Hell’s Angels centers on British brothers Monte and Ray (Ben Lyon and James Hall), who leave Oxford University in order to join the Royal Flying Corps at the onset of World War I. Ray loves Helen (Jean Harlow in her bombshell breakthrough), who’s having an affair with Monte. Before the pair leave on their mission over Germany they find her in a third man’s arms.

Hell’s Angels was originally shot as a silent film. However, The Jazz Singer – which ushered in the sound era – premiered several weeks before the start of principal photography for the film, leaving the public yearning for talking pictures. Hughes decided to convert his film to sound in order to take advantage of the interest.

The audacious, spare-no-expense vision of Howard Hughes makes this landmark aviation epic exhilarating both for its daredevil aerial sequences and its nervy pre-Code punch. The notoriously long and dangerous production resulted in the deaths of multiple crew members. However the movie broke new technical ground at the time, making use of early sound and color technologies, and captured some of the most thrilling dogfight scenes ever put on film.

Directed by Howard Hughes, Hell’s Angels stars Ben Lyon, James Hall, Jean Harlow, John Darrow, Lucien Prival, Frank Clarke, Roy Wilson, Douglas Gilmore, Jane Winton, Evelyn Hall, William B. Davidson, Wyndham Standing, Lena Malena and Marian Marsh.

Original Release Dates

• May 27, 1930 – Hollywood premiere at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre
• August 15, 1930 – New York City premiere
• November 15, 1930 – U.S. Theatrical release

Criterion Release and Special Edition Features

• November 18, 2025 – Blu-ray and 4K UHD Release
• 4K digital restoration of the Magnascope road-show version, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
• New interview with Robert Legato, the visual-effects supervisor for the Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator, on the groundbreaking aerial visuals of Hell’s Angels
• New interview with critic Farran Smith Nehme about actor Jean Harlow
• Outtakes and rushes from the film, with commentary by Harlow biographer David Stenn
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• An essay by author and journalist Fred Kaplan
• New cover by Sam Hadley