow...so, let's live
all we can tonight."

A silence among the nurses.

BARBARA
I tell you. Any one of those arrogant,
leather-jacketed, slick-lookin' flyboys
tries that line on me...he's gonna get
anything he wants.

As the nurses laugh --

EXT. NEW YORK TRAIN STATION - NIGHT

Our pilots -- indeed leather-jacketed and handsome -- are
waiting on the platform. Among then is Rafe, holding
something behind his back, as the train pulls in and shudders
to a stop, clouds of steam jetting onto the platform and
giving the moment a dream-like haze.

INT./ EXT. TRAIN - NEW YORK TRAIN STATION - NIGHT

The nurses start stepping out; both pilots and nurses pretend
surprise to see each. At the door of the train, Evelyn
whispers to Betty --

EVELYN
Stick with me, I'll find you somebody
good.

Betty spot's Rafe.

BETTY
I'll take that one.

EVELYN
He's taken. But come on, I'll introduce
you.

They move to Rafe; he crosses the platform to meet them, his
eyes holding Evelyn.

RAFE
Hello, Lieutenant. Good to see you.

EVELYN
You too, Lieutenant.

Betty clears her throat.

EVELYN
Oh, this is Betty.

RAFE
Nice to meet you, Betty.

He draws his hand from behind his back; he's holding two
roses. He hands one to Evelyn and the second to Betty.

RAFE
Danny would'a brought this.

He escorts them along the platform.

EVELYN
Danny's not coming?

RAFE
No, he...got some news today. He'll be
okay, he just didn't feel like coming
tonight.

EVELYN
I was hoping to meet him.

BETTY
I was hoping to meet him.

RAFE
We'll just have to find a substitute,
won't we?

Betty stops, and faces Rafe.

BETTY
I just want to tell you one thing. If
you're thinking this might be your last
night on earth?... I'm prepared to make
it meaningful.
(leaning close)
Very meaningful.

EVELYN
At ease, Betty!

INT. CITY NIGHT CLUB - NIGHT

It's a party in full swing; swing music, jitterbugging,
beautiful young men and women in high spirits.

Rafe and Evelyn are sitting at a big table with the other
pilots and nurses. Anthony's paired up with Sandra, Billy
with Barbara, and Red, shyest of the group, finds himself
next to Betty. Betty's already found a companion in Red
Strange.

RED
He, I'm R-Red. Red S-Strange.

BETTY
Red...Strange?

RED
You know the football player, Red G-
Grange? Well the guys called me R-Red,
cause you know, I'm red...and they
thought I was strange, so, you know, Red
G-Grange, Red Str-Strange.

BETTY
But...they called you Strange? Because
of Red Grange? I don't get it. Was Red
Grange strange?

RED
How would I know.

Beside her beer is an open ketchup bottle; he picks it up and
swigs from that. Rafe and Evelyn see this, and try to keep
from laughing.

BETTY
Do you always stutter?

RED
Only when I'm n-n-n-

BETTY
Nervous?

RED
Yeah. But if I have to get something
out, I c-can always s-s-s-
(he sings)
SIIING!

She covers his hand with hers.

BETTY
Don't be nervous.

Red looks at Betty with love in his eyes. Under the table,
Rafe and Evelyn join hands too.

EVELYN
There shipping us out. Hawaii. The
Germans are overrunning Europe, and we're
sent to paradise. How about you? Have
you heard anything?

He hesitates; then Evelyn is distracted by the conversation
beside them, between Barbara and Billy.

BILLY
You're a very special woman, and...well
baby, they're training me for war, and we
don't know what happens tomorrow. So we
gotta make tonight special.

Barbara shoots a look at Evelyn, before she answers.

BARBARA
I hope you can back that up, flyboy.
Cause you're not ever gonna forget
tonight.

She takes him by the hand and pulls him to his feet... They
start dancing, sexy movements that won't stop till they've
been in bed.

Rafe pulls Evelyn to her feet, and leads her through the
dancers, outside.

EXT. THE NIGHT CLUB - NIGHT

They find a quiet place on a balcony that overlooks the
river, and Manhattan beyond. Evelyn takes in the view,
breathes in the air; she still holds the rose.

EVELYN
Whatever you're trying to tell me isn't
good, is it. Or it wouldn't be so hard
to say.

RAFE
The only reason it's hard to say is that
I keep thinking I don't have the right to
say it. But I've got to because it's
true. I love you.
(beat)
That must surprise you.

EVELYN
It surprises me that I'm not the only one
on this balcony who feels that way.

The power of hearing this from each other grips them both.

RAFE
There's one thing I have to say. I'm
going away.

EVELYN
We're all going away.

RAFE
I'm going to the war. The real war.
Hitler's taken Europe. The Brits are
hanging on by their fingernails, and If
they lose, there'll be more people killed
than anybody can imagine. And not just
there, but here.

