I have read reviews blindly marking this movie as a propaganda or nationalistic trash. I cannot say so. This movie is from the point of view of Israel but any adult and educated person is easily capable to filter this out. I am not historian so I do not dare to say anything regarding historic accuracy. Movie is a celebration of bravery of the men and women fighting for their (and also others) country. The defeated opponents are kind of humiliated in the movie while Israel's victory is praised. Sad think is that it is a celebration of war. There is no victor in a war, only suffering. The movie uses a lot of interviews and historical facts spiced by "action" scenes. Some basic animations and rather primitive effects are clearly out-dated, but considering the budget agreeable. However it does not diminish value of the movie. On the other hand it moved the movie from dry documentary to more juicy and enjoyable experience. I can recommend this movie to all people interested in the middle- east history if You can (or are allowed to :) think on Your own.

At first blush, this documentary film presents as a Jewish story in a specific historical context. It is a remarkable story in that light. However, Above and Beyond reaches much further into the human psyche than any one demographic, community, or time period. The film uses first-person accounts to illustrate how the power of belief in a cause and trust in one's compatriots can motivate the most audacious resourcefulness and beat seemingly insurmountable odds. Our thanks to Nancy Spielberg for capturing interviews with several of the daring pilots who rescued a fledgling country from impending oblivion. Their accounts are inspired, humorous, and highly accessible. Highly recommended for age groups 10 years old through adult.

Above and Beyond is the first documentary that I've seen that blends a terrific true story with state of the art computer generated imagery (CGI). I'm sure that the Spielberg Family dumped a huge amount of money into the project and it shows; the airplane footage appeared so authentic you believed that it was contemporary footage, filmed out of the cockpits of the planes back in 1948. Think of the first 30 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan." I found this so appealing as I have always been turned off by the "dramatic recreations" that are so common in today's lesser war story documentaries. But the imagery would have been nothing without a great true story and this one could only be called a true modern day miracle. And so surprising and ironic.. particularly the pedigree of the airplanes that turned back the invading Arab armies. Anyone interested in the 20th Century warfare would greatly enjoy. For although it is a documentary, it ranks up with the best war movies that have ever been produced.

This review of "Above and Beyond" by Wes Greene is excerpted from Slant magazine (1/26/2015). I couldn't express my disappointment with this film any better!(For those of you who want to see what a truly wonderful documentary can bring to this subject, I urge you to see "A Wing and a Prayer" by Boaz Dvir available from PBS (Miami) 800-222-9728)The Pre-WWII lives of the pilots are only discussed in brief. This creates very little context into their motivations for traveling to the Middle East to engage in another war, as well as their Jewish heritage. As Grossman presents it, the pilots are only fighting in Israel because they're Jewish, though the interviews with the subjects clearly hint at something more complex; in failing to elaborate on such personal history, the filmmaker unintentionally flattens her subjects so that they become indistinguishable from one another. This evasion of insight even runs through the rushed recounting of the Israeli-Arab War, as important events and figures are reduced to mere footnotes rather than viewed through uniquely personal perspectives. Grossman may channel the loose, adrenaline-fueled lives of pilots, but the film's inconsistent, often impassive study of this intriguing real-life adventure feels half-told.