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2. Directed by John Moore. With Dennis Quaid, Miranda Otto, Giovanni Ribisi, Tyrese Gibson. Survivors of a plane crash in the Mongolian desert work together to build a new plane.

Flight of the Phoenix is a 2004 American survivaldrama film and a remake of a 1965 film of the same name, both based on the 1964 novel The Flight of the Phoenix, by Elleston Trevor, about a group of people who survive an aircraft crash in the Gobi Desert and must build a new aircraft out of the old one to escape. The film stars Dennis Quaid and Giovanni Ribisi. Flight of the Phoenix opened in the U.S. on December 17, 2004. The film was a box office failure, and received generally mixed reviews; criticism was geared toward its similarity to the 1965 film, while praise related to the acting, direction and visuals.

Plot[edit]

When an Amacore oil rig in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia proves unproductive, Captain Frank Towns (Dennis Quaid) and co-pilot A.J. (Tyrese Gibson) are sent to shut down the operation and transport the crew (Amacore executive Ian, rig supervisor Kelly, Rodney, Davis, Liddle, Jeremy, Sammi, Rady, Kyle, Newman, and Dr. Gerber) out of the desert, along with a load of cargo from the site to be liquidated or redistributed to another site, causing the plane to be overweight. However, en route to Beijing, a major dust storm disables one engine when Towns attempts a vertical climb with the overweight plane, forcing them to crash land their C-119 Flying Boxcar in an uncharted area of the Gobi Desert. Kyle falls to his death and the crash kills Dr. Gerber and Newman. Their cargo consists of used parts and tools from the rig, the rig's crew, and Elliot (Giovanni Ribisi), a hitchhiker. When the dust storm ends, it becomes apparent that they are 200 miles off course with only a month's supply of water. Jeremy (Kirk Jones) thinks about walking to get help, but Rady (Kevork Malikyan) explains that July is the hottest month in the Gobi, and that he would not make it.

In the middle of the night, Davis (Jared Padalecki) goes out to urinate without informing anybody, trips, gets lost in a sandstorm, and dies. The group panics after a failed search for him, and Kelly (Miranda Otto) argues with Frank, who says that walking out of the desert would fail and that their only option is to await rescue. The group initially agrees but reconsiders after Elliot, claiming to be an aeronautical engineer, pitches a radical idea: rebuild the wreckage of their C-119 into a functional aircraft. Frank initially refuses, which causes Liddle (Scott Michael Campbell) to wander off on his own in protest. Frank attempts to find him. He comes across a valley littered with debris, cargo from the aircraft, which dropped out when the tail was torn open. Among the debris he discovers the bullet-ridden and stripped body of Kyle, after which Liddle appears saying he came to retrieve his watch which he lost to Kyle in a poker game; Towns then deduces that either nomads or smugglers used Kyle's corpse for target practice. Liddle says he will only go back with him if they build the plane, and Frank agrees.

They struggle for several weeks building the new aircraft, during which they experience losing their fuel reserves in a spark fire, an electrical storm, lack of water, and fighting amongst the group. Rady christens it Phoenix after the legendary bird. A problem evolves when they notice a group of smugglers camping nearby. When Ian, A.J., and Rodney attempt to communicate, the bandits mortally wound Rodney (Tony Curran) after Liddle notices that one of them is wearing his watch. A fierce, but short skirmish takes place when Frank (who is with Liddle) ambushes the bandits. Most of the bandits are killed, one is wounded, and one escapes. When going through the smugglers encampment, they find a wounded smuggler and argue about what to do until Elliot walks over and executes him with a pistol. Towns accuses him of murder, but Elliot states that Towns murdered him by deciding to go investigate the smugglers after being advised against it. He also states that he caused Rodney's death as well, therefore wasting a whole days work as well as manpower. Towns, in anger, punches Elliot which causes the project to stall due to Elliot's no longer being interested in the project. In desperation, the remaining group agree to give Elliot complete control of the project, and the project resumes. After it is finished, it is revealed that Elliot's aircraft design experience has been restricted to the design of model aircraft, much to the anger of everyone, especially Ian (Hugh Laurie), who threatens to shoot Elliot. However, as a storm is brewing, the high force winds causes the plane to lift off temporarily, making the group realize that Elliot's plane will indeed fly. Forced to take shelter in the old plane's hull during the sandstorm, they later dig out the plane from beneath the sand and take off, barely in time to escape a larger group of bandits seeking revenge for the murdered smugglers.