EVELYN
But you're in the U.S. Army, how could
you --

RAFE
Colonel Doolittle pulled the strings, and
put me on loan to the R.A.F. They need
pilots, and we need experience. I leave
tomorrow.

EVELYN
You waited til tonight to tell me?

RAFE
I had to tell you in person. Because
there's something else I need to say.

He studies her face, burning it into his memory.

RAFE
Evelyn...you know the line -- let's make
tonight memorable. What I feel about you
makes it impossible for me to say
something like that. If I don't come
back, I don't want to saddle you with
regret and sadness you'll carry the rest
of your life.

EVELYN
I don't know if you can choose that,
Rafe.

RAFE
Maybe not. But I need you to know. I
love you. And I will come back. I'll
find a way. And then we'll get a chance
to know if what I felt the first moment I
saw you, and every minute since then, is
real.

EVELYN
Do one thing for me, before you go.

She takes his hand and leads him inside.

INT. NIGHT CLUB - NIGHT

She leads him onto the dance floor, and they dance, among the
others, yet in a world apart from everyone else. And then
they stop while all the others move around them, and kiss the
kind of kiss that lasts a lifetime.

EXT. HOTEL - NIGHT

The nurses are entering the hotel. Pilots are going in with
them. But Rafe and Evelyn stop on the street.

A last kiss. Their hands touch a final time, and then part.
She moves inside the lobby, and looks out the glass doors as
he walks away.

EXT. TRAIN STATION - DAWN

Rafe and Danny stand on the platform. Rafe's got his gear
packed in a bag slung over his shoulder.

CONDUCTOR'S VOICE
All aboard!

Rafe glances once more toward the revolving doors from the
station that lead onto the platform.

DANNY
Didn't you say you told her not to come?

RAFE
Yeah.

DANNY
Then why are you looking for her?

RAFE
It's a test. If I asked her to come and
she came, it wouldn't tell me anything.
If I tell her not to come, and she
comes...then I know she loves me.

VOICE
ALL ABOARD!

DANNY
You're still a kid, ya know that? Take
care of yourself.

RAFE
You too.

Rafe sticks his hand out to Danny. Danny knocks it away, and
hugs him.

Rafe steps onto the train, and it pulls away. Rafe waves.
Danny waves back and smiles, but he whispers like a prayer...

DANNY
Give 'em hell, Rafe.

INT. TRAIN - DAWN

Rafe finds a seat and sits down. He's the only one in the
car, and he's deeply alone.

EXT. TRAIN STATION - DAWN

Danny walks to one of the three revolving doors back into the
station. He takes the one on the far right. As he passes
through it, he doesn't see Evelyn rushing through the door on
the left side. She's told herself she wouldn't come, but
couldn't help it, and now as she sees the last car of the
train disappearing around the corner the pain of it all hits
her.

She stands on the empty platform, as lonely as Rafe.

MONTAGE - THE JOURNEYS

Rafe and Evelyn travel in opposite directions, toward
opposite ends of the earth...

EXT. A GRAY, COLD, CANADIAN SEAPORT - DAY

as Rafe boards a Canadian naval vessel headed into the North
Atlantic.

EXT. TRAIN - TRAVELING THROUGH THE AMERICAN WEST - DAY

Evelyn and her fellow nurses ride the train through the
American southwest. The scenery outside the window is
beautiful, but her thoughts are far away...

EXT. NORTH ATLANTIC - DAY

Rafe's ship is in a convoy through the rough gray waters.
The deck is loaded with military supplies bound for Britain.
Rafe stands among the drab crates and seems oblivious to the
rain, his thoughts on Evelyn.

He looks toward the eastern horizon, where his ship is
heading. A deep, dark storm is brewing before them...

EXT. PACIFIC - DAY

Evelyn stands on the deck of a ship headed in the opposite
direction, on another ocean, the sky is clear, the breeze is
warm, the light of a glowing sunset bathes her face. The
MONTAGE ENDS, with them heading to different ends of the
earth.

EXT. BASSINGBORNE AIRFIELD - BRITAIN - DUSK

In the eternal dusk of England, everything is cold and gray.
British fighter planes -- Spitfires and Hurricanes -- are
surrounded by mechanics hurriedly ripping off bullet riddled
fuselage panels and digging into overworked aircraft engines.
Rafe walks across the tarmac, still carrying his duffel bag.
He moves up behind a slim, pale BRITISH AIR COMMANDER who is
surveying engine damage on one of the Spitfires.

RAFE
Rafe McCawley, Sir.

Rafe salutes as the Air Commander turns and then returns the
salute, with his left arm -- his right arm is gone. Rafe
freezes at the sight, reminded of Danny's father.

