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The Great Waldo Pepper

The Great Waldo Pepper

Adventure · Drama · 1975

A biplane pilot and WWI veteran takes up barnstorming and later a movie career in his quest for the glory days he misses.

Movie details

The Great Waldo Pepper

“The second greatest flyer in the world.”

1975 Adventure · Drama 1h 48m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

A biplane pilot and WWI veteran takes up barnstorming and later a movie career in his quest for the glory days he misses.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Great Waldo Pepper?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Aces High

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Top Gun: Maverick

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How to Train Your Dragon

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

George Roy Hill

Written by

George Roy Hill · William Goldman

Robert Redford

Robert Redford

Waldo Pepper

Bo Svenson

Bo Svenson

Axel Olsson

Bo Brundin

Bo Brundin

Ernst Kessler

Susan Sarandon

Susan Sarandon

Mary Beth

Geoffrey Lewis

Geoffrey Lewis

Newt

Edward Herrmann

Edward Herrmann

Ezra Stiles

Philip Bruns

Philip Bruns

Dilhoefer

Court is in session

Put The Great Waldo Pepper on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.