Air Strike

The original cut of the movie ran over 5 hours.

When the Chinese pilot chases the Japanese Zero that had attacked the airfield, the Soviet made I-16 holds its own in combat with the Zero, staying with the Zero as it climbs and accelerates, and maneuvering on an equal level. In real life, the Zero outperformed the I-16 in every way, and the Japanese pilots were far better trained. Zeros claimed almost 300 I-16s shot down over China, whereas no Zeros were lost in air combat.

The US release, re-titled "Air Strike", is cut by 25 minutes from the original 121-minute Chinese version. It also dubs all the Chinese language sections of the film. Other releases, such as the UK (under the title "The Bombing"), feature the original version with part-English, part-Chinese dialogue.

Referenced in Half in the Bag: The Bruce Willis Fake Movie Factory (2022)