BRITISH AIR COMMANDER
On loan from Colonel Doolittle, is it?

RAFE
That's me, Sir.

BRITISH AIR COMMANDER
Good on you, then, Rafe McCawley. We'll
get you situated in some quarters, and
then introduce you to the equipment
you'll be flying.

RAFE
If you're patching up bullet holes right
here on the runway, maybe we should skip
the housekeeping and get right to the
planes.

BRITISH AIR COMMANDER
Are all the Yanks as anxious as you are
to get yourself killed, Lieutenant?

RAFE
Not anxious to die, Sir, anxious to
matter.

EXT. BASSINGBORNE AIRFIELD - BRITAIN - DAY

A Spitfire sits on the runway, and it's badly mangled -- a
string of bullet holes punched through at mid-fuselage; a
shot-off chunk of wingtip; but most striking is the blood
still splattered over the inside of the cockpit.

BRITISH AIR COMMANDER
Good lad. Didn't die till he'd landed
and shut down his engine. Welcome to the
war.

He walks away, leaving Rafe to stare at the bloody cockpit.

EXT. PEARL HARBOR - MILITARY BASE - DAY

Evelyn and the nurses enter the base, riding in two jeeps.
As they stop at the gate, the guards look at them, especially
Evelyn in the lead jeep; one guard mumbles to the other --

GUARD
I've died and gone to heaven.

The guards lift the bar and smile at the nurses. The jeeps
drive through. The nurses are loving this island paradise
already.

BARBARA
You know the ratio of men to women on
this island? Four-thousand...to one.

Barbara slides on a new pair of sunglasses with plastic palm
trees glued on the sides, and calls back to the guards as the
jeeps pull away --

BARBARA
See ya on the beach, boys!

EXT. MILITARY BASE - NURSES' QUARTERS - OAHU - DAY

As the other nurses happily unpack, Evelyn leaves and crosses
the grass in the drenching sunshine. We follow her into --

INT. BASE HOSPITAL - DAY

She finds a small, immaculately clean hospital, twenty beds
with luminous white sheets, all empty.

Then she notices the view. It's of Pearl Harbor, with the
entire American Pacific fleet riding at anchor. Battleships
all in a row. Aircraft carriers too, in perfect stillness on
the aqua blue water with a white sand bottom. The view is
expansive and beautiful.

The sound of an approaching fighter plane with wing guns
firing as we --

CUT TO:

EXT. THE DARK SKIES OVER THE ENGLISH CHANNEL - DAY

Rafe, in the middle of an aerial dogfight, throws his
Spitfire into a tight turn, swinging around to fire again
into a squadron of Messerschmidts; they outnumber the British
planes, and they're tougher and faster. Rafe darts through
their line, machine guns blazing.

One of the Spitfires in Rafe's squadron has taken hits in the
engine compartment and is sputtering, losing power, its
pilot, NIGEL, frantic as the German planes swarm into finish
him.

BRITISH PILOT (NIGEL)
I need help! Someone get them off me!

Rafe slams his control stick hard right and goes into a power
dive at one of the Messerschmidts. Rafe's bullets chew up
its cockpit and the plane goes into a fast corkscrew spiral,
down into the water.

Rafe instantly climbs again. Nigel, in the moment of safety
Rafe has bought him, bails out, his chute blossoming and
carrying him toward the water. The OTHER BRITISH PILOTS are
impressed.

OTHER BRITISH PILOT
(into radio)
Nigel's out! I'll call in the position!
(to himself)
That Yank is bloody good.

Rafe swings his plane right back at the Germans; he attacks
them head on, just like he went at Danny, only this time he's
firing his machine guns.

And OVER THIS ferocious dogfight, we hear his letter to
Evelyn...

RAFE'S VOICE (LETTER)
Dear Evelyn... It is cold here. So cold,
in a way that goes deep into your bones.

The Messerschmidt in Rafe's sights breaks apart with the
stream of precise fire he pours into it, its prop flying into
pieces, its disintegration accelerated by its airspeed.
Before it completely comes apart, it explodes.

Rafe goes into another tight turn, to get at them again.

RAFE'S VOICE (LETTER)
It's not easy making friends. Two nights
ago I drank a beer with a couple of the
R.A.F. pilots -- beer's the only thing
here that isn't cold -- and yesterday both
of them got killed...

As Rafe starts another attack we see him in the cockpit, in
the trance of battle, as other Spitfires around him are
getting shot out of the sky...as we --

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. HOSPITAL - PEARL HARBOR - DAY

Evelyn, receiving the letter at mail call.

She sits on the grass under a palm tree, in paradise, reading
his letter.

RAFE'S VOICE (LETTER)
There is one place I can go to find
warmth, and that is to think of you.

