Customer Reviews

The Last Flight of Noah's Ark

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Elliott Gould stars as an impecunious pilot who ,in order to stay one step ahead of two strong arm men anxious to collect his gambling debts ,reluctantly agrees to fly a cargo of animals to a remote Pacific island in the company of a nun ,Sister Bernadette (Genevieve Bujold).She has conceived the idea of importing the livestock as a way of converting the islanders to a farming existence .
Omens are not propitious-the plane is old and rickety ; Gould is unenthusiastic about animals;Gould and Bujold clash and two pre-teenage children stowaway on the plane .
The plane goes offcourse and Gould is forced to ditch on a remote island which -just to complicate matters -is occupied by two Japanese naval officers who have not heard that World War two is over ,and who attack the plane without success.
The bulk of the movie shows how the parties combine in an attempt to escape from the island and how the internal conflicts are resolved.
Nicely shot on location in Hawaii and with a strong performance from the underrated Bujold ,this watchable movie is acceptable family fare but would have been all the better for a livelier actor in the lead role .Gould lacks the lightness of touch that Disney regulars from this era like Garner or Dean Jones would have brought to proceedings.
Solid and watchable but second string Disney.

Elliott Gould gives another great performance as the world weary, hard drinking loner (ala `Getting Straight', `The Long Goodbye', `MASH'), but similar to his other early eighties foray into Disney films `The Devil and Max Devlin', his loner character is tested and softened through unexpected events. Geneviève Bujold also sticks to previous performances as the determined and sexy emissary of good (`Coma', `Earthquake'). Both leads give a nice edge to this adventurous tale, made at a time when Disney was making some interestingly cast and original live action films like `The Black Hole', `Amy' and `TRON'. Rick Schroder, in the prime of his childhood acting career, plays virtually the same character as he did in `The Champ'. All of this cinematic pedigree adds a wonderfully entertaining element to a film that could have dived into the painfully mawkish. Complete with night shark attacks, stranded Japanese soldiers, orphans, an eclectic menagerie of animals (who ever sees a mallard duck in the same vicinity as one of those hump backed African ox), and a great South Pacific setting this film has something for everyone. A guaranteed good night with nods to the adults and thrills and adventure for the kids. Hearkens back to a not particularly distant past when Disney was making wholesome original films with a little edge.

As always Anchor Bay does a beautiful job in the DVD transfer, giving more time and respect to Disney's library than Disney does for its own films. As with all Anchor Bay DVDs, highly recommended.

There are a number of new movies that are great for a family - but this is an old and timeless classic! Great movie!

A solid family movie with enough action to hold the entire familys interest. Outstanding photography with a good professional cast. Recommended for all film libraries.

This is your average Disney movie, (clean, decent, enjoyable, and good entertainment for the whole family.) I have always enjoyed these old Disney movies, like Swiss Family Robinson, Cat from Outer Space, Apple Dumpling Gang Herbie, etc., and this is one of the many Disney Classics.

i just enjoy this film when i younger, i'm glad they started reissueing a few disney films , but this film has positive uplifting experience when you get done watch it. it's part of comedy/drama, love it i hope you think so also.

"The Last Flight of Noah's Ark" is a rare Disney action/adventure film, much like the kind of stuff they released in the early 1960's. The cast is quite good; and though it is a bit of a fanciful tale, suspending reality inasmuch as Disney can, it is wonderful family escapism. Don't miss the shark hunt; it was probably the best scene in this film. My only problem with it is could have been a fantastic daytime scene; alas, it took place at night! Small quibble, though. Still excellently produced and paced. Wish it were out on video, but as with most Disney films under the Eisner regime, it has probably disappeared for a very long time (forever)?

A down on his luck pilot named Noah Dugan, in need of some fast cash to pay off a dangerous gambling debt, takes on the job of flying a wreck of a plane loaded with animals, a female missionary, and two stowaway orphans to a remote island. The group's plans are changed, however, when they end up straying off course and are forced to land on an uncharted island inhabited only by a pair of forgotten Japanese soldiers lost for 35 years and under the impression that WWII is still going on. Befriending the soldiers and learning to get along themselves is only the first part of their struggle, as the group from the "Noah's Ark" also must find a way to get back to civilization with only their now permanently grounded plane to use as transportation.

