 |
Plot
In 1929, Italian World War I fighter ace and bounty hunter Porco Rosso, cursed to have a pig's head, defends an ocean liner from airborne pirates. He dines at his friend Gina's Hotel Adriano.
The pirates contract American ace Curtis to assist their attacks. Curtis falls in love with Gina, but she loves Porco. While Porco is flying to Milan to have his red seaplane serviced, Curtis shoots him down. Porco survives and continues the trip by train with his damaged plane, to Gina's irritation. She reminds him there is a warrant for his arrest in Italy.
Porco meets his mechanic Piccolo in Milan. Piccolo's sons have emigrated, so the work will be done by his young granddaughter Fio. Once Porco's plane is finished, Fio joins him on his flight home as cover should the secret police arrest them. They can claim that Porco took Fio hostage to force Piccolo to help. The new fascist government is hiring pirates for their own use, putting Porco out of business.
Curtis proposes to Gina, but she says she is waiting for Porco. Porco and Fio are ambushed by the pirates, and Curtis challenges Porco to a duel. Fio declares that if Porco wins, Curtis must pay his debts owed to Piccolo's company, and if Curtis wins, he may marry her.
While Porco is preparing shells, Fio glimpses his true face. Porco tells Fio a story from World War I. Just after Gina's wedding to Porco's pilot friend Bellini, their squadron was attacked. Porco entered a cloud to evade his pursuers. He blacked out, then awakened to complete stillness above the clouds. The airmen who died in the dogfight—Bellini included—rose out of the cloud to fly up towards a band of thousands of planes flying together. After offering in vain to die in Bellini's place for Gina's sake, he awakened again flying alone low over the sea. He concludes that he is meant to "fly solo". Fio rebukes him and kisses his cheek.
Curtis and Porco's dogfight devolves into a boxing match when both planes' guns jam. Porco accuses Curtis of being a womanizer; Curtis responds that Porco is worse; Fio adores him, and Gina is waiting on him to the exclusion of any other, but he does not reciprocate. The combatants knock each other out and fall into the shallow water. Gina calls out to Porco, who rises first and is declared the winner. She warns that the Italian air force is on its way, and invites everyone to regroup at her hotel. Porco requests Gina look after Fio and turns away. Fio gives Porco a kiss.
Porco volunteers to lead the air force away and invites Curtis to join him. As they walk to their planes, Curtis catches a glimpse of Porco's face and says he has changed; he asks to get a better look and is refused. As she flies in a jet seaplane, Fio narrates the epilogue: Porco out flew the Italian air force and remained at large; Fio became president of the Piccolo aircraft company; Curtis became a famous actor, and the pirates continued to attend the Hotel Adriano in their old age. She says that whether Gina's hope for Porco Rosso was ever realized is their secret. A red seaplane is docked by Gina's garden as Fio flies over the hotel.
The Airplane Savoia S.21
The Savoia S.21 was a custom-built fighter seaplane with a single parasol wing, above which was mounted a single engine nacelle. It had a flying-boat hull and outrigger floats, and carried two machine guns in the nose.
There are two versions of the S.21. The initial version was powered by an Isotta-Fraschini Asso liquid-cooled V-12; the later version mounted a Fiat A.S.2 "Folgore" V-12, with a modified radiator configuration. In addition to the engine, the new version had a tiny forward cockpit.
Length: 7,92m
Wingspan: 10m
Engine: Initial version: 430 hp (320 kW) Isotta-Fraschini Asso liquid-cooled V-12 engine
Second version: 430 hp (320 kW) Fiat A.S.2 "Folgore" V-12
Speed: 330km/h
Armament: Initial version:2 × 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 08 (Spandau) machine-guns
Second version: 1 × 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 08 (Spandau) machine-gun
Crew: Initial version: 1 and Second version: 2
Introduced: early 1920
After a Dog fight the Savoia S.21 was a heaviliy damaged and after a emergency landing then transported to Milano shop Piccolo S.P.A for reworking and modification.