EXT. OUTDOOR RESTAURANT - OAHU - DAY

Evelyn is off duty, and wears a light cotton dress. She's
let her hair down, and her skin has the sheen of light sweat
in the tropical heat.

The restaurant is barely more than a shelter of palm wood
posts with a frond roof, and it looks out over the harbor.
Evelyn sits alone. She's brought writing paper. As the
Hawaiian waiter serves her an icy tropical ambrosia with
chunks of pineapple and a fresh plumeria flower floating at
the rim of the glass, she lifts her pen.

But before she can start to write, three naval officers move
over to her table from the bar. They're out of uniform too,
wearing garish tropical shirts.

NAVY GUY 1
A woman beautiful as you shouldn't be
sitting alone. Buy you a drink?

EVELYN
Thank you...Ensign.

The guys look at each other, impressed that she could tell.

NAVY GUY 1
Ensign! Smart too!

NAVY GUY 2
So how about that drink? Or dinner?

EVELYN
Thank you, but...I really want to be
alone right now.

NAVY GUY 3
Want to see something long and hard?

He shows her the tattoo of an anchor on his forearm. Evelyn
looks away from them, toward the harbor.

EVELYN
I'm sorry. I've got a letter to write.

NAVY GUY 3
Cold bitch.

His friends start to pull him away, but Evelyn's eyes flare.

EVELYN
What did you say?

NAVY GUY 3
I said you're cold.

EVELYN
Cold? No, I'm just thinking about a war.
And maybe you should be too.

They leave, shaking their heads. Evelyn picks up her pen,
and writes.

EVELYN'S VOICE (LETTER)
Dear Rafe... It's strange to be so far
from you in body, and so close to you in
spirit. But if our spirits really give
our bodies life, then you should know
this: Every night I look at the sunset,
and try to draw the last ounce of heat
from its long day...

She looks toward the sunset now; then she writes again...

EXT. BASSINGBORNE AIRFIELD - BRITAIN - NIGHT

Rafe brings his battered plane in for a landing...

INT. BRITISH AIRFIELD BARRACKS - NIGHT

Rafe sits on his cot, reading her letter.

EVELYN'S VOICE (LETTER)
...and send it from my heart to yours.

Rafe is startled as the Air Commander appears beside his
bunk.

BRITISH AIR COMMANDER
Air-Sea Rescue picked up Nigel. He'll be
back with us tomorrow.

Rafe nods, glad to hear the news. The Commander starts to
walk away, then turns back.

BRITISH AIR COMMANDER
Some of us look down on the Yanks for not
yet joining this war. I'd just like to
say that if there are many more back home
like you, God help anyone who goes to war
with America.

The Commander salutes, with his left hand. And Rafe salutes
too -- with his left hand.

EXT. ESTABLISHING THE WHITE HOUSE - WASHINGTON D.C. - DAY

The White House looks somehow whiter and purer in the glow of
1941.

INT. PRESIDENTIAL CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY

GENERALS, ADMIRALS, and other advisors sit around the
polished table -- all males, in suits and in uniforms. The
door opens, and the men all stand.

PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT appears, in a wheelchair, pushed
by a huge black valet, GEORGE. The President's legs are
shriveled, braced with the iron supports that attach to his
shoes and are apparent beneath the cloth of his pin-striped
pants. From the waist up Roosevelt is heavily muscled,
powerful, and handsome even in his little spectacles. The
valet rolls him to the head of the table; he's speaking even
before he settles in.

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
Please be seated, gentlemen.

They sit, as one.

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
Churchill and Stalin are asking me what
I'm asking you: How long is America
going to pretend the world is not at war?

GENERAL MARSHALL
We've increased supply shipments to them,
Mr. President, and we're losing merchant
vessels every day.

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
Shift in every destroyer and anti-
aircraft weapon you can find.

ADMIRAL
Sir, our Pacific Fleet is already down
to almost nothing.

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
Gentlemen, at this moment the nation of
Hungry has a larger military then the
United States. We have no choice but to
draw from whatever we can.

EXT. ESTABLISHING TOKYO - JAPAN - NIGHT

INT. JAPANESE HIGH COMMAND - NIGHT

The Conference Room is similar to that of the White House.
But this table is low and all the men sit on the floor. And
there are no civilians here; Japan is now a nation ruled by
its warriors.

The last man to enter the room and take his place is ADMIRAL
YAMAMOTO. Harvard educated, Yamamoto is an object of
veneration and suspicion among the men of the war council.
Yamamoto bows, sits, and looks across the table at his friend
Genda, who can't hide his fear. Yamamoto glances to the far
end of the table where NISHIKURA, chief of the War Council,
sits glowering. (Their discussion is in Japanese, with
subtitles.)

NISHIKURA
So you join us, Admiral. Some of us
thought your education at an American
university would make you too weak to
fight the Americans.

