Customer Reviews

Freefall Flight 174

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

 

 

Based on a real event, due to miscalculations in fueling the plane using the metric system, a routine flight runs out of fuel in flight and it's up to the flight crew to land the plane safely. A good, solid, tautly suspenseful airplane disaster movie that proves you don't need profanity, explosions, or fast-paced cinematography to make a good, suspenseful movie. And a fine performance from a fine cast! Don't miss this one! An excellent addition to the library of airplane disaster movies.

This was made for TV and depicts a real incident on a passenger jet in the 80's. William Devane is great in this part.

This was a good movie for less than ten dollars. It was originally a TV movie, but it is still good. Some people here gave some bad reviews but I didn't find anything wrong with it. It was good, suspenseful, had a plot, all that stuff. Makes for good clean entertainment. Recommended especially if you like airplane films, lots of tower-talk, etc.

i think free fall flight was a great movie and william devane was perfect for that kind of movie.i give free fall flight a 5 stars for a great movie i keeps you wondering on how to keep a big plane in the sky for so lone with no gas i just tells yea that some can do it. and some cant. just like thay point out in the movie u got to see this movie
Jmier75@yahoo.com
Joe

This is one great "obscure" movie. People do not know this movie exists but almost everyone in the aviation industry has heard about it or about the real event behind it. Once you see it, you realize the complexity of life for being a pilot, the immense responsibility that lies on his / her shoulders and you finally realize why air travel is so safe. Everyone makes mistakes and it takes a whole lot of skill and training - which EVERY pilot gets - to overcome potential disastrous situations. Most of the people riding comfortably in the back of an airplane have no idea of what really goes on the other side of the door, the side where the controls are. As far as they are concerned, the airplanes take-off, land, carry them from point A to point B and that's it, oblivious to the fact that the simple fact that an airplane goes into the air takes skill, training, will to provide quality customer service and a GREAT responsibility that not just anyone can and wants to provide.
The way the movie was put together, is very realistic, very close to what happened and with just minimal "Hollywood" extras, really gives you an idea of what pilots have to deal with every day they go to work. Still think they are overpayed?!

this movie is based on true events that occoured the biggest problems were that the sites they used were not the actual sites such as winnipeg international airport, gimil drag strip so in reality the movie while based on facts, was not shot at the actual locations they occured. i do love the movie and that robert pearson who was the pilot of the actual air canada flight was invovled in the movie even though as a cameo apperance at the beginning. i had it on vhs but glad the dvd is available it is a very interesting movie and do recommend it as it shows what the metric conversion vs gallons can do even to us canadians who are on the metric system and was in the midst of converting to metric at the time

I really love this show. I had it on tape but could not find it, so I had to find another copy. The show is awesome, the only part that could be
better is when the plane is about to touch down, looks unreal. But would
highly recommened this show.

I love this movie Freefall flight 174. The story is breath taking and it is a really happened movie. First you see a short review of the lifes of the people who get on board of the plane, also the crew, pilots etc.
Then you see that they have a problem, because they got toooo less kerosine. It is very well played, it is breath taking and also a happy ending. It is worth every dollar.

The first 5 minutes was OK. After that, this TV-movie started using all the cliches of...a TV-movie. A bad one.

These cliches include:
1. Many references to babies both on and off the plane.
2. Young love as apparently-orphaned young adults ponder their future together.
3. A supposedly very drunk man becoming rowdy and argumentative, yet showing no real signs of being drunk though much was said about the volume of his drinking.
4. An unhappy man dictating some thoughts - then eventually joyfully reconsidering his comments and throwing the tape recorder away.
5. The expanded time frame, where events that would normally take perhaps a couple minutes dragged out for 1/2 hour - in this case the final descent of the plane.
6. Simplistic explanations of some "technical jargon" for the benefit of only the audience.
7. Voice-overs of the thoughts of some of the characters as they are about to land.

There were also some bad lapses of reality. These include:
1. The claim that the airplane had never been test-flown or simulated when out of gas.
2. Having some sports cars whiz by only feet away - on a wet surface no less - from recreational hot-rodders parked on the abandoned runway who are working on cars and milling about.
3. The apparently stupid teen who can't hear his father yelling and waving at him from 30 feet away to get the hell off the runway as the plane is about to land on him.
The worst for last...
4. No one even attempts any crash position during the landing.
5. After landing, the pilot and co-pilot sit there for 10 seconds and contemplate the minor amount of smoke coming up through the console. Note there is no actual fire whatsoever...
6. After all the passengers slide down the rear slide, the co-pilot and other crew slide down, and gather right at the bottom of the slide rather than, say, getting off the runway away from the plane. Only the pilot remains on board. He lingers in the doorway, then decides to go back into the nose again. Why? To fight the nonexistent fire. Egads! He is now overcome by smoke. We wait and wait for him to reappear, but gosh, he doesn't. So the crew must climb back up the ladder to rescue him. Finally everyone gets off the plane. Everyone cheers and congratulates the foolhardy pilot.

The End. Except it's not. There is a freeze-frame on each of the characters with a caption telling what happens to them in the future.

I wanted to give it at least 2 stars but in all honesty I can't.