Film Review
Robert Aldrich directed this gritty survival movie with the same flair,
precision and attention to detail that characterise his other great
films. The situation - an odd assortment of people struggling to
survive a nightmarish ordeal against the odds - is one that has been
often portrayed in cinema, but rarely with the dramatic intensity,
depth of characterisation and nerve-wracking tension that
The Flight of the Phoenix
offers. Stunning performances from a superb international cast
(headed by an impeccable James Stewart in an uncharacteristically
grouchy role) make this a gripping character-based drama in which the
excitement stems from the conflict within the group as individuals
react to their fate and indulge in futile power struggles.
What is perhaps most surprising about
The
Flight of the Phoenix is how relentlessly bleak it is.
There is some humour (mostly of the blackly comedic variety) to relieve
the tension, but for the most part the mood is about as dark as a
dramatic thriller can be. Do the men survive or do they all
perish? Aldrich keeps us in suspense right to the very end, by
which point our nerves are well and truly frayed. Watching this
film is a gruelling but strangely enjoyable experience. Its 2004
remake barely passes muster when compared with the original.
On a sad note, the stunt pilot Paul Mantz died during the location
shooting of the film in the Arizona desert. Mantz was piloting
the small plane (the one assembled from the wreckage) when its skids
caught on a small hill, resulting in a crash that killed him instantly
and injured the stuntman Bobby Rose. The credits to this
film include an appropriate tribute to Mantz: "a fine man and a
brilliant flyer [who] gave his life in the making of this film".
© James Travers 2009
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Robert Aldrich film:
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Film Synopsis
Frank Towns is piloting a small plane laden with passengers and cargo
across the Sahara Desert when a sandstorm brews up, knocking the
aircraft off course by several hundred miles and bringing it
down. Although the plane is wrecked beyond repair, only two of
the men on board are killed. The survivors include Towns,
navigator Lew Moran, a few British soldiers, some oil workers and a
studious German named Heinrich Dorfmann. Towns is confident
that a rescue party will be sent to pick them up but the others are
sceptical. As the water begins to run out, Dorfmann makes a
fantastic suggestion: they should try to build a new plane out of the
wreckage of the old one. Town is incredulous but agrees to
Dorfmann's proposal when he realises that the activity will take the
men's mind off their impending doom...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.