YAMAMOTO
If knowledge of opponents and careful
calculation of danger is taken as
weakness then I have misunderstood what
it means to be Japanese.

NISHIKURA
The time has come to strike! Or to sit
and let the Americans cut off our oil and
our future. I know what you whisper to
the others, Yamamoto -- that the Americans
are strong. Yet look at their leader.

He motions to OYAMA, an intelligence analyst, who opens a
file and lays out pictures of Roosevelt.

OYAMA
Franklin Roosevelt. Born into great
wealth. Fifteen years ago, he was
stricken with polio. Now he cannot walk,
or even stand without help.
Photographers will not take pictures of
him in his chair; Americans do not wish
to know how weak their President is.

Yamamoto makes a low grunt.

NISHIKURA
You have something to say, Yamamoto?

YAMAMOTO
The Council knows I have opposed fighting
the Americans. No matter how great our
resolve, they have resources beyond ours.
If we must go to war, there is only one
way -- deal them a blow from which it will
take them years to recover. In that time
we can conquer all of the Pacific, and
they will have no choice but to ask for
peace.

NISHIKURA
You see us as capable of such a blow?

YAMAMOTO
The Americans themselves have made it
possible. We will annihilate them in a
single attack -- at Pearl Harbor.

The members of the war council are so pleased with Yamamoto
that they bow to him. Only Genda keeps his eyes raised long
enough to see the sadness in Yamamoto's face.

EXT. PEARL HARBOR - AIR BASE - BARRACKS - DAY

Danny Walker and his pilot buddies have just arrived; they
enter the barracks, talking happily.

RED
If I ain't n-never on a b-boat again,
it'll be too s-soon.

BILLY
Where are the women on this --

Danny has stopped before the others; now all of them see that
the other pilots who inhabit this air base are still in their
beds, sleeping off hangovers. They wear Hawaiian shirts;
they haven't shaved.

RED
They're s-still asleep!

Danny pauses for a moment, then shouts --

DANNY
Drop your cocks and grab your socks,
boys! The terror of the skies are here!

The sleeping pilots groan, and cover their heads with their
pillows.

ANTHONY
They're all drunk.

One guy sits up in bed, his hair pointing every direction of
the compass, his tongue working as if to wipe a terrible
taste from his mouth. As his feet dangle over the side of
the bunk and one of them touches the floor, a sensation
reaches his sotted brain; he raises that foot to look at its
bottom, and finds a new tattoo, on the sole of his foot; he
blinks as if trying to remember how it got there.

Danny moves over to him, and dubs him with a name, COMA.

DANNY
Hey. You. Mr. Coma.

COMA
Where's that lizard?

DANNY
What lizard?

COMA
The one that slept in my mouth last
night.

DANNY
What the hell happened to you guys?

Coma is one of those drunks who speak as if he's always about
to burp.

COMA
Ever hear of mai-tai's? Comes in a
big...pot. Like...like...

RED
A m-missionary?

COMA
No, like...

Coma emits a pukey, toxic burp that has Danny and his buddies
wincing back from the fumes.

DANNY
This is an Air Base? Where's your squad
commander?

The question soaks through to Coma's brain. His right hand
points...and his left hand points...in different directions.
His hands float around in the air until finally both of them
are indicating the same direction, behind his back. In the
bunk beyond Coma's is another drunk pilot in a Hawaiian
shirt...and to judge by the shapely bronzed leg that
protrudes from under his damp sheet, there's a woman with him
too.

Danny and his buddies are speechless -- except for Red
Strange.

RED
I th-think I'm gonna like it here.

COMA
You guys are new?

DANNY
Yeah.

COMA
Mai-tai's. I got this to tell ya, about
mai-tai's.

Coma's head drifts forward slowly; they think for a moment
he's looking for something under the bed. Then he pukes.
Danny leaps back from the splatter, and marches out of the
barracks; his friends follow.

EXT. PEARL HARBOR - AIRFIELD - DAY

Danny and his buddies stride up to the airfield. It's full
of fighter planes -- and they're all bunched together in
clusters on the field. Danny grabs a MECHANIC.

DANNY
Hey! What is this, the planes all
bunched up like that?

MECHANIC
The brass is afraid of sabotage. This
makes 'em easier to protect -- and easier
to service.

DANNY
What about easier to hit in an air raid?

MECHANIC
Who's gonna to that? Japan is four
thousand miles away. So you guys just
arrived, huh?

DANNY
Yeah.

MECHANIC
We got a saying here. A-low-HA!

The mechanic walks off. Danny and the guys are left standing
on the tarmac.

DANNY
Well guys...I reckon there's just one
thing to do...

