What's your favorite Aviation Movie?

[BFMF]

'We Were Soldiers' has a few cool flying scenes

[loomex]

There are a lot of good movies that relate to aviation
"SAC" with Jimmie Stewart. The real star was the B-36 and the        B-47 and any home movies that I did at air shows

[Scorpiоn]

.

"pearl harbor" (impressive flight sequences!)

That's about all that's impressive in that movie! >:( So much was sacrificed to make it dramatic!

[Professor Brensec]

.
That's about all that's impressive in that movie! >:( So much was sacrificed to make it dramatic!

I'm lead to believe that alot of the "flight sequences" in Pearl Harbour are computer generated. Is this pretty much true?

Anyway, for flying films or concerniing flight in some way.............I think my all-time favourite would be between The Dambusters or The BoB.

Other notables for me are:

Twelve O'clock High, The Hellcats, Battle of Midway (heaps of footage - incorrect.........lol  -  F6F's at Midway?), Aces High, Reach for the Sky, Enola Gay (not sure that was the title), Tuskegee Airmen and my only non-war related........Airforce One (love Harrison Ford - good movie too).        ;D

I like an obscure film called "The Flight of the Pheonix" with Jimmy Stewart. A bunch of blokes crash land a twin engine transport in the desert and go about making a smaller single engine plane from the wreckage. Interesting film. Apparently, according to the movie presenter, some research was done to determine if what was portrayed could have been done. They say it was possible. Good movie if you ever come across it.  ;D

Oh! nearly forgot. It's not really a flying movie. Just the opening sequence of a British Pilot (David Niven) in a shot-up bomber, about to die, talking to a WRAF lady on the radio. It's called "A Matter of Life and Death".
Does anyone know it. Maybe the older blokes, it was made in the early '50's.

[BFMF]

I'm lead to believe that alot of the "flight sequences" in Pearl Harbour are computer generated. Is this pretty much true?

Yes, this is true. You can see in some scenes where an aircraft passes through smoke and the propeller creates a little 'whirlwind' effect, but with other aircraft it doesn't happen.

I was very disappointed with Pearl Harbour. Some of the visuals were kinda cool, but the story line was crap.

I recently read that those two pilots who really did manage to get off the ground and shoot down a few japs, actually survived the war. In the movie one of them is portrayed to have been shot on Doolittles raid

[quote]I like an obscure film called "The Flight of the Pheonix" with Jimmy Stewart. A bunch of blokes crash land a twin engine transport in the desert and go about making a smaller single engine plane from the wreckage. Interesting film. Apparently, according to the movie presenter, some research was done to determine if what was portrayed could have been done. They say it was possible. Good movie if you ever come across it.

[Rifleman]

There is a sad note on " The Flight of The Phoenix"....there were apparently deaths occured in the making of that movie, and as far as I remember about it, it was in a flying sequence............will search it back now

What I just found in a movie review.......

Remember the movie, 'Flight Of The Phoenix'? One of the survivors in the desert crash of a cargo aircraft, Dorfman, convinces the others to convert the wreckage into a smaller plane and escape, as no rescue seems eminent. The new aircraft nearly completed, Dorfman comments to the Pilot, Captain Townsend, that he is a professional model aircraft designer; not a designer of the 'real thing' all had assumed him to be. The flight is almost canceled as the exasperated Pilot bitterly dismisses Dorfman as only a 'toy airplanes' designer - convinced the flight to come will end in another tragedy!

Well, the story has a happy ending (the same can not be said of the stunt pilot who died flying the airplane in the movie) as Dorfman's creation takes wing and carries everyone to safety

Also this report about the situation.......

Paul Mantz (died 8 July 1965)
This aviation pioneer and legendary movie stunt pilot died in Yuma, Arizona, during the filming of The Flight Of The Phoenix. As three motion picture cameras ground away, his plane hit a small sand dune, overturned and disintegrated. Though semi-retired from stunt work, Mantz was covering for his partner, Frank Tallman, who'd six weeks earlier broken his leg pushing his son's go-cart.

Although these quotes don't mention it, I am not sure if the pilot (Mantz) was the only occupant of the A/C

[BFMF]

That's sad.

I've also seen 'Spirit of St. Louis' with Jimmy Stewart

[ATI_7500]

sh**! i completely forgot my favourite movie! "13 days" ,a GREAT film about the cuban crisis, with some really cool 1960's aircraft sequences!

[Professor Brensec]

Also, who stars in the movie 'Battle of Britain'? I know it's an older British film, but I havn't been able to find a copy. I'll try looking in the newest movie rental place in town

Christopher Plummer, Michael Caine, Lawrence Olivier (as the boss), Trevor Howard, Robert Shaw, Susannah York and Kurt Jurgens (as your archetypical Kraut - as usual).

What would the Movie industries in the US and UK have done for a good German if not for Kurt?

[Professor Brensec]

There is a sad note on " The Flight of The Phoenix"....there were apparently deaths occured in the making of that movie, and as far as I remember about it, it was in a flying sequence............will search it back now

What I just found in a movie review.......

Also this report about the situation.......
Although these quotes don't mention it, I am not sure if the pilot (Mantz) was the only occupant of the A/C

Thanks Rifle,

You jogged my memory on that one.
We have a movie presenter here, Bill Collins, who has been presenting his show "The Golden Years of Hollywood" on various channels for about 30 years. He always takes a good 15 minutes or so to give you all the interesting trivia about the movies he presents (some people hate it but I think he's great).

I remember him mentioning this when I last saw this movie.
You can get it from here, or use this as a reference, Andrew
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.a ... =142718269

P.S. Rifle, the info you found has a small error. The Pilot portrayed in the film was named "Towns".
Also, I'm pretty sure the aircraft would have only had the pilot on board (being pretty much a mock-up with inherent dangers - although I imagine some sort of airworthiness would have been necessary). In the film, the plane has a small, makeshift cockpit, with just enough room for the pilot. The rest of the men had to ride on the wings, laying flat with perspex screens in front of their faces.
I'm pretty sure that the sequence that shows them flying would have used dummies on the wings.

[Craig.]

urgh pearl harbor. brings back memorys

went to see it with my girlfriend and the best things about that movie was loosing a cell phone under the chair and trying to find it in the dark with the help of the guy behind me, the headache i had at the end, and the chewing out i got after it for being late(which should have been worse)

[Woodlouse2002]

Christopher Plummer, Michael Caine, Lawrence Olivier (as the boss), Trevor Howard, Robert Shaw, Susannah York and Kurt Jurgens (as your archetypical Kraut - as usual).

I noticed Kenneth Moore makes an apperance in it too... And we all know that he single handedly won the war in the british film industry!

[Professor Brensec]

Incidentally, re the "Flight of the Phoenix".

Once again, displaying my ignorance of these things.

The engine has to be started with cartridges which are loaded into a cylinder which is locked, cocked and fired.

I was aware of these things but know nothing about them.
What is the system called, was it used in any WWII planes. Obviously the firing mechanism had to be in the cockpit. How did the "charge" get to the engines when they were on the wings?

[Rifleman]

[quote]

Thanks Rifle,

P.S. Rifle, the info you found has a small error. The Pilot portrayed in the film was named "Towns".
Also, I'm pretty sure .........

[BFMF]

I noticed Kenneth Moore makes an apperance in it too... And we all know that he single handedly won the war in the british film industry!

That sounds like John Wayne!