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Through a series of photos, we see what becomes of the survivors when they make it back to civilization. All have been revitalized by the experience: Frank and A.J. start their own airline (appropriately named Phoenix Aviation), Sammi (Jacob Vargas) and his wife start their own restaurant (Jeremy and Rady are there to celebrate), Liddle is reunited with his wife and kids, Ian becomes a professional golfer, Kelly is working at an ocean oil rig, and Elliot is wearing a flight suit on a Flight International magazine cover with the headline: 'NASA's New Hope?'

Cast[edit]

• Dennis Quaid as Captain Franklin 'Frank' Towns
• Giovanni Ribisi as Elliot
• Tyrese Gibson as A.J.
• Miranda Otto as Kelly Johnson
• Tony Curran as Alex Rodney
• Hugh Laurie as Ian
• Scott Michael Campbell as James Liddle
• Sticky Fingaz as Jeremy
• Jacob Vargas as Sammi
• Kevork Malikyan as Rady
• Jared Padalecki as John Davis
• Paul Ditchfield as Dr. Gerber
• Martin Hindy as Newman
• Bob Brown as Kyle
• Anthony Wong as Lead Smuggler

Production[edit]

Co-writer Edward Burns was personally asked by Tom Rothman, who at the time was the president of Fox and had discovered Burns when he bought The Brothers McMullen as Fox Searchlight's first acquisition, to rewrite the film's dialogue. Burns said, 'I probably did three drafts of it, and that was it. I never met Scott (Scott Frank, the other credited co-writer).'^[2] This is the only film Burns has writing credit on that he did not also direct.

Director John Moore scouted locations in Morocco and Australia before looking at, and quickly choosing, Namibia as the crash site. 'Where most of the film takes place, was only a 20 minute-drive from the coastal town of Swakopmund.'^[3] The Namib Desert location caused problems: cameras and other equipment had to be constantly cleaned of sand, and a 'couple of hundred people were employed as 'dune groomers' so that visual continuity could be maintained.^[3]

The set was the site of several mishaps:

• A ferry sank during transportation of a major set piece across a river, forcing the river bottom salvage of the aircraft fuselage.^{[citation needed]}
• Jared Padalecki flipped his vehicle.^[4]
• Concluding the aerial filming sequences, the flying C-119G N15501 suffered a long gash under the right wing when a film truck backed under it and its driver misjudged the truck's height. A repair crew was flown in, the damaged segment re-skinned and the aircraft flown back across the Atlantic.^[5]
• On June 3, 2004, camera operator and second unit cinematographer Ciaran Barry was 'filming behind a plywood barrier intended to protect his equipment' when an 800-pound 'fiberglass model plane propelled down an elevated track, bounced off a sand dune in the Namibian desert and crashed into his hut.'^[6]

For the latter, in October 2009 a Los Angeles jury awarded Barry $3.95 million in damages for broken legs and neurological damage he received during the accident; $1.3 million of the amount was awarded for lost future income.^[6]

A behind-the-scenes documentary, 'The Phoenix Diaries,' was included on the DVD. In it, director John Moore can be seen screaming at the crew. Fox executives are also not shown in a flattering light.^[7] The documentary was not included in the 2006 Blu-ray release.^[8]

Aircraft[edit]

Four aircraft were used during the film:

• Fairchild C-119G, N15501 - flying shots. (still flying as of 2007, now part of the Lauridsen Collection at the Buckeye Municipal Airport, February 2010.^[9])
• Fairchild C-119F, BuNo.131700 / N3267U - desert wreck.
• Fairchild C-119F, BuNo.131691 - Phoenix film prop.
• Fairchild C-119F, BuNo.131706 - Phoenix film prop.

