Kitty Hawk: The Wright Brothers' Journey of Invention

Last year marked the 100th anniversary of something most of us take for granted: long lines at the airport. Wait, I meant humankind's ability to fly. Filmmaker David Garrigus' excellent documentary Kitty Hawk chronicles the blood, sweat, tears (and precision study and trial-and-error) that went into Orville and Wilbur's breakthrough in achieving sustained manned flight. Narrated by Roger Mueller, with the two bike-building Wright brothers voiced by two other noted flyboys--Neil Armstrong and John Glenn--the film combines commentary from historians and aeronautics experts, dramatic recreations, and excerpts from the brothers' correspondence and writings to detail the Wrights' extraordinary feat of modern engineering. Inspired by Otto Lillianthal's fatal-but-elegant monoplane glider flight, among other pioneering would-be aviators, the Wright brothers' strength was a meticulous stick-to-it-ness combined with faithful record-keeping. More than three years in the making, this fascinating tale of the Wrights' rocky road from untrained tinkerers to the world's first pilots on December 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk, NC, is an entertaining and inspirational bio-pic. DVD extras--on a bonus disc--include segments on modern-day military pilots flying (and sometimes only attempting to fly) a replica of the 1902 glider, a look at the evolution of the Wrights' flying machines with explanations of the key engineering features of each model, extra interview footage, and letter excerpts. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: J, H, C, P. (C. Block)