INT. OAHU BAR - DAY

Danny and the pilots are in Hawaiian shirts, their party in
full swing. A bucket-sized hollowed-out volcano sits in the
middle of the table, with twelve straws emerging from the
crater. It's full of booze -- or was; Danny and the other
guys are pulling heartily at the straws, and they gurgle as
the last liquid is sucked dry.

RED
More m-mai-tai's!

Coma is sitting there with them, beside Red.

COMA
Absolutely right.

Everybody's having a ball, the new arrivals fitting right in
with the others. Danny's a bit off to himself, lost in his
own thoughts. Billy and Anthony are doing the hula to the
Hawaiian music playing.

COMA
No, you guys aren't doing it right. It's
in the hands. They talk story.

Coma stands and starts demonstrating, explaining the gestures
of his hula.

COMA
Fish swim in ocean... Happy in the Mother
Sea... Girl, beautiful girl, with big
jugs, walks into water...waves lapping at
her thighs...

ANTHONY
I never knew those dances were so
sophisticated.

COMA
...Fish nibble at her breasts...

Coma's really into his dance, his hands over enormous
imaginary breasts; but as he turns toward the windows --

COMA
A more beautiful girl walks by...

The guys see Evelyn passing on the other side of the street,
gorgeous in the sunshine. Coma's hands start squeezing the
imaginary breasts of his hula.

BILLY
Hey, isn't that Evelyn?

Danny moves up to look.

DANNY
Rafe's girl, Evelyn?

COMA
You guys know her?! I gotta have an
intro! Man, I'd like to --

Danny's hand is suddenly around Coma's larynx.

DANNY
A friend of mine's in love with her. So
you don't even look -- not ever.

Danny releases him and Coma staggers back to the table to
nuzzle up to one of the straws of the mai-tai volcano.

Danny looks out the window again and sees Evelyn's beautiful
form disappear around the corner, on her way back to the base
hospital. Danny moves back to the table, and as two burly
Hawaiian waiters set another full loaded mai-tai volcano onto
the center of the table, he picks up a glass and dips it full
of the potent liquid. He shouts to the whole room --

DANNY
I'm a better pilot than any son-of-a-
bitch on this island! So I'm the one to
say this! Here's to Rafe McCawley! A
better pilot...and a better man...than
me.

The other pilots drink up -- from glasses or from straws.

OTHER PILOTS
To Rafe.

Danny drains the whole glass at one chug, and slams it down
onto the table. Then he blinks, puts a hand on his stomach,
and frowns. Coma recognizes the look.

COMA
Uh oh. Volcanic eruption!

Danny bends at the waist; his head obscured by the table.

COMA
Shit, he's puking on my feet!

RED
Well, you p-puked on his feet.

COMA
Yeah, but he was wearing shoes!

INT. ADMIRAL KIMMEL'S OFFICE - OAHU - DAY

ADMIRAL KIMMEL is Commander of the American Pacific Fleet.

Two members of his staff are standing uncomfortably in front
of him, having delivered a message from the Joint Chiefs of
Staff.

ADMIRAL KIMMEL
...transfer twelve more destroyers to
Atlantic Fleet, and all the available
anti-aircraft weaponry?! Washington has
gone insane!

Kimmel's STRATEGIC ANALYST speaks up.

STRATEGIC ANALYST
We've done what you ordered, Admiral, and
war gamed the likely outcome of a
Japanese attack against each of our major
bases in the Pacific. Wake, Guam,
Midway, the Philippines. In each case,
we lose.

ADMIRAL KIMMEL
You left out Hawaii.

STRATEGIC ANALYST
Pearl Harbor can't be attacked
effectively from the air. It's too
shallow for an aerial torpedo attack.
Pearl Harbor's safe. It's everywhere
else that we're vulnerable.

ADMIRAL KIMMEL
Step up surveillance of Japanese
communications. They're gonna do
something somewhere. I can feel it.

EXT. THE SKIES ABOVE OAHU - DAY

A seaplane takes tourists on an excursion above Pearl Harbor
and around the island of Oahu. One Japanese tourist shoots
pictures rapidly...first of the ships as seen from overhead;
then he leans to the other side of the plane and shoots
pictures of the airfield below them.

EXT. PEARL HARBOR - DAY

Another Japanese tourist hikes through the hills above Pearl
Harbor. He takes an excellent camera from his picnic basket,
and shoots pictures.

CLOSE - THE PICTURES, being carried down a hallway, into --

INT. JAPANESE PLANNERS OFFICE - DAY

The courier places the pictures onto the table in front of
Yamamoto, Genda, and the other JAPANESE OFFICERS.

GENDA
Look at the ships -- all grouped. Perfect
targets!

JAPANESE OFFICER
And the planes! They are -- what is that
American expression? Sitting geese?

YAMAMOTO
Sitting ducks.

JAPANESE OFFICER
How can they be so foolish?

