It seems so long since I’ve reviewed what I deem 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 lively, character driven film about a itsy-bitsy, yet diverse, group of men struggling to not only overcome the adversity of a harsh and deadly environment, but also having to near to terms with each other, the strengths and flaws inherent within themselves, to complete a nearly impossible task, one that will resolve their very survival.
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Based on a approved new by Elleston Trevor, the film is incredibly well directed by Robert Aldrich (whom I’m a mountainous 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 furious as hell, and I’m not going to recall it anymore!’ Finch. Also appearing are Ernest Borgnine, Hardy Krüger, George Kennedy, and Ian Bannen.
As the film begins, we study a itsy-bitsy 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 residence 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 shatter land in the desert, miles away from any type of civilization, including that precious commodity many of us grasp 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 extraordinary and equally unique conception of building another plane from the wreckage of the first. The conception is not well received, especially by Captain Towns, due to its’ seeming absurdity, but soon it becomes certain 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 win them slowly, as they suffer from heat and water deprivation. Now it’s a bustle to complete the insurmountable task of constructing a workable aircraft before their itsy-bitsy water reserves hurry dry, fighting not only the elements within the desert, the burning heat during the day, the freezing icy at night, murderous nomadic tribes, and the ever explain sand (don’t you loathe it when sand gets in your clothes? I do…), but they must also face their contain weaknesses, those now magnified as the ever reveal threat of death looms so very terminate.
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While this film is listed as an action/adventure/drama, the main element that holds it together is the character driven aspects of the station 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 acquire the peace and preserve hope, along with themselves, alive. The rest of the cast does am extremely blooming 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 station. The one thing I really enjoyed within this film, and reminded me a small of the Humphrey Bogart film The Cherish of the Sierra Madre (1946) in that as the narrative progresses, we discover the characters stripped of all the superficial aspects they believe, as their good natures are revealed, for better of worse. Aldrich’s direction is impeccable, giving the just amount of attention to all the various aspects of the account, and unbiased generally really putting the viewer within the anecdote, feeling not only the disparity of the place as the characters do, but the hope and faith the men manage to possess, qualities I gain to be brought forth from our have 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 examine 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 ancient stories, made it through to the kill. The film runs nearly 2 ½ hours, and some would mediate that too long, but I really didn’t perceive as the time was primitive well developing the characters and creating a sense of empathy for their scrape, and ultimately a noble pain for their well being and a desire to inspect them succeed in their impossible task.
Presented here is a pretty widescreen anamorphic describe, with the choice of either Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Dolby Digital 1.0 audio tracks, both of which sound distinct and crisp. There’s tiny in the diagram 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 chop out for them…
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I’m distinct that many movie buffs will remember this graceful, suspenseful thriller from the 60s. Jimmy Stewart is flying a cargo plane with an curious 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 tiny supplies, under a brutal sun. The men raze several precious days on the assumption that succor is on the diagram. They eventually realise that survival will depend on their possess resilience and ingenuity.
Buy,Download, Or Stream The Flight of the Phoenix! Click Here
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 glance, this depressed group displays all of the human qualities that arise in desperate situations–resentment, alarm, arrogance, assignment of blame, madness, cowardice and courage.
Richard Attenborough is the sensible roar 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 distinguished of a challenge to such a talented actor. Ernest Borgnine gets to chew up a dinky scenery as a guy who is dazzling unhinged even before the plane crash–that blazing sun doesn’t do him any pleasurable at all! Well–it’s 1965 and you need someone to play a brainy, chilly, arrogant German–Hardy Kruger, near on down! The other actors are excellent–Ian Bannen, in particular, is effective as a guy who would rep under your skin even at the North Pole!
As another reviwer has celebrated, 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 explain the psychological aspects of the spot. After a while, you–the viewer–will also launch 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 understanding that Hardy Kruger’s character comes up with to put everyone–I’m not an aeronautical engineer! It certainly gives the film an interesting climax though.
Buy,Download, Or Stream The Flight of the Phoenix! Click Here
I found the DVD describe to be beautiful–the sound typical for an almost 40-year passe film.
“Phoenix” gave Jimmy Stewart another grand 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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