Elliott Gould stars as Dugan and Bernadette Lafleur his unlikely love interest in this Disney family adventure from 1980. It also co-starred a very young Ricky Schroeder and Tammy Lauren as the two children taken under Noah's wing. John Fujioka and Yuki Shimoda round out the main cast as the pair of eventually friendly Japanese soldiers. "The Last Flight of Noah's Ark" is a film loved by many Disney fans and not so praiseworthy to others. I am afraid I have to fall in the latter group. I happen to be a huge fan of Disney, especially classic Disney, unquestionably including classic Disney live-action. There aren't a lot of classic Disney bigscreen releases I haven't seen yet nor that I haven't seen in a LONG time. When I finally got around to putting in my newly acquired DVD of Disney's Last Flight of Noah's Ark though, I hadn't seen it since I was a child and really didn't have much of an idea what to expect. I was optimistic. I usually love Disney live-action pre-dating the late-90's. There are rare exceptions though when a film is just okay and not, in my opinion, endowed with much "Disney Magic". This is one of those times when the film I was watching was definitely just okay. It has its good points, and it has definitely low points. I was very turned off early on by the fact that I didn't really like any of the characters. All they did was bicker. It was flat out irritating. I realize the point of the plot is seeing how all these very different people end up forming a little family when they have no choice, but I just didn't enjoy hearing these people complain constantly, particularly the main stars, Gould and Lafleur. The pair didn't really have much chemistry to me either. The kids at least were great actors (though I still found Schroeder's bickering irritating, while I normally don't like Lauren but she is a total sweetheart here), and the Japanese soldier characters were both excellent actors and fun characters. They definitely added a lot to this movie. There are fun and exciting moments too, including a part with a shark, but there were also times when I felt I didn't get enough info. The situation with the gambling debt is never resolved. There's a scene where they are about to kill a pet steer to put him out of his misery, but he is fine moments later after the execution is thankfully interrupted. And I'm forgetting some stuff as well, I'm sure. The worst thing about "Last Flight of Noah's Ark" though, is the horrible late 70's/early 80's theme song. Ugh. It is painful to endure. Frankly, after seeing this, I'm very worried about how I'm going to feel when I finally acquire and view Gould's other Disney film from a year later, "The Devil and Max Devlin". At least that one co-stars a young Bill Cosby though.

The DVD release of Last Flight of Noah's Ark doesn't fair much better in my review. The print is too dark and there are no bonus features unless you count the option of fullscreen or non-anamorphic widescreen. At least we do get a widescreen option. I've actually seen worse Disney live-action catalog releases.

When all is said and done, this isn't an unwatchable film. As I said, it has its good points, but as a Disney live-action classic, for me it's near the bottom of the list. Pros: A good message, some good acting, a few good scenes and ideas. Cons, a difficult to believe romance between stars I found irritating (it seemed like they were going for a Han Solo kinda thing with Gould's character, but it just wasn't working for me, nothing against him), a story that felt a little anticlimactic and had some holes, and an absolutely horrendous theme song. I'd say give this one a watch if there is something drawing you to it, whether it's a cast member, the fact that it is a Disney film, or whatever else. There is a fair chance you will be in the group that loves this film. It seems to be an even split. But, I don't think you will find it anything groundbreaking at any rate. It's fair enough as simple but not too fantastic family entertainment, but there are much better out there under the Disney name. Try a Dean Jones, Hayley Mills, Tommy Kirk, Kurt Russell, or Fred MacMurray selection instead. Save this one for after you've seen all those Disney classics.

This is a great movie. My sons watched it (lots!) when they were younger. I've never heard anything about this movie (either before, or since we watched it years ago) I was really excited to find it on DVD so my grandkids could watch it. My grown son also wants to watch it again. A great family movie!

Even though the acting isnt that great from the main stars of the movie I still enjoyed watching this movie very much brings back memories from when I was a kid. For the price of 17.99 its not a bad addition to anyones collection.