YAMAMOTO
They think no one would be stupid enough
to attack them at Pearl Harbor.

GENDA
Or perhaps they think no one is capable.
Look at this...

He moves to a diagram displayed on the wall -- a simple
display showing water depth and ship displacement.

GENDA
Pearl Harbor's depth of only forty feet
makes them feel safe. A torpedo dropped
from an airplane plunges to one hundred
feet before it can level off. That is a
conventional torpedo. But we have been
experimenting.

From a stand beside his diagram he takes a set of wooden
fins, attached to a circular metallic band.

GENDA
Wooden fins. We are testing them
tomorrow.

EXT. JAPANESE ISLAND - DAY

Yamamoto and his planners have flown to a quiet Japanese
island, sunlit and pleasant. They are gathered on the shore
of the island's natural harbor. Wooden targets -- basically
huge plank barriers -- are sunk into the water like ships at
anchor. A squadron of Japanese planes zooms overhead, taking
up attack positions.

GENDA
We have chosen this place because its
depth is exactly the same as Pearl
Harbor's.

Genda speaks into a field radio. A lone plane drops out of
formation and goes into a low-level approach, speeding up and
dropping its torpedo.

BELOW THE SURFACE we see the torpedo as it plunges at two
hundred miles an hour into the sunlit sea. With the wooden
fins the torpedo makes a sharp dip and levels off above the
sea floor.

ABOVE THE SURFACE the planners see the path of the torpedo;
it hits the wooden barrier with a satisfying THUNK. The
planners are impressed -- but Yamamoto is not satisfied.

YAMAMOTO
Uncharged torpedoes have different
balance.

GENDA
I have arranged a live fire drill -- with
your permission.

Yamamoto nods; Genda speaks again into his radio, and another
plane swoops down and drops a torpedo. Genda holds his hands
to his ears, causing the others to do the same; even though
they wonder at the need.

The torpedo hits the barrier, and the explosion is deafening,
and of shocking force; the entire barrier is blown to
toothpicks.

GENDA
Of course against a ship the explosion
will not be dissipated, and will have
more force.

The planners, nearly blown off their feet, nod as if they
knew that all the time.

INT. MILITARY BASE - PILOTS' BARRACKS - NIGHT

The pilots are getting slicked up.

BILLY
Are you sure they're here?

ANTHONY
If Evelyn's here, the rest are here!

Red moves up beside him to frown at the mirror. His hair is
plastered down and parted, his uniform's immaculate.

ANTHONY
Looking good, Red.

RED
Shut up.

Red moves away, to polish his shoes.

ANTHONY
What is it with Red? I've never seen him
this way.

BILLY
He's been like that all day. Hey Danny,
you coming?

DANNY
Nah, I'm gonna stay here. Read.

Anthony and Billy look at each other; Danny's in his bunk,
and he's not reading, just staring at the ceiling.

INT. NURSES' BARRACKS - PEARL HARBOR - NIGHT

The nurses are primping to go out; Evelyn is in her uniform
getting ready to go back to work.

BARBARA
Now listen, it's hands off Billy. I
mean, you can put your hands on him if
you want to, but then my hands will break
yours.

BETTY
He was that good?

BARBARA
No, I was.

EXT. NURSES' QUARTERS - OAHU - NIGHT

Creeping through the vegetation, Red leads Anthony and Billy
to a spot outside the nurses' barracks; they can see the
girls through the barracks window.

BILLY
Red, Peeping Tom stuff can get us court-
marshaled.

RED
Shhh!

Anthony and Billy are baffled, even more so when Red strides
into the open, right outside the nurses' window.

And then, Red begins to sing.

RED
(singing)
Oh...Betty, Betty, Betty, you're the one
for me, Betty, Betty, Betty, Betty, can't
you see...

Anthony and Billy look at each other, dumbfounded. The
nurses move to the open windows. Red's singing is pretty
good -- though not that good. But he doesn't stutter when he
sings.

RED
(singing)
I'll be yours for eternity, Betty, Betty,
Betty, Betty, Betty!

Anthony and Billy are hysterical, trying to keep their
laughter hidden. But then they see the effect this is having
on the women -- especially on Betty. She's smitten.

Red repeats the verse, really getting into it; when he
finishes, Betty runs out and hugs him, as all the nurses
applaud. They move off into the darkness, arm and arm.

The nurses go back to their primping.

Anthony and Billy are changed men. Anthony stands up;
Billy's baffled. Anthony moves out and starts singing.

ANTHONY
(singing)
Oh Sandra...I like you...love you...

He's terrible. The nurses pelt him with hairbrushes,
curlers, shoes...

EXT. BASSINGBORNE AIRFIELD - BRITAIN - DAY

Coming out of the blustery skies at the end of another deadly
day, a squadron of Spitfires chirps in for landings. The
planes are shot up and battered.

