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59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Consumed by fire, the Phoenix shall rise from its' own ashes, October 23, 2004
It seems so long since I've reviewed what I consider to be a 5 star film...maybe too long, so I decided to review one of my favorites in The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), a tense and wonderfully entertaining, character driven film about a small, yet diverse, group of men struggling to not only overcome the adversity of a harsh and deadly environment, but also having to come to terms with each other, the strengths and flaws inherent within themselves, to complete a nearly impossible task, one that will determine their very survival.
Based on a popular novel by Elleston Trevor, the film is incredibly well directed by Robert Aldrich (whom I'm a big fan of), who also did Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1965), The Dirty Dozen (1967), and The Longest Yard (1974), to name a few. The film boasts an impressive cast, including James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, and Peter `I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!' Finch. Also appearing are Ernest Borgnine, Hardy Krüger, George Kennedy, and Ian Bannen.
As the film begins, we see a small group of men, some military men, but mostly crewmembers who work on an oil field located somewhere in the Sahara Desert, preparing to leave by plane, one piloted by Captain Frank Towns (Stewart), a world weary airman who's found himself in the position of shuttling men and equipment between outposts in rickety contraptions that resemble airplanes, along with his navigator (who has a penchant for the booze), Lew Morgan (Attenborough). The flight begins well enough, but soon a sandstorm disables the engines, and the plane is forced to crash land in the desert, miles away from any type of civilization, including that precious commodity many of us take for granted being water. After a few days, and hopes of a rescue dwindle away, a German engineer named Heinrich Dorfmann (Hardy Krüger), returning from visiting his brother at the oil field, proposes a completely fantastic and equally outlandish plan of building another plane from the wreckage of the first. The idea is not well received, especially by Captain Towns, due to its' seeming absurdity, but soon it becomes obvious that this one in a thousand chance is the only one they have, as the alternative is to do nothing and allow the desert to consume them slowly, as they suffer from heat and water deprivation. Now it's a race to complete the insurmountable task of constructing a workable aircraft before their limited water reserves run dry, fighting not only the elements within the desert, the burning heat during the day, the freezing cold at night, murderous nomadic tribes, and the ever present sand (don't you hate it when sand gets in your clothes? I do...), but they must also face their own weaknesses, those now magnified as the ever present threat of death looms so very close.
While this film is listed as an action/adventure/drama, the main element that holds it together is the character driven aspects of the plot featuring those played by Stewart, Attenborough, and Krüger. Stewart's character seems locked in a tense battle of wills against Krüger's, as the realistic captain, concerned with the welfare of his charges, feeling the weight of responsibility, fights for control against Dorfmann, the pragmatic, analytical, and logical engineer with Attenborough's character squarely in the middle, trying maintain the peace and keep hope, along with themselves, alive. The rest of the cast does am extremely fine job in their supporting roles, and I especially enjoyed that of Ian Bannen, as the jovial pessimist, who could nearly always be counted on to provide a bit of harsh levity no matter the situation. The one thing I really enjoyed within this film, and reminded me a little of the Humphrey Bogart film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1946) in that as the story progresses, we see the characters stripped of all the superficial aspects they possess, as their true natures are revealed, for better of worse. Aldrich's direction is impeccable, giving the right amount of attention to all the various aspects of the story, and just generally really putting the viewer within the story, feeling not only the disparity of the situation as the characters do, but the hope and faith the men manage to maintain, qualities I believe to be brought forth from our own instincts of survival and self preservation. One thing I noticed is that the film has no qualms about killing off various characters, regardless of the actor's prestige. So often I've seen films populated with seemingly pointless characters, only to watch them predictably perish, but that's not the case here. There are a number of deaths, and not all of them anticipated. Not only that, but also a few characters who normally would have been marked for death in other, more traditional stories, made it through to the end. The film runs nearly 2 ½ hours, and some would consider that too long, but I really didn't notice as the time was used well developing the characters and creating a sense of empathy for their plight, and ultimately a genuine concern for their well being and a desire to see them succeed in their impossible task.