A Phoenix that could be taxied but not flown was built for closeups. The Phoenix in flying scenes were done using a radio-controlled model and computer graphics.

Reception[edit]

Flight of the Phoenix has received generally mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 'rotten' score of 30%, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The site's consensus states: 'What this update lacks in tension, it makes up for with generic action.'^[10] On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 47 out of 100, indicating 'mixed or average reviews.'^[11] The main criticism for the film was its similarity to the original; John Anderson from Newsday said, 'if you've seen the original, there's absolutely no difference in what happens. And very little reason to check it out.' Aerofiles, a non-commercial website focusing on North American aviation history, called the film 'perhaps the worst remake ever of a classic film.'^[12]Stephen Holden of The New York Times said the film is a 'rickety update of the far superior 1965 movie' that 'throws in every cheap trick in the manual to pump up your heartbeat [and] is so manipulative that the involuntary jolts of adrenaline it produces make you feel like a fool.'^[13]Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two stars, writing 'I'm not recommending it for those who know the original, but it might work nicely enough for those who have not (seen it).'^[14]

The film did receive some praise. Scott Brown from Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B grade, saying 'refreshingly, it's actually about action, albeit arbitrary action, and how it defines us and keeps us alive.'^[15] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times gave the film four stars out of five, calling it 'a worthy remake.'^[16]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

1. ^ ^ab'Box office: 'Flight Of The Phoenix' (2004)'. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved: November 17, 2015.
2. ^McKittrick, Christopher. 'Ed Burns: An Independent Force'.Creative Screenwriting, August 25, 2015. Retrieved: August 25, 2015.
3. ^ ^abLovgren, Stefan. 'Africa Desert Is Bad Guy in 'Flight of the Phoenix.'National Geographic, December 17, 2004. Retrieved: October 3, 2010.
4. ^'Jared Padalecki on Ellen.'Youtube. Retrieved: November 18, 2015.
5. ^Air Classics magazine, June 2004, p. 8.
6. ^ ^abXianzhi, Li. 'Cameraman of 'The Flight of the Phoenix' wins lawsuit against 20th Century Fox .'xinhuanet.com, October 14, 2009. Retrieved: October 3, 2010.
7. ^Flight of the Phoenix DVD 2005
8. ^Flight of the Phoenix Blu-ray review
9. ^'Lauridsen Collection , Buckeye Municipal Airport.'air-and-space.com, February 19, 2010. Retrieved: October 9, 2010.
10. ^'Flight of the Phoenix (2004)'. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
11. ^'Flight of the Phoenix.'Metacritic. Retrieved: August 16, 2012.
12. ^'Aerofiles Reviews Aviation Films: (F) Flight of the Phoenix (Fox 2004, 113 min).'Aerofiles.com, August 9, 2009. Retrieved: October 3, 2010.
13. ^Holden, Stephen. 'Stuck in the Desert, Out on a Limb.'The New York Times, December 17, 2004. Retrieved: October 3, 2010.
14. ^Ebert, Roger. 'Flight of the Phoenix.'Chicago Sun-Times, December 17, 2004.
15. ^Brown, Scott. 'Movie Reviews and News: Flight of the Phoenix Review.'Entertainment Weekly, December 15, 2004.
16. ^Thomas, Kevin. 'Movie Reviews: Flight of the Phoenix.'Los Angeles Times, December 15, 2004.

Bibliography[edit]

• Flight of the Phoenix (2004) DVD. Beverley Hills, California: 20th Century Fox (Release date: March 1, 2005).
• O'Leary, Michael. 'By Box to Darkest Africa.' Air Classics Volume 40, No. 3, March 2004.

