Customer Reviews

Fire and Rain [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Aircraft films usually prove aggravating. Bad directors resort to unrealistic sounds, actions, loud music, and horrendous dialogue in a vain attempt to paralyze the hapless viewer. It's even worse if you know something about flying, and find yourself constantly questioning why the over-budgeted dimwits didn't take some technical advice... you don't remember to extend flaps thirty seconds before landing, you don't use a yoke to turn an aircraft on the ground.

Fire and Rain didn't make any of these 'in-air' mistakes. There is no sensationalizing or embellishment. Everything, from the high-pitched whine of flaps extending, to the idle chatter in the passenger section, to the shadows fluttering in and out of the cockpit, contribute to an engrossing realism. Dialogue is tersely authentic, as is the turbulence. For about a thirtieth (if not a fiftieth) of the money, this film is far more realistic than the 'airline thriller' garbage of today.

The film delves into individual stories of heroism and tragedy after the crash. Considering the number of people who lost their lives on 191, and the few miracles that did happen, this is only appropriate. The crash scene is authentically strewn and cluttered without being too graphic.

Unfortunately some of the acting is rigid and repetitive, and the story does not really have much to expand on. In an effort to show all the feats of heroism, little attention is paid to why this actually happened beyond a laconic reference to wind shear. The reactions of many of the characters are without variety, and the story sadly relies on clichéd dialogue here and there.

The films good points overwhelmingly outweigh the bad. Acting is relatively solid, not great, and should be judged on a performance-by-performance basis, with the restricted storyline in mind.

If nothing else, the fantastically accurate approach scene makes this movie worthwhile, and gives the viewer a good feel for the terror those 150+ passengers endured on the final leg into DFW. In its understated realism, it is a suitable, dignified tribute to an American tragedy.

Dear Amazon users,

Ok as far as i am aware this film has not been produced on to DVD, i think the main reason is due to it's age and popularity and of course whether or not its still making enough money for the studios to spend the time and money remastering it on to DVD.

There is a place called VIPFilms that has some air disaster films on DVD but these have been transfered from VHS to DVD at great expense by the shop. they do have Miracle Landing on DVD at their website but not Fire and Rain.

I agree this film is great and if i still had a VHS player i'd buy it straight away, good cast good amount of actual flight realisum.

Thank you.

this move is based on Delta flt 191 that crashed at Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport on August 2, 1985 due to a microburst windshier and pilot error.

I used this video for a project/report in college. Worked well. The acting is poor in some areas especially the crash with people bouncing up and down screaming like mad... I guess I am not very sympathetic being a pilot but mostly screaming will not help other than making everyone else be very nervous and make it the situation worse. On second note it would have been useful if it actually showed more of the outside descent and research for the last half of the film. Ex. like how the airplane hit using a simulation model or something of the sort with computer graphics. Other than that it shows relatively a crash that happened and how bad the aftermath of it can be with burns and body parts.

I saw this alot on USA. I taped it,too.I wonder if It's on DVD. It's based on a true story,and it happed in August 1985,due to wind sheer. Parkland hospital,where JFK and Lee Harvey Oswald died were mentioned.