Presented here is a beautiful widescreen anamorphic picture, with the choice of either Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Dolby Digital 1.0 audio tracks, both of which sound clear and crisp. There's little in the way of special features, as all that's included are three versions of theatrical trailers for the film, one in English, another in Spanish, and a third in Portuguese. I've noticed there's a remake scheduled for release later this year, starring Dennis Quaid, Giovanni Ribisi, Hugh Laurie, and someone named Sticky Fingaz (I'm serious...that's his name...I later found out he was a member of the hip hop group Oynx, and has since appeared in quite a few films). All I can say is they've got their work cut out for them...
Cookieman108
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Unhappy Landings !, October 6, 2003
I'm sure that many movie buffs will remember this fine, suspenseful thriller from the 60s. Jimmy Stewart is flying a cargo plane with an interesting assortment of male passengers across the Sahara desert, and he decides to battle through an oncoming sandstorm. The sandstorm wins ! The plane crash-lands in an ocean of sand--not without casualty--and our heroes are stranded, with limited supplies, under a brutal sun. The men waste several precious days on the assumption that help is on the way. They eventually realise that survival will depend on their own resilience and ingenuity.Of course, we have one of the finest American actors in the lead, but Mr. Stewart is ably supported by a blue-chip international cast, including Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Kruger, Ernest Borgnine and Ian Bannen. As the sun gets hotter and with no rescue party in sight, this unfortunate group displays all of the human qualities that arise in desperate situations--resentment, fear, arrogance, assignment of blame, madness, cowardice and courage. Richard Attenborough is the sensible voice of reason and compromise, which makes the scene where he finally "loses it", even more compelling. Peter Finch is the typical British "stiff upper lip " officer--stubborn and brave-- though I doubt that this role was much of a challenge to such a talented actor. Ernest Borgnine gets to chew up a little scenery as a guy who is pretty unhinged even before the plane crash--that blazing sun doesn't do him any good at all ! Well--it's 1965 and you need someone to play a brainy, cold, arrogant German--Hardy Kruger, come on down ! The other actors are excellent--Ian Bannen, in particular, is effective as a guy who would get under your skin even at the North Pole ! As another reviwer has noted, the film is perhaps longer than it needs to be, although it does give the characters plenty of time to interact with one another, and display the psychological aspects of the plot. After a while, you--the viewer--will also start to feel that oppressive heat and sand, and the tension of being trapped in this hell-on-earth. I can't really comment on the feasibility of the plan that Hardy Kruger's character comes up with to save everyone--I'm not an aeronautical engineer ! It certainly gives the film an exciting climax though. I found the DVD picture to be beautiful--the sound typical for an almost 40-year old film. "Phoenix" gave Jimmy Stewart another great role, later in his career, and with the supporting cast--and a liberal amount of suspense--this nice DVD could appeal to a variety of viewing tastes. Recommended.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fine portrait of the survival of the human spirit, October 16, 1999
By A Customer
A fine film that ranks right up there with the best adventure classics ever made, "Flight..." is a gritty, realistically rendered tale of survival in the Sahara. With the famous California sand dune field ("Return of the Jedi" and many others have been shot there through the years) on the border near Yuma, Arizona convincingly substituting for a vast, nameless Saharan erg, "Flight.." portrays the various reactions of a mixed group of down-and-out oil camp workers as they struggle to survive against all odds. The rebuilding of the wrecked C-82 Packet transport aircraft (forerunner of the more famous C-119 Flying Boxcar) is rendered in believable detail and is fascinating to watch. Hardy Kruger does a fine turn as the frustrated "engineer" who convinces the group to attempt to rebuild the aircraft while unconciously hiding a terrible secret that is not revealed until late in the movie. The rest of the cast is uniformly excellent. All are convincing characters with realistic motivations that make them very believable. For trivia buffs (and as partly mentioned in previous posts), the "Phoenix" aircraft is initially shown as a real aircraft built from C-82 components, but a crash of this airplane during filming forced the producers to replace it with a slightly modified O-47, an extremely rare observation aircraft that is currently being restored at the Planes of Fame museum in Chino, CA. The change can be seen on-screen for those watching closely, but the two aircraft profiles are close enough to one another that the change is not jarring. A fine film in every respect: realistic, suspenseful, well acted and directed, "Flight of the Phoenix" is commercial Hollywood craftsmanship at its best.
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