External links[edit]

• Flight of the Phoenix at the TCM Movie Database
• Flight of the Phoenix (2004) at AllMovie
• Flight of the Phoenix (2004) on IMDb
• Flight of the Phoenix at AllMovie
• Flight of the Phoenix at the American Film Institute Catalog
• Flight of the Phoenix at Box Office Mojo
• Flight of the Phoenix (2004) at Rotten Tomatoes

The Flight of the Phoenix is a 1965 American drama film starring James Stewart, produced and directed by Robert Aldrich,^[4] and based on the 1964 novel The Flight of the Phoenix by Elleston Trevor. The story describes a small group of men struggling to survive their aircraft's emergency landing in the SaharaDesert, and stars Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Krüger and Ernest Borgnine. The ensemble cast includes Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser, Christian Marquand, Dan Duryea and George Kennedy as other passengers on the aircraft.

Though the film was a failure at the box office, it has since gained a large cult following.

Plot[edit]

Frank Towns (James Stewart) is the pilot of a twin-engine Fairchild C-82 Packet cargo plane flying from Jaghbub to Benghazi in Libya; Lew Moran (Richard Attenborough) is the navigator. Passengers include Capt. Harris (Peter Finch) and Sgt. Watson (Ronald Fraser) of the British Army; Dr. Renaud (Christian Marquand), a physician; Heinrich Dorfmann (Hardy Krüger), a Germanaeronautical engineer; and an oil company accountant named Standish (Dan Duryea). There are also several oil workers, including Trucker Cobb (Ernest Borgnine), a foreman suffering from mental fatigue; Ratbags Crow (Ian Bannen), a cocky Scot; Carlos (Alex Montoya) and his pet monkey; and Gabriel (Gabriele Tinti).

A sudden sandstorm disables the engines, forcing Towns to crash-land in the desert. As the aircraft careens to a stop, two workers are killed and Gabriel's leg is severely injured.

Flight Of The Phoenix Movie

The radio is unusable, and the survivors are too far off course to be found by searchers. Aboard the plane is a large quantity of pitted dates but only enough water for ten to fifteen days if rationed. Captain Harris sets out to try and find an oasis. When Sgt. Watson feigns an injury to stay behind, Carlos volunteers, leaving his pet monkey with Crow. Harris and Towns refuse to allow the mentally unstable Cobb go along, but Cobb defiantly follows anyway and later dies of exposure in the desert. Days later, Harris returns to the crash site alone and barely alive. Sgt. Watson discovers and then ignores him, though others later find him.

Meanwhile, Dorfmann proposes a radical idea: building a new aircraft from the wreckage. The C-82 has twin booms extending rearwards from each engine and connected by the horizontal stabilizer. Dorfmann wants to attach the outer sections of both wings to the left engine and left boom, discarding the center fuselage and both inner wing sections of the aircraft. The men will ride atop the wings. Harris and Moran believe he is either joking or delusional. The argument is complicated by a personality clash between Towns, a proud traditionalist aviator, and Dorfmann, a young arrogant engineer. Moran struggles to maintain the peace.

Towns initially resists Dorfman's plan, though Renaud sways his opinion, saying activity and hope will help sustain the men's morale. Dorfmann supervises the reconstruction, while Towns remains skeptical. During the work, the fatally injured Gabriele commits suicide, depressing the men to where they consider abandoning the new plane's construction. Dorfmann, caught exceeding his water ration, justifies it, saying he has been the only one working continuously. He promises to not do it again but demands everyone work equally hard from here on.

Standish christens the nearly-completed aircraft, 'Phoenix', after the mythical bird that is reborn from its own ashes. When a band of Arabs camp nearby, Harris and Renaud leave to make contact while the others (and the aircraft) remain hidden. The two men are found murdered the next day. Additionally, Towns and Moran are stunned to learn that Dorfmann designs model airplanes rather than full-sized aircraft. Dorfmann defends himself, claiming the aerodynamic principles are the same, and many model planes require more exacting designs than full-size aircraft. With no other choice, Towne and Moran forge ahead with the plan without telling the others about Dorfmann.

