DESERT FURY!
Added 10/29/2009
A fine motion picture and I believe James Stewart's last. The reviews are spot-on, however, I
noticed that with all the acolades heaped upon the actors, it must also be remembered that
Paul Mantz, one of Hollywood's finest stunt pilots lost his life in the filming of this movie
(Phoennix prototype crashed during last scene), as he was trying to land, in scene which showed
plane disappearing over the mountains. At the end of the film's credits, a memorial mentions
this unfortunate tragedy.
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Very good -- not the best for repeat viewing.
Added 7/2/2009
Flight of the Phoenix is a great movie. It tells the story of a plane crash in the middle of the no-where. With only a limited amount of water -- but luckily a large shipment of dates was onboard -- the crew must decide what to do. Stay and wait? Walk toward civlization?
The characters are interesting and the conflict faced by the hero of the film is difficult.
My only complaint is that this film does not have great repeat value. In my opinion it is simply too slow.
Bottom line: Borrow or rent this movie. Buy only if you are really taken by the courageous struggle of the hero!
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3 stars out of 4
Added 3/1/2009
The Bottom Line:
An engaging adventure that is better in almost every way than its more modern remake, The Flight of the Phoenix makes the most out of its interesting premise and desert setting; with a cast of top-flight character actors behind the somewhat-annoying Jimmy Stewart, it's a worthy film.
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The definition of a classic
Added 10/19/2008
This may not have won any awards, but it is a great story superbly acted by a stellar cast. Infinitely better than the recent trashy remake. The interplay between the characters is finely done and keeps you hooked from start to finish. Best film of 1965 without a doubt and definitely an important addition to anyone's history of cinema collection.
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computer nerd vs. grizzled old veteran
Added 8/17/2008
"Flight of the Phoenix" is truly a superior film and is one of my all time favorites. An airplane carrying a cargo of men, mostly oil field types, crashes into the North African desert because of a sudden sand storm that the pilot, Jimmy Stewart, is unable to climb over. Several men are killed in the initial crash and Stewart is a writhing mass of guilt.
The ordeal, however, is by no means over. The crash site is hundreds of miles away from the nearest help and, worse, because the plane tried to detour around the storm, they aren't in any known flight path. The survivors have a cargo of dates and a limited amount of water to live on. Seemingly, there are only two choices...walk out or die.
The dispassionate and calculating Hardy Kruger, who plays a German slide rule nerd [make that a present day computer nerd] has been quietly examining the wreck of the twin engine plane and announces to the incredulous Stewart that he has a plan to fly the enormously damaged plane to safety. Stewart thinks the German has gone off his head but when he learns Kruger is an aircraft designer he reluctantly starts to listen.
Kruger thinks they can disengage the one wing, winch it over the fuselage and attach it to the one good engine, producing a one engined plane without a fuselage. The men will have to ride on the top of the wings. Now Stewart thinks Kruger is really crazy but is convinced to go along with it if, for no other reason, than to give the men hope.
The rest of the story is one of building and unbearable tension. Stewart despises the fact that he is playing second fiddle to a juvenile German who is likely out of his head. Water is stolen, which Hardy admits to because he, unlike the others...all so cold and logical...has been working day and night and requires the extra moisture. Kruger is absolutely right but Stewart hates him for it.
Men are lost to the desert and two others are tortured to death by marauding Arab bandits. Almost worse, Stewart learns that Kruger is, in fact, a model airplane designer, who announces that his greatest design is the "Adler", with a two meter wingspan. Now Stewart really thinks that the German is crazy. Nevertheless, they labor on and ultimately Stewart, who is after all an excellent pilot, flies the German's contrapation to safety.
This is a simply brilliant psychological thriller pitting two opposite views of life against each other. Despite their mutual animosities, the "Old Salt", Stewart, can't survive without the computer nerd and the computer nerd, Kruger, can't survive without the "Old Salt". They have to work together for the survival of everyone. By the way, the Phoenix theme is haunting.
Ron Braithwaite author of novels--"Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"--on the Spanish Conquest of Mexico.
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DESERT FURY!
Added 10/29/2009
A fine motion picture and I believe James Stewart's last. The reviews are spot-on, however, I
noticed that with all the acolades heaped upon the actors, it must also be remembered that
Paul Mantz, one of Hollywood's finest stunt pilots lost his life in the filming of this movie
(Phoennix prototype crashed during last scene), as he was trying to land, in scene which showed
plane disappearing over the mountains. At the end of the film's credits, a memorial mentions
this unfortunate tragedy.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Very good -- not the best for repeat viewing.
Added 7/2/2009
Flight of the Phoenix is a great movie. It tells the story of a plane crash in the middle of the no-where. With only a limited amount of water -- but luckily a large shipment of dates was onboard -- the crew must decide what to do. Stay and wait? Walk toward civlization?
The characters are interesting and the conflict faced by the hero of the film is difficult.
My only complaint is that this film does not have great repeat value. In my opinion it is simply too slow.
Bottom line: Borrow or rent this movie. Buy only if you are really taken by the courageous struggle of the hero!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
3 stars out of 4
Added 3/1/2009
The Bottom Line:
An engaging adventure that is better in almost every way than its more modern remake, The Flight of the Phoenix makes the most out of its interesting premise and desert setting; with a cast of top-flight character actors behind the somewhat-annoying Jimmy Stewart, it's a worthy film.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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