Rafe is one of the pilots; the fuselage below his cockpit is
marked with four swastikas, symbols of his victories. He
taxis to a stop, and is met by IAN, a Scottish mechanic, who
is dismayed at the state of the plane.

IAN
Leapin' Jesus!

RAFE
(climbing down)
The struts are loose, the hydraulics are
leaking, and the electrical system's
copyright - http://supernaturalserial.ru
shorting out in the cockpit.

IAN
Well which of those three ya want fixed?

RAFE
All of 'em.

Rafe starts away, and Ian calls to his back --

IAN
If ye'd wanted a bloody Cadillac ya
should'a stayed in the bloody States!

RAFE
And if you don't give me a plane that can
handle combat, you better start learning
to speak German.

IAN
Fook ya!

RAFE
Learn English, then!

IAN
Fook ya dooble!

Rafe moves to the barracks; Ian keeps the fueling hose going,
and moves to help the armorers reload the guns.

INT. BRITISH AIRFIELD BARRACKS - NIGHT

Rafe falls down onto his cot, exhausted. The other pilots do
the same, everybody spent from the day's combat. Then they
hear the SIREN. Rafe's out of his bunk, with the others,
everybody running.

BRITISH PILOT
Bloody Krauts! Night raid!

EXT. BASSINGBORNE AIRFIELD - BRITAIN - NIGHT

They race across the runway. Rafe reaches his Spitfire, just
as Ian is removing the fueling hose.

IAN
I have'na been able ta --

RAFE
Crank her!

Ian gives the prop a spin, and the engine roars to life.

IAN
God speed ya, laddie.

EXT. SKIES OVER THE ENGLISH CHANNEL - NIGHT

It's dark, but there are breaks in the clouds, giving way to
patches of light from a full moon. The squadron of Spitfires
tightens up for battle.

Rafe is positioned just right of the squad leader; he sees
planes breaking out of the dark clouds ahead.

RAFE
Here they come.

The clouds break, revealing a huge attack formation.

BRITISH SQUAD LEADER
Alpha group, on the bombers! Beta group,
take the fighters!

They peel off, into action.

EXT. THE AIR BATTLE OVER THE CHANNEL - NIGHT

We stay with Rafe as he and the Squad Leader rush side by
side at the lead bomber, blasting away with their guns.

INT. GERMAN BOMBER - IN THE AIR - NIGHT

The Spitfires' bullets rip into the pilot and also kill the
nose gunner; the bomber dips as the copilot struggles to take
control.

INT. RAFE, IN HIS SPITFIRE - NIGHT

As he streaks past, Rafe sees the bomber wobble in the air.

RAFE
We've got him hurt, stay on him!

Rafe throws his plane into an ultra-tight, high speed turn,
right between the tails of the leader German group and the
noses of the second. His turn is so tight that the plane
flexes with the g-force.

Rafe comes out of his turn ahead of the Squad Leader, and
races back up through the formation of German bombers, moving
above them where their weapons and armaments are the weakest.
He stitches a trail of bullets from tail to nose of the
wounded lead bomber; it begins to smoke.

The second Spitfire, the Squad Leader's, takes fire from the
other German bombers, and shears off, heading through the
smoke of the plane Rafe has on the ropes.

RAFE
We've got him going!

Rafe does a half-loop and half-spin, to bring him around to
face the bombers again. This time the g-force of the turn
pops an oil line inside Rafe's cockpit; hot, pressurized oil
begins to spray everywhere -- all over Rafe, his controls,
and worst of all, over the inside of his cockpit glass.

He wipes at the oil with his hands and that just smears it
and makes it worse.

His wingman sees him veering away from the bombers...and sees
the German fighters moving up to meet him.

SQUAD LEADER
McCawley! Get to the clouds! Get into
the clouds!

RAFE, IN HIS PLANE, is flying blind.

RAFE
I can't see the clouds!

His problems are just beginning; the fluid is dripping down
onto his cockpit's corroded electrical wiring; the fluid
causes an arc...a spark...and suddenly a fire is spreading
through Rafe's plane.

He grabs his fire extinguisher and triggers a cloud that
snuffs the fire but fills the entire cockpit with choking
smoke; between that and the smeared fluid on his glass, he
can't see a thing.

And the Messerschmidts are swarming over him.

Rafe's wingman dives in, raking the German planes as he
passes.

Rafe tries to open his cockpit cover to clear the smoke, but
it's jammed; he pulls out his .45 pistol and BLAM! BLAM!
BLAM! He blows out the glass; the smoke clears enough for
him to take a breath and try to see. He fights the stick,
but the plane won't respond.

The Messerschmidts rake him again, bullets riddling his
engine.

SQUAD LEA