The Phoenix is completed but untested. Only seven starter cartridges are available to ignite the engine. The first four startup attempts are unsuccessful. Over Dorfman's vehement objections, Towns fires the fifth cartridge with the ignition off to clear the engine's cylinders. The next startup is successful. The men pull the Phoenix to a nearby hilltop, then climb onto the wings. When Towns guns the engine, the Phoenix slides down the hill and over a lake bed before taking off. After a successful landing at an oasis with a manned oil rig, the men celebrate and Towns and Dorfmann are reconciled.

Cast[edit]

• James Stewart as Capt. Frank Towns
• Richard Attenborough as Lew Moran
• Hardy Krüger as Heinrich Dorfmann
• Peter Finch as Capt. Harris
• Ernest Borgnine as Trucker Cobb
• Ian Bannen as 'Ratbags' Crow
• Ronald Fraser as Sgt. Watson
• Christian Marquand as Dr. Renaud
• Dan Duryea as Standish
• George Kennedy as Mike Bellamy
• Gabriele Tinti as Gabriel
• Alex Montoya as Carlos
• Peter Bravos as Tasso
• William Aldrich as Bill
• Barrie Chase as Farida
• Stanley Ralph Ross as Arab singer (voice; uncredited)

Production[edit]

Locations[edit]

Principal photography started April 26, 1965, at the 20th Century-Fox Studios and 20th Century-Fox Ranch, California. Other filming locations, simulating the desert, were Buttercup Valley, Arizona and Pilot Knob Mesa, California. The flying sequences were all filmed at Pilot Knob Mesa near Winterhaven, located in California's Imperial Valley, on the western fringes of Yuma, Arizona.

Watch The Flight Of The Phoenix Hindi Full Movie Full

Aircraft used[edit]

In 2005, Hollywood aviation historian Simon Beck identified the aircraft used in the film:

• Fairchild C-82A Packet, N6887C – flying shots.
• Fairchild C-82A Packet, N4833V – outdoor location wreck.
• Fairchild C-82A Packet, N53228 – indoor studio wreck.
• Fairchild R4Q-1 Flying Boxcar (the USMC C-119C variant), BuNo. 126580 – non-flying Phoenix prop.
• Tallmantz Phoenix P-1, N93082 – flying Phoenix aircraft.
• North American O-47A, N4725V – second flying Phoenix.

The C-82As were from Steward-Davies Inc. at Long Beach, California, while the O-47A came from the Planes of Fame air museum in California. The R4Q-1 was purchased from Allied Aircraft of Phoenix, Arizona. The aerial camera platform was a B-25J Mitchell, N1042B, which was also used in the 1970 film Catch-22. The flying sequences were flown by Paul Mantz, co-owner of Tallmantz Aviation, filling in for his partner Frank Tallman, who had injured his leg.

Famous racing/stunt/movie pilot and collector of warplanes Paul Mantz was flying the Tallmantz Phoenix P-1, the machine that was 'made of the wreckage', in front of the cameras on the morning of July 8, 1965. He was performing touch-and-go landings, and on one touchdown the fuselage buckled. The movie model broke apart and cartwheeled, killing Mantz and seriously injuring stuntman Bobby Rose on board.^[5]

Although principal photography was completed on August 13, 1965, in order to complete filming, a North American O-47A (N4725V) from the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California was modified and used as a flying Phoenix stand-in. With the canopy removed, a set of skids attached to the main landing gear as well as ventral fin added to the tail, it sufficed as more-or-less a visual lookalike. Filming using the O-47A was completed in October/November 1965. It appears in the last flying scenes, painted to look like the earlier Phoenix P-1.

