Wings (1927): Two Men, One War, and Clara Bow in a Bathtub

What happens when you throw romance, war, and a bathtub full of Clara Bow into a silent film and expect 2025 audiences to care? You get Wings, the very first winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture and the focus of our inaugural episode of Best Picture Breakdown.

Pete and Nick Wright—father-son film buffs separated by a century of cinema—break down this 1927 war epic that somehow manages to be romantic, tragic, and a little bit gay, all while flinging actual biplanes through the sky without CGI or regard for safety protocols. Is it a masterpiece? A time capsule? A slow-moving art piece about the horrors of war? Yes. Also, Nick learns what rotoscoping is and Pete gets called old more times than Gary Cooper had film credits. Strap in for a story about the cost of glory—and also how many bubbles you can animate on a drunk man in a French bar.