The final production used a mix of footage that included the O-47A, the 'cobbled-together' Phoenix and Phoenix P-1.

The final credit on the screen was, 'It should be remembered... that Paul Mantz, a fine man and a brilliant flyer, gave his life in the making of this film...'

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Reception[edit]

The film opened in selected theaters on December 15, 1965, with a full release in 1966. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times dismissed it as 'grim and implausible',^[6] while Variety praised the film as an 'often-fascinating and superlative piece of filmmaking highlighted by standout performances and touches that show producer-director at his best.'^[7]

Box Office[edit]

Aldrich says the film previewed well and everyone thought it was going to be a big hit but 'it never took off' commercially.^[8]

According to Fox records, the film needed to earn $10,800,000 in rentals to break even and made $4,855,000, meaning it made a loss.^[9]

Awards[edit]

The Flight of the Phoenix was nominated for two Academy Awards: Ian Bannen for Supporting Actor and Michael Luciano for Film Editing.^[10]

See also[edit]

• Flight of the Phoenix (2004 film), a re-make of this film
• Survival film, about the film genre, with a list of related films

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abSolomon, Aubrey (2002). Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (1st ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow. ISBN0-8108-4244-0.
2. ^Silver, Alain; Ursini, James (1995). Whatever Happened to Robert Aldrich?: His Life and Films (1st ed.). New York: Limelight Ed. p. 267. ISBN9780879101855.
3. ^'Box office Robert ALDRICH'. Box Office Story. 2013-05-27. Retrieved 2017-01-18.
4. ^'The Flight of the Phoenix'. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
5. ^'Final Flight - 'Phoenix''. Check-six.com. Retrieved 2017-01-18.
6. ^Crowther, Bosley (1966-02-01). 'Movie Review—Screen: From the Ashes: 'Flight of the Phoenix' on View at 2 Theaters'. The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
7. ^Variety staff (1964). Flight of the Phoenix, film review, Variety, December 31, 1964. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
8. ^Champlin, Charles (25 August 1974). 'Aldrich's Safari in Mogul Country: Safari in Mogul Country Aldrich's Safari in Mogul Country'. Los Angeles Times. p. 1.
9. ^Silverman, Stephen M. (1988). The Fox That Got Away : The Last Days of the Zanuck Dynasty at Twentieth Century-Fox. Secaucus: L. Stuart. p. 325. ISBN0-8184-0485-X.
10. ^The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 'The 38th Academy Awards, 1966', honoring the films of 1965; awards presented at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California, April 18, 1966. Retrieved 2018-01-19.

Further reading[edit]

• Cox, Stephen. It's a Wonderful Life: A Memory Book. Nashville, Tennessee: Cumberland House, 2003. ISBN1-58182-337-1.
• Eliot, Mark. Jimmy Stewart: A Biography. New York: Random House, 2006. ISBN1-4000-5221-1.
• Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. 'A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies'. The Making of the Great Aviation Films. General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989.
• Jones, Ken D., Arthur F. McClure and Alfred E. Twomey. The Films of James Stewart. New York: Castle Books, 1970.
• Munn, Michael. Jimmy Stewart: The Truth Behind the Legend. Fort Lee, New Jersey: Barricade Books Inc., 2006. ISBN1-56980-310-2.
• Pickard, Roy. Jimmy Stewart: A Life in Film. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. ISBN0-312-08828-0.
• Robbins, Jhan. Everybody's Man: A Biography of Jimmy Stewart. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1985. ISBN0-399-12973-1.
• Thomas, Tony. A Wonderful Life: The Films and Career of James Stewart. Secaucus, New Jersey: Citadel Press, 1988. ISBN0-8065-1081-1.

External links[edit]

• The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) on IMDb
• The Flight of the Phoenix at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Flight of the Phoenix at AllMovie
• The Flight of the Phoenix at the TCM Movie Database
• The Flight of the Phoenix at the American Film Institute Catalog